Journal of veterinary medical education最新文献

While all facets of the health care workforce need to diversify, the veterinary profession lags behind in training students from underrepresented populations. The need to increase diversity among health care professionals is not limited to clinicians but extends to those generating new information through biomedical research. To address demographic disparities within the biomedical research community, we provide a summer research program for veterinary and undergraduate students from populations historically underrepresented in the biomedical workforce that is explicitly designed to foster science identity and subsequently increase participants' interest and success in pursuing biomedical research-related educational and career paths. We hypothesized that participation in this program would enhance science identity, confidence, and pursuit of research-related education and subsequent careers. Three validated survey instruments containing qualitative ordered rating scales were administered to program participants (N = 57) over the course of the summer in which they participated (2018-2022). Questions asked at two time points were analyzed with a repeated-measures linear mixed-effects model. Significant growth was reported in most topics surveyed over time. Many queries within gains, confidence, and science identity modules displayed significant increases over time or scored high in surveys at both time points. In addition, post-graduate educational and career outcomes were obtained for alumni (N = 130) of program years 2011-2023; their post-graduate enrollment rates (78%) markedly exceeded national norms. This multidimensional experiential research program, which holistically fosters professional networking and student confidence in research-related endeavors, provides quantifiable growth in research skills and science identity. These gains support students' persistence in research and biomedical-related educational and career paths.

The gender distribution of authors in the health sciences literature has been well documented. We explored whether this distribution persists among library course reserves for a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine program, as course reserves are veterinary faculty members' own teaching materials. Such a bibliometric analysis of course reserves provides a novel method of examining curricular materials. In the fall of 2022, researchers collected the library's current course reserve metadata, including fields such as author names and material types. Binary gender was determined based on a variety of sources: traditional naming conventions, gender presentation in photographs, pronouns in signatures, and biographies. Of the 167 exported authors, 162 were included for further analysis in SPSS. Course reserves' authors were analyzed by collaborators and media type. The dichotomous gender distribution of first authors was 76% male/24% female. Female first authors were more likely to have collaborators than male first authors (39% vs 26%). When collaborations did occur, first and second authors had the same gender at a significantly higher rate. Exploring author gender across material type, we found that generally, the first author gender ratio remained three males to every female. Contextualizing these results in the framework of contemporary health sciences literature, we found that the gender disparities in course reserves to be unsurprising, while still disappointing.

Graduating competent veterinarians with the appropriate knowledge and skills to support and strengthen their country's National Veterinary Services is a key priority for veterinary institutions globally. The World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH) developed a set of Day One Competencies that should be expected of every veterinary graduate. Veterinary schools need to be able to assess the coverage of these competencies in their curriculum and determine the level of proficiency of their graduates. This article describes the iterative design and development process used to create a semi-quantitative, competency-based assessment survey. The Evaluation Tool for WOAH Day One Graduating Veterinarian Competencies is used as part of a stepwise process to systematically assess a veterinary curriculum regarding these competencies. This tool was developed and tested at the University of Gondar College of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Sciences in Ethiopia. The Evaluation Tool was successful in systematically collecting, measuring, and analyzing the perceptions of faculty, senior veterinary students, recent graduates, and external stakeholders about the level of proficiency of graduates in all 19 WOAH Day One Competencies. It was specifically designed to be used in conjunction with curriculum mapping to provide a full picture of how effectively these competencies were taught and identify gaps that needed to be addressed. This tool, the supporting resources, and the methodology are now globally accessible to all veterinary institutions, enabling them to revise and update their curricula and, ultimately, improve the training of the future veterinary workforce to support veterinary services in their respective countries.

In veterinary education, simulators are models or devices that can imitate a real patient or scenario and allow students to practice skills without the need for live patients. Castration is a common surgical procedure in all species, and the standing, open technique is frequently performed in horses. Although a simulator has been developed for equine closed castration, a simulator for standing castration in the horse has not yet been described. This two-part study focused on the design, creation, and evaluation of a simulator for teaching standing castration in the horse. A low-technology simulator was created using molded silicone testicles, cohesive bandage, stockings, and socks. A rubric was created for assessing performance using the simulator. Participants were recruited from three groups: university academic staff members (n = 12, majority equine veterinarians), equine veterinarians working in private practice (n = 9), and final-year veterinary students (n = 28). Each group tested the simulator while being graded using the developed rubric, and participants completed an anonymous online feedback questionnaire. Feedback was positive overall, with 98% of respondents (n = 48/49) stating that the model would be a useful addition to the veterinary curriculum. Furthermore, 100% of students reported that using the simulator increased their confidence in performing standing castration in horses. Evaluation of the model included assessment of responses from veterinarians and students regarding realism and usefulness of the simulator, comparison of rubric scores between veterinarians and students, and assessment of the reliability of the rubric. Median student rubric score was significantly lower than qualified veterinarians (p < .001), and Cronbach's alpha demonstrated that there was adequate internal reliability in rubric scoring (α = .85). It was determined that the simulator is effective for teaching the steps of the surgical procedure and for increasing student confidence.

Quality veterinary education and training programs are essential for ensuring that national veterinary workforces are well prepared to address animal and veterinary public health needs. Standards for veterinary education establishments (VEEs) around the world are thought to be diverse, but little information is available on approaches to curriculum development, quality assurance methods for evaluating veterinary education programs, teaching and assessment approaches, resources for skills development, and requirements for continuing professional development (CPD) of licensed veterinarians. In this study, VEEs within Asia, Sub-Saharan Africa, the Middle East and North Africa, Oceania, Europe, Latin America, and North America were surveyed anonymously regarding education programs and curriculum development practices as well as CPD requirements using a structured questionnaire. Responses were received from 186 VEEs across 40 countries and all global regions, with 83% coming from Latin America and Asia. Similar teaching approaches were seen at VEEs across all regions; however, large animal hospitals and ambulatory field service opportunities were less common at VEEs in parts of Asia. Accreditation of the VEE program was mandatory in 66% of facilities, but only 17% of responding VEEs were accredited by an internationally recognized accrediting body. Curriculum review occurred on a periodic basis at 81% of responding VEEs, but approaches varied significantly by region. Finally, 61% of VEEs reported no CPD requirements for licensed veterinarians. The findings suggest there are global opportunities for harmonizing and enhancing VEE program quality through development of self-assessment tools as well as supporting CPD requirements to ensure national veterinary workforce preparedness.

Peyton's four-step teaching approach (PFSA) has been shown to be beneficial in teaching medical students practical skills for clinical practice. This study evaluated the effectiveness of PFSA in comparison to a standard method (ST) for teaching students to confidently perform the cranial drawer assessment and to identify cranial drawer in a canine stifle joint model that simulated different types of cranial cruciate ligament (CCL) integrity (complete rupture, partial rupture, and intact). Students were randomly allocated into two groups, taught how to perform a cranial drawer test with either PFSA or the ST, and tasked to assess CCL integrity in six models. The assessment was repeated 2 weeks later. Students taught with the PFSA had higher scores for their technique when compared with the ST group (p < .01) for both intact and partial CCL rupture models at the initial assessment. The ability to correctly identify the CCL integrity in the models was not different between the ST and PFSA groups. Student confidence in being able to perform the cranial drawer test improved in both the ST and PFSA groups at the second assessment. While PFSA improved students' technique and their confidence in assessing the CCL integrity, their ability to correctly identify CCL functional integrity in the stifle joint model was not improved. The benefits of using PFSA need to be balanced with the greater time it takes to perform.

Generative artificial intelligence (gAI) is becoming increasingly prevalent in our daily lives. Students across multiple disciplines are using gAI for writing assessments and completing projects. This leads to the question: could gAI platforms perform similarly, worse, or better than veterinary students when asked to create discharge handouts for select veterinary neurological conditions? A total of 24 professionals and educators graded handouts based on content, clarity, client education, empathy, and professionalism for two canine neurological conditions (seizures and intervertebral disc disease). Each condition had handouts created by a high-performing student, a random/unknown student whose work was deemed to represent the average student at our institution, ChatGPT 4.0, and Google Bard. The high-performing student's handout scored higher in several categories compared with AI-generated handouts and scored statistically higher overall. Specifically, the high-performing student's seizure handout scored significantly higher in accuracy/completeness and client education than the Bard handout. Both student handouts scored significantly higher for empathy and client support than the AI tools. For the intervertebral disc disease handouts, the AI-generated handouts scored higher in clarity and organization than the random student handout, with the high-performing student's handout scoring higher in empathy and client support over the Bard-generated handout. Upon the conclusion of grading, reviewers completed a survey asking them to guess the authorship of each handout. Veterinary educators and professionals could not distinguish between gAI- and student-developed client handouts. However, the findings suggest that students have the potential to outperform current gAI technology in multiple areas, including conveying empathy.

Veterinarians bridge the critical gap between animal and human health and can alert health agencies to potential health risks in cases of emergencies or disease outbreaks, making them a crucial ally in the fight against infectious diseases. Thus, training veterinarians in public health provides them with additional skills, knowledge, and the necessary tools in disease and hazard prevention. We conducted a national survey in the United States to determine the efficacy of doctor of veterinary medicine (DVM)-master of public health (MPH) and veterinariae medicinae doctoris (VMD)-MPH dual degrees, and we identified gaps and shortcomings in the curricula in order to improve the career outcomes of enrolled veterinary students. The survey was sent in 2020 to alumni of all the DVM-MPH and VMD-MPH programs and administered through Qualtrics. Key findings include that most participants were women (83.2%), the predominant age group was 30-39 years (61%), and 50.4% considered the MPH beneficial. The majority of respondents work in veterinary medicine or public health. Qualifications and veterinary networks were identified as the most useful for securing employment. About 31.1% felt their program prepared them moderately well for these jobs, while 68.9% indicated that the MPH did not affect their salary. Respondents also highlighted areas needing improvement in DVM-MPH programs, such as increased practical work-skill opportunities, mentoring, career support, and access to nonveterinary courses and students. These findings can be useful for veterinary and public health schools in developing curricula and opportunities that strengthen the preparation of veterinarians in public health.

To ensure veterinary students are prepared for clinical practice, curricula must provide opportunities for students to learn about the cases most frequently seen in practice. Currently, there is a gap in the literature with regard to the identification of common clinical topics encountered in equine primary care practice in the UK. This study aims to address this gap by utilizing text-mining techniques on electronic medical records (EMRs) to produce a ranked list of the most common clinical topics encountered in equine primary care in the UK. The study included 1,092,731 rows of data from 150,465 equine patients between 2012 and 2022, sourced from six primary care equine practices. Dictionaries were developed in the text-mining software and applied to the corpus of EMRs, enabling the identification of 30 common clinical topics. The clinical topics were ranked in order of their prevalence, and estimates of incidence rate per horse-year calculated for each. Results showed lameness, vaccination, sedation, dental, and worming as the five most frequently mentioned clinical topics in equine primary care EMRs in the UK. This work provides an evidence-based list of commonly encountered clinical topics in equine primary care practice, guiding educators to focus their teaching and curricula, and students to prioritize their learning. The results of this study provide data-driven validation of core concepts that should be prioritized within equine undergraduate curricula.

CASPer (Computer-based Assessment for Sampling Personal characteristics), an online, open-response situational judgment test, screens applicants to educational programs early in the selection process for non-cognitive abilities. CASPer was applied in Purdue University's DVM admissions cycle in 2020-2021 in two ways: applicants met a threshold criterion of eligibility for further review by having a reported CASPer Z-score >-1.5; and applicants were awarded points for Z-score >0 during in-depth review. The requirement that applicants meet a threshold CASPer Z-score affected male, underrepresented minority (URM) and international students adversely: higher proportions of these individuals were eliminated early from admissions consideration. Among those with Z-score >-1.5, first-generation, male, URM, and international applicants scored lower, on average, than non-first-generation, female, and non-URM applicants. Additionally, Z-scores were correlated with undergraduate grade point average (uGPA). The correlation coefficient r of Z-scores with cumulative and core uGPA was 0.20 (p < .001) and 0.12 (p < .001), respectively, in all applicants. Hoping to select high-potential applicants without overemphasizing cognitive abilities, we expected CASPer Z-score to be independent from uGPA which is already weighted appropriately in our process. The nonrandom distribution of Z-scores systematically influenced early rejection and possibly biased later selection of applicants. Concerned that CASPer incorporation may have unintentionally narrowed access to DVM admissions for some applicant groups, and not seeing added value in a standardized test whose predictive validity remains understudied in veterinary medicine-a profession aiming to diversify its workforce-our admissions committee suspended CASPer as an admissions criterion until systematic, multi-source information becomes available within the profession.