How I wished I had had more hands on, real world practice with the supervision of experienced veterinarians as a student.  I feel that I would have missed fewer things and made fewer mistakes as a new graduate.  There is nothing that can replace touching/palpating something for yourself, listening closely to a patient's breathing and heart (is that a murmur or the way the patient happens to be breathing in sync with it's heart rate?), examining eyes, ears, mouth and getting a full understanding of what is normal (including breed variation) and what is not.  This takes PRACTICE.  I did not feel that as a student I was allowed to do anything that was beyond my skill level, but that skill level would have been higher at graduation had I had more clinical experience.  Every exam I did was repeated by the attending DVM.   When I placed a catheter, I was coached by a DVM or LVT,  when I did a spay or neuter surgery it was with direct assistance and supervision on the attending DVM.  I was allowed to assist with other surgeries as well, discussing the plan (techniques and materials) prior.  The more you do and see, the better you become.  Best to gain as much experience while being coached and supervised so that our new DVMs will be more competent as new graduates when there is much less (if any) supervision and coaching.