Journal of veterinary medical education最新文献

Equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) in veterinary medicine affects veterinarians, students, clients, and the regional availability of veterinary services. Veterinary students from 5 colleges in Canada and 5 colleges in the United States were surveyed about their challenges, experiences, and perceptions related to EDI, resulting in 456 responses (10.4%). A greater proportion of participants reported personal, financial, mental health, and physical health challenges during veterinary college compared to the proportion reporting these challenges before starting veterinary college. Statistically, participants who did not identify as White (odds ratio [OR]: 2.2, confidence interval [CI]: 1.1-4.3), who reported having a disability (OR: 5.0, CI: 2.1-12.1), and who identified as part of the LGBTQ2S+ community (OR: 8.5, CI: 3.8-19.2 ) were more likely to agree or strongly agree that discrimination occurs at veterinary colleges. Fewer participants reported experiencing discrimination in veterinary colleges (20.6%) compared to veterinary workplaces (36.8%). In the workplace, more participants reported the expectation of facing bias from clients than from managers or peers. The expectation of facing bias from clients was associated with the female gender (OR: 2.7, CI: 1.3-5.6), not identifying as White (OR: 7.4, CI: 2.5-21.3), and identifying as part of the LGBTQ2S+ community (OR: 2.7, CI: 1.3-5.4). More participants expected to practice in the same type of region as where they grew up rather than a different type of region. Thus, training future veterinarians from areas with region-based lack of access to veterinary services may be more effective than simply training more veterinarians. College EDI initiatives should include input from all participants and especially those who are most likely to experience discrimination, facilitating meaningful training and support.

Within veterinary medical education, there is increasing focus on equity and cultural competency/humility, especially within service learning in community and shelter medicine. This article reviews the current literature and draws from the experience of the Ontario Veterinary College Community Healthcare Partnership Program's development of a community and shelter medicine curriculum. We propose that to graduate veterinarians with the knowledge and skills to address inequities in access to veterinary care, a best practice is to integrate mandatory in-class and experiential learning activities, scaffolded across the curriculum. This is a best practice as it creates the best chance for transformational learning for students and is part of our responsibility to the communities we partner with to move toward cultural safety. This Best Practice report addresses the following questions: 1. What foundation of knowledge in community and shelter medicine is needed? (Five curricular pillars: animal welfare, vulnerable animals, spectrum of care, well-being, and cultural humility). 2. How should programs be structured? (Mandatory, integrated, and scaffolded curriculum). 3. What are the pedagogical goals? (Transformational learning). It is our hope that this synthesis is of value to other veterinary colleges seeking to develop programs and/or curricula in community and shelter medicine to address barriers to veterinary care access.

Anecdotal data suggest that clinicians can be confused about the indications, advantages, and disadvantages of treatment options for canine atopic dermatitis (CAD). This may be due to the varying levels of knowledge and confidence among clinicians at different stages of their training and careers. A lack of evidence-based studies of confidence when applying knowledge in veterinary education inspired this research. We surveyed 75 Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies (R(D)SVS) final-year students, 34 general practitioners (GPs), 70 GPs that have undertaken continuing professional development in dermatology, 34 advanced dermatology practitioners (e.g., interns and residents), and 15 dermatology specialists using an online questionnaire with Likert-type scales for each response. Correlations between the levels of education, sources of knowledge about managing CAD, and their understanding of different treatment options were analyzed. p < .001 was deemed significant. The results revealed a significant lack of confidence among students and GPs in treating CAD. In contrast, the groups generally had a similar level of understanding of the management options. The exception to this was a lack of understanding about ciclosporin and antihistamines among students and veterinarians with less dermatology experience. Targets for intervention should therefore aim to improve confidence in clinical application rather than knowledge per se in undergraduate and post-graduate education. Improving confidence in managing CAD will improve the welfare of atopic dogs and their owners.

There is a dearth of validated instruments for assessing clinical teaching in veterinary education. This study describes the development and validation of a veterinary-adapted Stanford Faculty Development Program 26 (SFDP-Vet22) instrument for student evaluation of veterinary clinical educators. Validity evidence was gathered in three specific categories: (a) content, (b) response process, and (c) internal structure. Content validity was supported by the educational theory and research underlying the Stanford Faculty Development Program 26 (SFDP-26) instrument. The process of adapting the SFDP-26 to the veterinary clinical education setting and piloting the SFDP-Vet22 supported validity in the response process, but straightlining indicated that some students ([Formula: see text]) did not use the instrument as intended. Validity in internal structure was supported by the result of exploratory factor analysis with a six-factor solution. This was performed using principal axis factoring extraction and direct oblimin oblique rotation ([Formula: see text]) on Box-Cox-transformed data. Twenty of the 22 items loaded in the predicted factors. Cronbach's alphas for each factor were above .846, mean inter-item correlations ranged from .594 to .794, and mean item-total correlations ranged from .693 to .854. The six-factor solution explained 75.5% of the variation, indicating a robust model. The results indicated that the control of session, communication of goals, and self-directed learning factors were stable and consistently loaded as predicted and that learning climate, evaluation, and feedback were unstable. This suggests the transference of these constructs from medical to veterinary education and supports the intended use: low-stakes decisions about clinical educator performance and identifying areas of potential growth of educators.

The mental health and well-being of veterinary students and graduate veterinarians is a critical area of concern. Veterinary students experience high levels of psychological distress, particularly during transitional periods such as clinical training. While mental health interventions typically target pre-clinical years, the unique challenges faced by clinical students are often overlooked, resulting in inadequate support during important periods of professional development. To address this gap, Compassion Fatigue Rounds (CFR) were introduced. CFR is a proactive, integrated intervention within one clinical clerkship program. The rounds address compassion fatigue, burnout, and self-care practices through a small group discussion facilitated by the clinical instructor. An evaluation of CFR was conducted through anonymous online student surveys administered between March and September 2023. Following CFR, students self-reported an increase in knowledge, confidence, and preparedness regarding the mental health challenges in veterinary medicine. Students overwhelmingly reported positive experiences, pointing to the potential effectiveness of CFR in educating, engaging, and supporting clinical students on mental health well-being. This study offers preliminary evidence for integrating mental health education into the clinical year curriculum and serves as a practical guide for clinical instructors.

Remediation provides academically struggling students reasonable opportunities to correct deficiencies in knowledge or skills, achieve competence, and potentially reverse failures. At Purdue University College of Veterinary Medicine, a remediation policy in the preclinical years of the DVM program was implemented beginning with the class of 2014. We evaluated its impact on our DVM program and student outcomes. Using data from DVM classes of 2011 to 2023, we compared academic outcomes between remediating and non-remediating class cohorts and, within remediating cohorts, between students with and without academic difficulties. Despite changes in class size and admissions criteria, 4-year graduation and relative attrition rates were similar in remediating (92.2% and 4.2%) and non-remediating (92.3% and 4.8%) cohorts. Success at the North American Veterinary Licensing Examination (NAVLE) prior to graduation was lower in remediating than in non-remediating cohorts (94.5% vs. 97.0%). Among 815 students in remediating cohorts, 157 (19.3%) failed ≥1 courses. Of the 157 students, 134 (85.4%) attempted remediation of ≥1 failed courses, 125 (79.6%) successfully remediated ≥1 failed courses, and 96 (61.1%) successfully remediated all their failed courses. Remediation occurred more often in first-year than in second- or third-year courses. While 99% of the 96 successfully remediated students graduated in 4 years, 13.5% failed ≥1 clinical blocks and 18.7% did not pass NAVLE before DVM graduation. Our remediation policy enabled successfully remediated students to avoid delayed graduation, but some students struggled in the clinical year and at passing the NAVLE prior to graduation. Additional support systems are necessary to help students pass the NAVLE before graduation.

Models and simulations are used in veterinary education to allow students to practice surgical skills in order to obtain clinical competence. Further development of models is also driven by the requirement of veterinary institutions to reduce the use of animal patients in teaching (live or cadaver). Esophagostomy tube placement is a common therapeutic procedure performed in companion animal critical care cases, and a model was developed to help teach this skill. Validity evidence was collected and analyzed to evaluate this model at the University of Surrey. Veterinarians (n = 14) provided content validity evidence on using the model, and students (n = 19) provided further construct evidence. Students were taught the skill on either a model or a cadaver. These students were then assessed on a cadaver the following week. Global rating scales were used as a measure of performance, and data were recorded on confidence ratings after both teaching and assessment. Comparisons of the global rating scales and confidence levels were evaluated for both the model and cadaver-taught groups. There were no statistical differences in the performance data or confidence levels of the two groups. Most of the veterinarians believed the model was easy to use (13/14), had realistic landmarks (11/14), and was a suitable alternative to learning the skill than in the animal patient (12/14). The esophagostomy tube model is a low-cost easy-to-make alternative to help teach aspects of this skill before performing on an animal patient.

Veterinary public health (VPH) is a critical role of veterinarians regardless of their chosen career pathway and it is the role of VPH academics to inspire veterinary students within this essential topic. However, the alarming shortage of veterinarians has led to a significant reduction in veterinary policy makers and epidemiologists. The engagement of new graduates in public health roles is heavily influenced by their undergraduate teaching and extramural study opportunities. Worryingly, student engagement within VPH has been well documented to be poor in comparison to other subjects. As such, this study was designed to investigate what factors impacted VPH educators' motivation. To do this, a mixed methods survey was created and released electronically to 34 VPH academics across the UK and the Republic of Ireland. A total of 23 respondents, from nine veterinary schools spanning both countries, completed the survey. Data analysis involving both quantitative assessment and thematic analysis was undertaken. The results showed that VPH educators' intrinsic motivation was not problematic and most (n = 20) respondents felt motivated within their roles. However, all respondents had extrinsic issues that impacted their motivation, such as external stakeholders, curricula requirements, lack of student opportunity both regarding placement and as career options, as well as wider university issues. These themes led staff to feel undervalued in their roles, and as such highlight the areas that universities and external stakeholders need to act on to help fill the significant recruitment issues in this essential field. This study is, as far as the authors are aware, the first time globally that a VPH faculty have been asked to explore their motivation behind their teaching practices.

Incorporating curriculum to effectively help veterinary students learn how to provide accessible quality care to all pet owners is needed. The primary aims of this study are to explore how a 2-week rotation at a veterinary medical service-learning clinic (Wisconsin Companion Animal Resources, Education, and Social Services [WisCARES]) improves (a) comfort in working with clients from diverse race and low socioeconomic (SOCI) backgrounds and (2) confidence in leading cases, communication skills, and providing a spectrum of care options. Students were surveyed at five time points pre-rotation: mid-week 1, mid-week 2, end of rotation, and 1-month post. A total of 115 survey series were at least partially completed. Of the 97 responses that include background information, 68 (70%) students reported having "no to a few weeks" of experience working with diverse or low SOCI populations. When comparing themselves to before starting the rotation, student responses indicated increased comfort (mean = 4.54, standard deviation [SD] = 0.54) and compassion (mean = 4.42, SD = 0.78) working with low-income or homeless populations, more comfort interacting with members of different race or ethnicity groups (mean = 4.21, SD = 0.82), and more appreciation for the human-animal bond (mean = 4.42, median = 5). Students also reported that spending time at WisCARES positively impacted their confidence in a clinical setting, managing and communicating about financial decisions, and approaching cases creatively. Giving students an opportunity to lead cases with clients from diverse races and low SOCI backgrounds can enhance levels of comfort with practice and improve confidence.

The Association of American Veterinary Medical Colleges competency-based veterinary education (CBVE) framework can be used to guide curriculum and assessment design and is intended to prepare veterinary graduates for Day One of clinical practice. However, while the framework defines curricular outcomes in terms of demonstrable competencies, it does not define the specific knowledge, skills, and attitudes required to achieve those outcomes. In some human medical curricula, prioritized lists of clinical presentations guide curricular content, design, and assessment. These lists are based, in part, on practice analysis surveys. A prioritized list of this nature does not currently exist in veterinary medicine. We surveyed 1,706 veterinarians across the country regarding the relative frequency and importance of 274 clinical presentations to generate a prioritized list by species. Acceptable statistical power was achieved for dogs, cats, and horses. These lists can be used in conjunction with the CBVE framework to inform curricular content and assessment decisions.