Journal of veterinary medical education最新文献

Dental issues are extremely common in dogs and cats, underscoring the importance of veterinary professionals' knowledge in dentistry. Nevertheless, dental problems are currently often underdiagnosed and, consequently, undertreated. This study investigated the attitudes, experiences, and self-confidence of veterinary (V) and veterinary nursing (VN) students in their final 2 years of study in small animal dentistry. An online questionnaire was distributed, and responses were received from 61% of V students (n = 94) and 41% of VN students (n = 72). The majority of both V students (61%) and VN students (69%) expressed a desire for more education in small animal dentistry. Furthermore, a minority of V students (20%) and VN students (22%) felt adequately prepared for their first day in practice after graduation. Less than half of the students (V 44% and VN 38%) had participated in a practical dental procedure outside training sessions. Self-confidence in small animal dentistry procedures was rated on a 0-10 scale. V students exhibited the highest confidence in teeth polishing (6.1) and removing tartar with ultrasonic scalers (6.0), while VN students were most confident in recognizing common oral/dental problems (6.0) and discussing dental issues with pet owners (5.3). Extra practical training significantly increased confidence in several dental procedures (p < .005). Despite positive attitudes, a notable proportion of V and VN students feel unprepared for their first day in practice, potentially stemming from insufficient training. Addressing these gaps through clear guidelines for Day One Competence and enhanced practical training is crucial, ultimately benefiting the well-being of small animals.

Veterinary education plays a crucial role in equipping veterinarians with the necessary skills and knowledge to navigate the challenges they will face in their professional careers. As part of enhancing the veterinary students' training in clinical reasoning, an online electronic veterinary clinic was introduced to a group of students during their final semester. This platform, called Veterinary eClinic, provides access to digital, real-life clinical cases, allowing students to apply their knowledge and develop critical thinking skills in a practical context. In this research project, the veterinary students were asked to assess how confident they felt in different clinical tasks related to a clinical investigation before and after using Veterinary eClinic. An exploratory sequential mixed-methods design was used when collecting data. The students answered pre- and post-use questionnaires, and semi-structured interviews were conducted to elaborate on the quantitative results. Our results showed that the students were significantly more confident in making a problem list (p = .005), completing diagnostic tests (p = .022), making a diagnosis (p = .041), and performing assessments of animal welfare in the clinic (p = .002) after solving different clinical cases in Veterinary eClinic. As much as 97% of the respondents reported that Veterinary eClinic was a valuable learning resource in veterinary education, to a fairly large or very large extent. Our findings suggest that the use of a case-based e-learning tool might contribute to increased self-confidence in clinical reasoning skills.

Veterinary medical students experiencing curricular challenges naturally look to their institution for resources to facilitate improvement in academic productivity. Academic remediation programs tend to be institution-specific, and their impact on student success is uncommonly interrogated using rigorous objective assessment. This study investigated the deployment of an Academic Development Program (ADP) in the second semester of the Doctor of Veterinary Medicine program. The research focused on the impact of the ADP on student attrition, mean semester course grade improvements, and performance on the Veterinary Educational Assessment (VEA) examination. Performance metrics were compared between the ADP group and a control group (CG) of students from one semester ahead who were determined to be demographically equivalent and in the same class (bottom) quartile as the ADP group but did not have any structured academic remediation. The findings indicate that students participating in the ADP had less attrition and gradual increases in end-of-semester grades, such that by the beginning of their fifth semester, ADP students' grades were indistinguishable from upper quartiles in their class. This trend was not observed in the CG class with significant differences still present between the lower quartiles (i.e., CG) grades and the remainder of the class (p = .0046). ADP enrollment had a positive effect on VEA scores with mean scale score increased by 4.83 points (p = .017). This study provided the framework for a successful institutional academic remediation program that could be modeled at other institutions striving to bolster student support services.

Patient safety culture (PSC) is a multi-dimensional construct that reflects the way health care organizations promote safe patient care. Veterinary students are explicitly and implicitly indoctrinated into organizational cultures and will carry these attitudes and behaviors into their future work. In this study, we evaluated the psychometric properties of a PSC survey among veterinary students in the United States and investigated their attitudes toward PSC. Exploratory factor analysis identified factors that explained portions of the variance in responses. Importantly, the measures derived from those factors predicted the likelihood of a student mentioning a negative experience/opinion regarding error reporting. Most students reported receiving explicit training in communication, but coursework in other areas, such as human factors and safety culture, was uncommon. Veterinary students generally reported high levels of agreement with the tenets of patient safety science, though some items demonstrated wide variation in responses, underscoring the need for more uniform incorporation of education in veterinary PSC.

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.