Veterinary students’ attitudes toward anesthesiology as a specialty

Objective

To identify the perceptions of veterinary students interested in specialization regarding veterinary anesthesiology.

Study design

Cross-sectional, multi-institutional, voluntary, anonymous, nonrandomized survey.

Population

Veterinary students (303 of 557 total respondents) from 10 veterinary schools.

Methods

Quantitative data were obtained via 5-point Likert scale questions about anesthesia-related topics. Open-ended questions were used to obtain qualitative data. A multivariate logistic regression model assessed the likelihood of choosing a career as an anesthesiologist. Spearman’s rank correlation coefficient was used to assess the relationship between ‘anesthesia is interesting’ and other variables.

Results

Of the respondents, 14 (6%) indicated veterinary anesthesia as their chosen specialty. There was a significant positive relationship between ‘anesthesia is interesting’ and the following variables: age, enjoyment in anesthesia class, belief in the importance of anesthesia for their career, belief in the importance of analgesia for their career, belief that anesthesia and analgesia have a large impact on patient care, interest in pharmacology, interest in physiology, interest in learning technical skills, belief that anesthesiologists are respected by their colleagues and belief that anesthesiologists are an important part of the health care team. More weeks on the anesthesia clinical rotation was positively and significantly associated with increased rotation enjoyment. Enjoyment in the anesthesia class [p = 0.001, Exp(β) = 2.1, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.3–3.4] and belief that anesthesia is interesting [p = 0.013, Exp(β) = 2.6, 95% CI: 1.2–5.4] were predictors that respondents would be more likely to consider a career as a veterinary anesthesiologist.

Conclusions

Those veterinary students with an interest in pharmacology and who enjoyed their anesthesia course were more likely to consider a career as a veterinary anesthesiologist. If students indicated no interest in specializing in veterinary anesthesia, they appreciated the value the specialty brings to animal care and believed that veterinary anesthesiologists are respected by their peers.