Health examinations and clinical diagnostic procedures of ratites.

It is important to remember when performing health examinations and clinical diagnostic procedures on ratites that all protocols mentioned in this article should be followed; this includes reviewing history, environmental evaluation, proper handling, complete hands-on physical examination, diagnostic testing, and postmortem examination. The individual ratite examination is becoming rare, but veterinarians and producers must remember that individual birds make up the flock. Flock health is maintained by diagnosing disease and health problems early in the most susceptible animals. The most successful producers will use veterinarians as a major element to their management program to raise the most desirable birds for the future of the industry.     

Medical examination of horses at auction sales.

The role of the veterinarian at auction sales begins long before the consignment is assembled. A number of veterinarians are called upon by sales companies to evaluate the candidates before acceptance into the consignment. At sales time, the number of veterinarians involved grows to large numbers as the prospective buyers employ them to evaluate the animals to suit their individual needs. Professional ethics must be considered at all times when evaluating animals before auction. The findings must be kept confidential. The consignor allows veterinarians to examine his or her animals with the understanding that the opinions are kept in confidence with the individual employing the veterinarian. Frequently, more than one buyer will request radiographs of an animal that the veterinarian has previously examined for another buyer. This is best resolved by sharing the fee and the information found in the examination. Unfortunately, it is impossible to prevent a client from revealing information to another buyer, and the consignor often blames the veterinarian for disclosing findings. It is obvious that the veterinarian's' ethics are on trial at auction sales, and a veterinarian must guard his or her confidential opinion at all times.     

A three year herd health and management program on thirty Dutch dairy farms. IV. Special aspects

The ultimate objective of a herd health and management program must be optimal farm net profit. Maximal profit can be expected by carrying out a program based on a whole farm approach. A simple and well-ordered registration system is one of the most important aspects for the success of a program. Experiences with the different registration systems of the program are discussed. In the future it is desirable to process the registered data by computer. The farmer should know the possibilities of the program in advance and must be motivated to carry out advice. When giving advice veterinarians have to take into account the specific circumstances on each farm and the objectives of the farmer. The veterinarian also has to be well-informed about the factors which influence the farm net profit and to this end cooperation with other experts is necessary. In this trial close cooperation between the veterinarian and agricultural adviser were seen as a very positive feature of the program. The program must be carried out at regular times in a fixed sequence, which covers complete herd health and farm management. The frequency of farm visits depends on the problems, farm size and the season. On average one visit per month will be sufficient for farms up to 100 dairy cows. Cooperation between farmer and veterinarian is one of the essential aspects. Frequent evaluation is very stimulating. The benefits of a herd health and management program were found to be substantial in this trial. Therefore the costs of the program can be considered by the farmer to be a sound investment.     

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.     

Look before you leap.

Learning to critically evaluate therapeutic claims is vital to the success of the practicing veterinarian and the veterinary profession as a whole. Until such time as good scientific data in support of therapies are obtained, veterinarians should be careful in their advocacy and employment of new and unproved practices. They should also be aware of the many reasons why therapeutic "success" may be the result of a variety of factors unrelated to the treatment modality itself. Only by relying on rigorous standards of evidence can equine veterinarians prevent a return to the sincere but misguided ways of yesteryear.     

Evaluation of urine marking by cats as a model for understanding veterinary diagnostic and treatment approaches and client attitudes

OBJECTIVE: To obtain information regarding diagnostic and treatment approaches of veterinarians and attitudes and beliefs of clients about a common clinical problem, urine marking in cats. DESIGN: Cohort study. STUDY POPULATION: 70 veterinarians providing care for urine-marking cats and 500 owners of urine-marking cats. PROCEDURE: Veterinarians were interviewed via telephone regarding criteria for diagnosis of urine marking and recommended treatments. Cat owners who responded to recruitment efforts for a clinical trial for urine-marking cats were interviewed via telephone regarding whether and from what sources they sought help to resolve the marking problem. RESULTS: Almost a third of veterinarians did not seem to correctly distinguish between urine marking (spraying) and inappropriate urination. Those that did make this diagnostic distinction reported recommending environmental management and prescribing medication significantly more often that those that did not make this distinction. Seventy-four percent of cat owners sought help from their veterinarians for urine marking; other common sources of information were the Internet and friends. Among those who did not consult a veterinarian, the most frequently cited reason was that they did not think their veterinarian could help. Among cat owners who consulted their veterinarians, 8% reported receiving advice on environmental hygiene and 4% on environmental management (limiting intercat interactions), although veterinarians who correctly diagnosed urine marking reported giving such advice 100 and 83% of the time, respectively. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Results may serve as a model for obtaining information critical to developing veterinary continuing education and public outreach programs for animal owners for various diseases.     

Difficult interactions with veterinary clients: working in the challenge zone.

As veterinarians, effective interactions with clients and coworkers are fundamental to our professional satisfaction and success. This article first reviews the basis of a difficult interaction and provides specific communication skills to help the veterinarian more successfully manage situations that he or she may find difficult. Then, the authors offer exercises to assist veterinarians in practicing these skills. The information in this article relies closely on the work provided through the Bayer Animal Health Communications Project.     

Ectoparasite control in small ruminants.

Ectoparasites are a common problem in small ruminants of North America. Management of ectoparasites in small ruminants can be challenging for producers and veterinarians. It is important for the veterinarian to make an accurate diagnosis of the type of ectoparasite that is infesting the animal, then to develop a plan that most effectively and economically controls the ectoparasite. Effective and economic control of an ectoparasite infestation begins with an understanding of the ectoparasite's life cycle and how that life cycle affects the animal. It should be noted that climate and geographical area can affect the life cycle of specific ectoparasites, so it is important for veterinarians to educate themselves about their specific environment. Once the life cycle has been addressed, then the veterinarian should decide which intervention will provide the best control. Intervention possibilities may range from insecticides to environmental management or a combination of several methods. The veterinarian should provide the producer with realistic goals that define specific limitations of ectoparasite control.     

Opinions and practices of veterinarians and dairy farmers towards herd health management in the UK

The objective was to compare farm veterinary surgeons' and dairy farmers' opinions on herd health plans and herd health and production management with the aim of discovering and better understanding the differences. Two comparable questionnaires, one for farm veterinarians and one for dairy farmers, were distributed throughout the UK. While listing the 'major roles' of the veterinarian on the farm, veterinarians considered 'optimising milk production', 'decreasing overall cost' and 'being an independent adviser' as important roles, but these were not seem to be perceived as such by the farmers. In addition, when presenting themselves to clients, veterinarians seemed to favour the 'friend of the farmer' approach; a much smaller proportion of farmers seemed to prefer this approach. The majority of farm respondents (98 of 121; 81 per cent) valued the discussions with their veterinarian, and it was apparent from the relatively small proportion of veterinarians instigating a discussion on farm (33 of 125; 26 per cent) that there is the opportunity for a more proactive approach from veterinarians. The study underlines that 'demonstrating cost-effectiveness' is still a main concern for veterinarians and farmers and identifies areas that can be improved by more training and effective communication.     

Obesity in the dog

Canine obesity is a common condition in veterinary practice, and has been associated with a number of serious medical conditions likely to reduce the length and quality of a pet's life. Therefore, it represents an important condition for the veterinarian to manage. This paper reports a study conducted by veterinarians in practice using controlled calorie reduction for the management of overweight dogs. In the study weight losses of 14 per cent were achieved over a 12 week period. Details of this study are discussed.     

Perspectives of veterinary science--from the viewpoint of consumer health protection

Concerning the causal chain "healthy animal--healthy food--healthy man" there's no doubt that mainly veterinarians are responsible for a safe preharvest area. In the food processing sector, of which economical importance is increasing in inverse proportion to agricultural activity of developed nations, the veterinarians must win through against many other professions. In this competition the specific veterinarian competence to prevent or to control microbiological, parasitological and some chemical hazards should be used. Therefore scientific work in veterinary public health has to concentrate on risk management. Additionally to developing methods for rapid and/or discriminative determination of causative agents the implementation of integrated quality assurance systems is needed in future according to the spirit of "intelligent" food hygiene.     

Common procedures in reptiles and amphibians.

Reptiles and amphibians continue to be popular as pets in the United States and throughout the world. It therefore behooves veterinarians interested in caring for these exotic species to continually gather knowledge concerning both their proper husbandry and the conditions that require medical and/or surgical intervention.This article covers husbandry, physical examination, and clinical and diagnostic techniques in an effort to present guidelines for the evaluation of the reptile or amphibian patient. Gathering clinical data will aid veterinarians in arriving at the proper diagnosis,increasing the chances of success with treatment protocols, and educating the clients in proper nutrition and husbandry for their pets.     

Establishing treatment protocols for clinical mastitis.

Each farm has a unique mix of mastitis pathogens and management procedures that have evolved over time. The herd veterinarian should work with the manager/owner to systematically develop treatment protocols that meet the needs and management of the farm. To establish a mastitis treatment protocol, it is necessary to develop a system to routinely identify clinical mastitis cases, develop a herd-specific severity level assessment system, manage the clinical mastitis cases based on severity level and culture result (when available), avoid antibiotic residues, and monitor the success of the system and alter the protocol as necessary.     

Consortia and centers of excellence: issues and answers

As the demand for food-supply veterinarians changes, while the level of expertise necessary in this field markedly increases, there is a need to examine alternative modalities for delivering food-supply veterinary education. It seems clear that not all veterinary schools in the United States can sustain optimally sized facilities for the broad-based training in all species of food animals that the current and future food-supply veterinarian needs. An alternative model is for select schools to establish consortial centers of excellence in specific food-animal species, to which students from other schools can go for optimum final-year education. This alternative mode of food supply-veterinary medical education is discussed here.     

Factors affecting Canadian veterinarians' use of analgesics when dehorning beef and dairy calves

Data collected through a national, randomized mail survey (response rate 50%) were used to identify reasons why veterinarians were likely (i) to use analgesic drugs when dehorning calves, and (ii) to perceive dehorning without analgesia as very painful. Logistic regression analysis indicated that veterinarians were more likely to be analgesic users the more they perceived that dehorning without analgesia was painful (OR = 1.7, P < 0.001). Other positive influences were if the veterinarian worked in British Columbia or Alberta (OR = 5.9, P = 0.005), and if they were primarily in dairy practice (OR = 3.7, P = 0.012) rather than beef practice. This effect of dairy practice was negated if the veterinarian also perceived that owners were unwilling to pay for analgesia (interaction term: OR = 0.25, P = 0.038). Veterinarians were also less likely to perceive dehorning without analgesia as very painful if they perceived that owners were unwilling to pay (OR = 0.58, P = 0.029). However, this effect on pain perception was offset by concern for personal safety (OR = 2.7, P = 0.015). The results are consistent with the relatively high level of outreach about animal welfare among farmers and veterinarians in the western provinces. The results confirm that many veterinarians' approach to pain management for dehorning is influenced considerably by concern about cost. However, pain management for dehorning is not expensive and there is unequivocal evidence that dehorning calves without pain management causes significant distress. Continuing education of veterinarians should help to increase analgesic usage.     

Use of antimicrobials in wound management.

Antimicrobial medication should be considered an adjunct to the general care of wounds rather than a substitute for lavage, drainage, or other physical care intended to promote healing. Judicious use is based on results of diagnostic procedures and the professional judgment of the attending veterinarian.Organisms that contaminate or infect wounds of horses are similar to those that can affect human patients, such that personal hygiene and protection are important when caring for these equine patients, because attendants can easily be exposed to them. Although those organisms are considered to be ubiquitous, the inoculum that may be present on or in an infected wound may be substantially greater than that encountered during other daily activities of the veterinarian. Proper disposal of the bandage materials and personal protective clothing is important.Bacterial resistance is one of many "survival tactics" of bacteria and has been an important clinical consideration for physicians and veterinarians since antimicrobial drugs were discovered. Controversies and insufficient understanding of bacterial resistance abound, however. The entirety of the subject is beyond the scope of this article, but it is important to the veterinary profession and for the formulation of wound management in horses. We and our animal patients live in a world populated by microbial organisms of various types. Resistance among bacteria is likely to continue to be a clinical consideration in the future as it has been during the past 60 to 70 years. As veterinarians, we must recognize the zoonotic nature of resistance and implement biosecurity procedures to protect ourselves, other people in contact with those pathogens, and our patients. We must also recognize the merits of judicious targeted use of antimicrobial drugs and apply appropriate principles during the course of professional care for the well-being of our animal patients.     

Oral anatomy of the dog and cat in veterinary dentistry practice.

The study of anatomy is important to accomplish any kind of surgical and medical procedure and to understand the physiology and diseases of animals. It is no different in veterinary dentistry. The study of oral anatomy helps the veterinarian to accomplish any kind of surgical procedure more quickly and with less damage to tissues, especially in cases of major oral surgery. In fact, under-standing the anatomy is easier when this knowledge is acquired directly, with surgical application. This article describes the essentials of the oral anatomy of the dog and cat, correlating this knowledge with the dental procedures to be used by veterinarians as a guide.     

Preparing students for careers in food-supply veterinary medicine: a review of educational programs in the United States

The real and/or perceived shortage of veterinarians serving food-supply veterinary medicine has been a topic of considerable discussion for decades. Regardless of this debate, there are issues still facing colleges of veterinary medicine (CVMs) about the best process of educating future food-supply veterinarians. Over the past several years, there have been increasing concerns by some that the needs of food-supply veterinary medicine have not adequately been met through veterinary educational institutions. The food-supply veterinary medical curriculum offered by individual CVMs varies depending on individual curricular design, available resident animal population, available food-animal caseload, faculty, and individual teaching efforts of faculty. All of the institutional members of the Association of American Veterinary Medical Colleges (AAVMC) were requested to share their Food Animal Veterinary Career Incentives Programs. The AAVMC asked all member institutions what incentives they used to attract and educate students interested in, or possibly considering, a career in food-supply veterinary medicine (FSVM). The problem arises as to how we continue to educate veterinary students with ever shrinking budgets and how to recruit and retain faculty with expertise to address the needs of society. Several CVMs use innovative training initiatives to help build successful FSVM programs. This article focuses on dairy, beef, and swine food-animal education and does not characterize colleges' educational efforts in poultry and aquaculture. This review highlights the individual strategies used by the CVMs in the United States.     

From veterinarian to quality control manager. What is going to change in the Netherlands for the practicing large animal veterinarian under influence of the White Paper about food safety?

The work of farm animal practitioners will change in the coming years as a result of the White Paper on food safety. Both government and the Royal Veterinary Association of the Netherlands are working on an accreditation system for veterinarians. The veterinary practitioner is a link in the chain to achieve safe products. Where in the past emphasis was on the individual animal, it will now be on the herd or flock. The veterinarian will officially determine the health status of the farm, which in turn will play a role in the inspection procedures at the slaughterhouse. This form of farm management will become compulsory for all stockholders within the framework of the Veterinary Network for Supervision. In turn, these developments will affect the veterinary medicine curriculum. New subjects such as quality management will become increasingly important.     

Report of the American Animal Hospital Association (AAHA) Canine Vaccine Task Force: executive summary and 2003 canine vaccine guidelines and recommendations

The AAHA has undertaken the development of this document in an effort to inform veterinary practitioners, clarify misunderstandings held by veterinarians, and encourage practitioners to recognize that immunization of patients is a medical procedure. As such, it is bound by the same tenets that govern the recommendation of other medical procedures-principally, that it be tailored to the needs of the individual patient. Many diseases we immunize against are ubiquitous. Many are serious and some even life threatening. Some are of limited demographic concern given the exposure risk for each patient. These factors have all been considered in developing the AAHA Canine Vaccination Guidelines. In the end, each veterinarian must do what he or she determines to be in the best interest of the patient. Vaccination of individual animals produces not only individual immunity but also population or herd immunity. Since we have no readily available and reliable way to determine if each patient has developed an adequate immune response, we encourage the practice philosophy of vaccinating more patients while vaccinating each patient no more than needed.