Veterinary students as elite performers: preliminary insights

The KPMG 'Mega Study' (Brown JP, Silverman JD. The current and future market for veterinarians and veterinary medical services in the United States. J Am Vet Med Assoc 215:161-183, 1999) and other studies (Cron WL, Slocum JV, Goodnight DB, Volk JO. Impact of management practices and business behaviors on small animal veterinarians' incomes. J Am Vet Med Assoc 217:332-338, 1999; Lewis RE. Non-technical Competencies Underlying Career Success as a Veterinarian: A New Model for Selecting and Training Veterinary Students. Minneapolis: Personnel Decisions, 2002) concur that improvement in veterinary practitioner performance is necessary. Improvement in practitioners' non-technical competencies is considered most vital. Little research exists that identifies underlying psychological factors harbored by veterinary students that inhibit ability to achieve sustained maximum professional performance. Left unaddressed, these same characteristics may lead to coping behaviors that disrupt or, in the worst cases, lead to voluntary or involuntary termination of professional careers. Several performance-related characteristics and interpersonal dynamics are investigated in this study that provide preliminary evidence for the long-term shortcomings addressed in previous veterinary practice management literature. Pedagogical recommendations for addressing these student psychological characteristics are submitted for consideration.     

Global veterinary leadership.

The public needs no reminder that deadly infectious diseases such as FMD could emerge in any country at any moment, or that national food security could be compromised by Salmonella or Listeria infections. Protections against these risks include the knowledge that appropriate and equivalent veterinary education will enable detection and characterization of emerging disease agents, as well as an appropriate response, wherever they occur. Global veterinary leadership is needed to reduce the global threat of infectious diseases of major food animal and public health importance. We believe that the co-curriculum is an excellent way to prepare and train veterinarians and future leaders who understand and can deal with global issues. The key to the success of the program is the veterinarian's understanding that there is a cultural basis to the practice of veterinary medicine in any country. The result will be a cadre of veterinarians, faculty, and other professionals who are better able (language and culture) to understand the effects of change brought about by free trade and the importance of interdisciplinary and institutional relationships to deal effectively with national and regional issues of food safety and security. New global veterinary leadership programs will build on interests, experience, ideas, and ambitions. A college that wishes to take advantage of this diversity must offer opportunities that interest veterinarians throughout their careers and that preferably connect academic study with intensive experiential training in another country. At its best, the global veterinary leadership program would include a partnership between veterinarians and several international learning centers, a responsiveness to the identified international outreach needs of the profession, and attention to critical thinking and reflection. The global veterinary leadership program we have described is intended to be a set of ideas meant to promote collaboration, coalitions, and discussion among veterinarians and veterinary educators who may be intrigued by the concept. The impact of the program can be summarized as follows: Outreach Programs: The global veterinary leadership program will establish new partnerships between veterinarians and veterinary college faculty as they supervise the international internships and see a relationship between their goals and the value of food safety to this country. Strategic Opportunity: The program will build on the critical role that US veterinarians and veterinary colleges already play in strengthening the safety of free trade in this hemisphere. Diversity in an Age of Specialization: The program will combine a global orientation, language ability, and access to comprehensive, research- and economic-related work/study opportunities to expose veterinarians to the expanding world market for veterinary expertise. New Linkages Through Corporate Partners: Through the success and high visibility of current research and education programs, most veterinary colleges are well positioned to engage industry, government, and university leaders in ways to use the proposed program to increase the flow of new ideas and talent into the world food enterprise. International Funding: A new partnership among veterinarians, industry, government, and university leaders can coordinate strong multilateral requests for funding from national and international sources. An Interdisciplinary Strategy that Benefits Veterinary Medicine: The program will combine the diverse veterinary research and education system with our strong national and international network of collaborators to provide globally competent veterinarians who will be needed for the corporate and public opportunities of the future.     

Current and future trends in demographics of veterinary medicine in California

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the present and future supply of veterinarians in California, in light of changing trends in animal ownership. DESIGN: Database analysis. SAMPLE POPULATION: Human and animal populations, including populations of veterinarians, throughout the United States. PROCEDURES: Data on animal and human populations were compiled from a number of sources, including the US Census Bureau, American Veterinary Medical Association, State of California Department of Finance, and State of California Veterinary Medical Board. The distribution of veterinarians in California was contrasted with other health professionals in California and with that of veterinarians in other states. Recent changes in veterinary medical demographics in California were quantified and used to develop in-state projections about the supply of veterinarians for the next 20 years. RESULTS: Although California is the most populous of the 50 states, only 7 states had fewer veterinarians per capita. Furthermore, California ranked next to last among states in increase of number of veterinarians between 1990 and 1995. Los Angeles County had the smallest per-capita number of veterinarians among 9 populous California counties. During that period, California had a net gain of only 6 veterinarians who were exclusively or predominantly large-animal or mixed-animal practitioners. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE: If current trends continue, the per-capita number of veterinarians will continue to decrease in California. To maintain the current ratio of 17.8 veterinarians/100,000 people in California in the future, we estimate that an additional 50 veterinarians above the currently predicted increase will be required annually.     

Survey of veterinary extension in the United States

OBJECTIVE: To assess veterinary extension in the United States as perceived by veterinary extension personnel. DESIGN: Cross-sectional survey. SAMPLE POPULATION: Extension veterinarians in the United States. PROCEDURE: 2 surveys were designed and mailed to extension veterinarians listed by the USDA and the American Association of Extension Veterinarians. RESULTS: 34 states had > or = 1 extension veterinarian. The majority (> 60%) of extension veterinarians did not commit time to resident education and were not involved in research activities. Paradoxically, 23% of responding extension veterinarians did not report extension work. Programs for food animal producers, horse owners, and companion animal owners were provided by 100, 63, and 37% of states, respectively. Continuing education (CE) programs were provided for food animal veterinarians, equine veterinarians, and companion animal veterinarians by 96, 63, and 52% of states, respectively. Challenges facing veterinary extension included limited recognition of veterinary extension activities by universities, lack of university personnel to support CE programs, and decreased support for companion animal extension programs. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Extension veterinarians need to identify and clearly articulate the mission of veterinary extension, develop more collaborative programs across regions, and continue to serve as catalysts to bring diverse constituents together. Extension veterinarians must distinguish their mission not solely as information transfer, which can be accomplished in a variety of ways outside of extension, but as a coherent and consistent program of education and policy developed on a national level and distributed locally.     

Veterinarians and public practice at the Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine: building on a tradition of expertise and partnership

The Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine (VMRCVM), a regional veterinary college for Maryland and Virginia, has a long and unique tradition of encouraging careers in public and corporate veterinary medicine. The VMRCVM is home to the Center for Public and Corporate Veterinary Medicine (CPCVM), and each year approximately 10% of the veterinary students choose the public/corporate veterinary medicine track. The faculty of the CPCVM, and their many partners from the veterinary public practice community, teach in the veterinary curriculum and provide opportunities for students locally, nationally, and internationally during summers and the final clinical year. Graduates of the program work for government organizations, including the US Department of Agriculture, the Food and Drug Administration, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, as well as in research, in industry, and for non-governmental organizations. Recent activities include securing opportunities for students, providing career counseling for graduate veterinarians interested in making a career transition, delivering continuing education, and offering a preparatory course for veterinarians sitting the board examination for the American College of Veterinary Preventive Medicine. As the VMRCVM moves forward in recognition of the changing needs of the veterinary profession, it draws on its tradition of partnership and capitalizes on the excellence of its existing program. Future plans for the CPCVM include possible expansion in the fields of public health, public policy, international veterinary medicine, organizational leadership, and the One Health initiative. Quality assurance and evaluation of the program is ongoing, with recognition that novel evaluation approaches will be useful and informative.     

The economic margins of activities of a bovine practitioner on dairy farms

Because of lower margins and market liberalisation veterinarians and farmers are increasingly negotiating rates. Therefore, the margins of veterinarians are under pressure. In addition, the sales if drugs, performance of operations or giving of advice are more and more separated. These developments give veterinarians uncertainty about the profitability of their activities for dairy farmers. Not much is known about margins on veterinary activities on dairy farms. Moreover, it is interesting to see how much margins of the bovine practitioner differ between veterinary practises and dairy farms. In this study, invoices for bovine activities of 14 veterinary practises were combined with milk production registration data of the dairy farms of these practices. This way, the gross margin per bovine practitioner could be studied for the different veterinary practise. Moreover the relation between gross margin and specification of the veterinary practise could be studied. Finally, the gross margin per dairy farm and the factors that influenced this gross margin were studied. The most important result was the observation that the gross margin per bovine practitioner was dependent on the number of dairy farms per practitioner, the margin on drugs and the region of the veterinary practise. The size of the veterinary practise, the share of the dairy farming within the practise and the source of the gross margin (drugs, time or operations) did not influence the gross margin. Variables that explained the gross margin per dairy farm were, amongst others, the number of dairy cows, the milk production level of the farms and participation in PIR-DAP (a system to support the veterinarians herd health and management program). There is no relation of gross margin per dairy farm and the veterinary practise or region.     

Explanation and Elaboration Document for the STROBE‐Vet Statement: Strengthening the Reporting of Observational Studies in Epidemiology—Veterinary Extension

The STROBE (Strengthening the Reporting of Observational Studies in Epidemiology) statement was first published in 2007 and again in 2014. The purpose of the original STROBE was to provide guidance for authors, reviewers, and editors to improve the comprehensiveness of reporting; however, STROBE has a unique focus on observational studies. Although much of the guidance provided by the original STROBE document is directly applicable, it was deemed useful to map those statements to veterinary concepts, provide veterinary examples, and highlight unique aspects of reporting in veterinary observational studies. Here, we present the examples and explanations for the checklist items included in the STROBE‐Vet statement. Thus, this is a companion document to the STROBE‐Vet statement methods and process document (JVIM_14575 “Methods and Processes of Developing the Strengthening the Reporting of Observational Studies in Epidemiology—Veterinary (STROBE‐Vet) Statement” undergoing proofing), which describes the checklist and how it was developed.     

Response of a veterinary college to career development needs identified in the KPMG LLP study and the executive summary of the Brakke study: a combined MBA/DVM program, business certificate program, and curricular modifications

In the present market, veterinarians with a strong background in career development, practice management, and business skills have a clear advantage in achieving financial success. Although there is ample evidence that the scientific and clinical skills of veterinary college graduates are high, there are also data that suggest that additional capabilities in the business realm may promote greater economic success. As noted in the KPMG executive summary, the field of veterinary medicine must make changes in its "current business practices and attitudes" to be successful in the future. Furthermore, the KPMG study found that 36% of industry employers reported that some jobs within their companies had specific job requirements that were not met by a veterinarian with only a veterinary medical degree. The areas of additional training most often cited included business, administration, personnel management, sales and marketing, and financial skills. Yet, Lewis and Klausner found that veterinarians reported challenges in the business realm, such as "how business works and how business goals are translated into action. This challenge held true for veterinarians in industry, academia, government, and private practice." The present gender trends in the field of veterinary medicine provide additional impetus to make career development and business skills training more prevalent. Presently, women comprise >65% of the veterinary student population and approximately 45% of all practicing veterinarians. In some areas of practice, the rate is much higher. For example, in 2002, women comprised 48.2% of all small animal exclusive private practitioners. Unfortunately, the KPMG study found that female veterinarians in private practice report lower self-evaluation of business management and financial skills, compared with their male cohorts. Female veterinarians in nonprivate practice report lower self-evaluation in communication, personnel management, business management, and marketing skills than that reported by males. As a result of these pressing needs, CSU CVMBS has undertaken a major initiative to improve the veterinary practice management and business skills training of veterinary students by offering a variety of options to gain this knowledge: a combined MBA/DVM degree program, a Business Certificate Program for Health Professions, and core curriculum courses. In this way, students can select the amount of focus they want to place on career development and business skills as they earn their DVM degree, to best ensure that they become successful veterinarians.     

Promotion of Private Veterinary Practice in Ghana: Perceptions of Veterinarians and Veterinary Technicians

A study was designed to identify factors perceived by veterinarians and veterinary technicians as likely to promote private veterinary practice in Ghana. The participatory appraisal approach was used. The response rates were 88% (n = 90), 100% (n = 9) and 86% (n = 200) for government field veterinarians, private veterinarians and government veterinary technicians, respectively. Significant proportions of government field veterinarians (67%, n = 79), and veterinary technicians (64%, n = 167) were willing to go into private practice if the necessary push was given. Factors perceived as likely to motivate them to go into private practice included availability of capital to cover start-up costs; provision of a vehicle; prospect of higher income; availability of loans with low interest rates; availability of credit facilities from suppliers; stable macroeconomic environment with low interest and inflation rates; high pet, poultry and livestock populations at locations earmarked for private practice; leasing of vacant government premises for use as clinic and for accommodation; and enforcement of legislation on private practice, especially that against moonlighting by government veterinarians and technicians. These should be considered and used in the promotion of private veterinary practice in Ghana.     

The cooperative University of Iowa / Iowa State University MPH program

Public health is an important component of veterinary medicine. In the last 10 years, there has been growing recognition of the need to increase the number of veterinarians trained in public health. The Center for Food Security and Public Health (CFSPH) at Iowa State University (ISU), College of Veterinary Medicine, received a grant from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to support veterinarians working at CFSPH while pursuing the Master of Public Health degree. CFSPH and ISU administrators worked with the University of Iowa (UI) College of Public Health to establish three cooperative programs for veterinarians to earn the MPH degree. This article describes how these programs were developed and how they operate. (1) Between 2002 and 2005, CFSPH used funds provided by the CDC to support 15 veterinarians as they worked for CFSPH and toward the MPH degree. As the program grew, distance-education methods such as the Internet, Polycom videoconferencing, and the Iowa Communications Network (ICN) were incorporated. (2) A concurrent DVM/MPH degree is now offered; students can complete both degrees in four years. As of January 2008, three students have received their DVM and MPH degrees and 16 students are enrolled in the program. (3) In June 2007, the UI and ISU launched a distance MPH program for veterinarians working in private practice, industry, and government. Eight veterinarians are participating in the program, which includes two two-week, in-person summer sessions, with the remainder of the coursework taken at a distance via the Internet.     

Failure to acknowledge high suicide risk among veterinarians

A high suicide risk has been reported among veterinarians in comparison to the general population. Postulated causes have included depression, substance abuse, work-related stress, reluctance to admit psychiatric problems, and access to lethal drugs and/or familiarity with euthanasia. Members of the Student Chapter of the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA), all veterinarians licensed in Alabama, and all US veterinary-association executive directors were surveyed regarding their attitudes concerning mental health issues, including veterinarian suicide. Only 10% of veterinary student respondents (N=58) believed that suicide risk is higher among veterinarians than in the general population. Of the 22 state associations' executive directors who participated in the survey, 37% believed that suicide is a significant concern for veterinarians and only 44% indicated that a veterinary wellness program was available in their respective states. Of the 1,455 licensed veterinarians in Alabama, 701 responded to the survey; 11% of respondents believed that suicide among veterinarians was a problem. In addition, 66% of respondents indicated that they had been "clinically depressed," but 32% of those with depression had not sought treatment. More females (27%) than males (20%) admitted that they had "seriously considered suicide" (p<.01). Female veterinarians were more likely than male veterinarians (15% versus 7%) to indicate that they were "not sure they'd made the right career choice" (p<.001), and 4% of all respondents indicated "definitely not being happy with their career." It is of concern that veterinarians not only have a higher risk of suicide but that they also have fewer support structures. The wide discrepancies between the published risk of suicide for veterinarians and their own views of their risk suggests an inadequate awareness of their own mental health vulnerability which could put them at higher risk.     

Number and distribution of Australian veterinarians in 1981, 1991 and 2001

OBJECTIVE: To analyse the number and distribution of the Australian veterinary work-force, and to assess changes in it that have occurred since 1981. PROCEDURE: The postcode and gender of each veterinarian who was registered, resident and apparently working in each state and territory in 1981, 1991 and 2001 was obtained from veterinary board lists, entered on an Excel data base, and analysed using the statistical program SAS System 7 for Windows 95. The Official Australian Postcode Map was used to determine the location of postcode areas, and publications of the Australian Bureau of Statistics provided data on human populations. RESULTS: At the end of June 2001, 6358 veterinarians were registered, resident and apparently working in a state or territory of Australia. This was 100% higher than in 1981. Over the intervening 20 years, the number had increased by 3181, 2001 of whom were female. Between 1981 and 1991 the increase in major cities was 898 and in rural areas 682, of whom 357 were male. Between 1991 and 2001 the increase in cities was 1139 and rural areas 462, of whom only 98 were male. The density of veterinarians in Australia - 330/million people - is higher than in the UK (213/million), USA (218/million) and Canada (250/million). CONCLUSIONS: The relative number of veterinarians in Australia is now higher than in the UK, USA and Canada, and is likely to continue to increase. There is evidence of maldistribution, with many rural practices facing shortages of veterinarians with the experience and inclination to maintain veterinary services over the longer term, and some cities likely to become overcrowded with veterinarians.     

Skills,knowledge, aptitudes,and interests for veterinary practice management: fitting personal characteristics to situational demands

Recent studies of veterinary practices and services have suggested that more attention must be focused on business practices and on the skills, knowledge, and abilities (SKAs) of veterinarians related to veterinary practice management (VPM). Responses to these concerns have been directed at the selection and education of veterinarians in veterinary school. While this position is supported in the present article, it is argued that the values and interests of persons who are likely to enter the field, as well as the nature of the experiences encountered across the career of veterinarians, will moderate the potential effectiveness of veterinary school practices and experiences regarding SKAs in VPM. The paper explores some potential implications of these moderators on the effectiveness of selection and education for increasing SKAs in VPM.     

Perceptions of clients and veterinarians on what attributes constitute 'a good vet'

The perceptions of veterinarians and small animal (SA) clients on what attributes constitute 'a good veterinarian' were examined by a questionnaire survey. The respondents were asked to record how important they considered 20 attributes for a veterinary surgeon to have on a five-point scale from 'not at all important' to 'very important'. In addition, they were asked to list which attributes they considered to be the three most important attributes in a veterinary surgeon; finally, they were asked whether there were any additional attributes that they considered to be highly desirable in a veterinary surgeon. In total, 407 SA clients, 243 SA veterinarians and 61 non-SA veterinarians completed the questionnaire. There were significant differences in the proportion of clients who considered an attribute to be 'very important' compared with SA veterinarians for 12 of the 20 attributes (P<0.005). A larger proportion of clients considered 'confidence', 'knowledge about veterinary medicine and surgery', 'cleanliness', 'good at explaining technical terms', 'patience', 'clear about cost of treatment', 'ability to work in a team', 'honesty', 'politeness', 'decisiveness', 'good with animals' and 'good practical skills' to be 'very important' attributes than the SA veterinarians; a larger proportion of SA veterinarians considered 'good communication skills' to be a 'very important' attribute than the clients.     

Development and validation of a competency framework for veterinarians

Changing demands from society and the veterinary profession call for veterinary medical curricula that can deliver veterinarians who are able to integrate specific and generic competencies in their professional practice. This requires educational innovation directed by an integrative veterinary competency framework to guide curriculum development. Given the paucity of relevant information from the veterinary literature, a qualitative multi-method study was conducted to develop and validate such a framework. A competency framework was developed based on the analysis of focus group interviews with 54 recently graduated veterinarians and clients and subsequently validated in a Delphi procedure with a panel of 29 experts, representing the full range and diversity of the veterinary profession. The study resulted in an integrated competency framework for veterinary professionals, which consists of 16 competencies organized in seven domains: veterinary expertise, communication, collaboration, entrepreneurship, health and welfare, scholarship, and personal development. Training veterinarians who are able to use and integrate the seven domains in their professional practice is an important challenge for today's veterinary medical schools. The Veterinary Professional (VetPro) framework provides a sound empirical basis for the ongoing debate about the direction of veterinary education and curriculum development.     

The veterinary technician's role in laser surgery.

The use of surgical lasers in veterinary practice has grown significantly since 1996. Many veterinarians have studied and implemented the basic physics and tissue didactics required to successfully incorporate a surgical laser program into their practice. The support role of the veterinary technician is crucial to ensuring an efficient, safe, and successful outcome of any surgical laser procedure. The technician's role may include practice management duties, client communication, and laser safety officer duties. Although there are a variety of lasers, the most common types used in veterinary practice are carbon dioxide (CO2) and diode. This article presents an overview of the veterinary technician's role as a key support person in ensuring a safe and positive outcome in the implementation of CO2 and diode lasers in a veterinary practice.     

Perceptions of veterinarians regarding privatization of veterinary services delivery in Ghana and Jamaica

There are on-going reforms in the delivery of veterinary services in many developing countries, with privatization of certain veterinary activities as one of the approaches. In Jamaica, with the support of veterinarians, clinical aspects of veterinary services were privatized in 1992. In contrast, Ghanaian veterinarians are generally wary of the government's on-going privatization process. The objective of this study was to find out if perceptions of the veterinarians from these two countries on certain issues of privatization were sufficiently different to explain the willingness or reluctance to go into private practice.

The response proportions for predominantly self-administered questionnaires were 83% (121/145) and 92% (35/38) for Ghana and Jamaica, respectively. There was a very good (92%) agreement in the perceptions of veterinarians in Ghana and Jamaica on a battery of 24 responses pertaining to privatization of veterinary services. Generally, the perceptions of the veterinarians in Ghana and Jamaica were similar even though the predominant delivery systems for animal health services were different. Therefore, reasons other than those examined in this study may explain the differences in willingness to go into private practice. The need to account for these other reasons is discussed.     

Linking veterinary and human public-health education: collaborations at the University Of Tennessee

The increasing demand for veterinarians in public health has created an environment for innovative educational approaches, providing opportunities for veterinary students to gain additional education in public health. At the University of Tennessee, this environment has enabled a collaboration between the College of Veterinary Medicine and the College of Education, Health, and Human Sciences to establish a veterinary concentration in an existing Master of Public Health degree program. The veterinary public-health concentration was approved in 2004. In addition, other courses and initiatives have been developed at the College of Veterinary Medicine, creating stronger collaborations with academic units and public-health professionals.     

Explanation and Elaboration Document for the STROBE‐Vet Statement: Strengthening the Reporting of Observational Studies in Epidemiology – Veterinary Extension

The STROBE (Strengthening the Reporting of Observational Studies in Epidemiology) statement was first published in 2007 and again in 2014. The purpose of the original STROBE was to provide guidance for authors, reviewers and editors to improve the comprehensiveness of reporting; however, STROBE has a unique focus on observational studies. Although much of the guidance provided by the original STROBE document is directly applicable, it was deemed useful to map those statements to veterinary concepts, provide veterinary examples and highlight unique aspects of reporting in veterinary observational studies. Here, we present the examples and explanations for the checklist items included in the STROBE‐Vet Statement. Thus, this is a companion document to the STROBE‐Vet Statement Methods and process document, which describes the checklist and how it was developed.