Occupational segregation by gender in veterinary specialties: Who we are choosing, or who is choosing us

Money, Mentorship, and Misinformation: Barriers and Facilitators to Veterinarians' Pursuit of Postdoctoral Training in Laboratory Animal Medicine

Since 2015, it has become progressively more difficult for programs to recruit residents in laboratory animal medicine (LAM). Veterinarians are a necessary part of animal research, and having a shortage in veterinarians trained to work in this field has the potential to negatively impact research progress as well as animal welfare. With a goal to increase recruitment, we performed this study to better understand the barriers and facilitators that veterinarians experience when navigating the decision to pursue postdoctoral training in LAM. To do this, we recruited first-year LAM residents to participate in semistructured interviews, and performed thematic analysis on their responses. Key barriers included participants' awareness of perceived drawbacks of the field, inaccessibility of information about opportunities within the field, and misinformation about animal research both within the veterinary field and society at large. Key facilitators included participants' awareness of perceived benefits of the field, relationships with professionals involved in laboratory animal science, and formative predoctoral clinical experiences. Overall, we found evidence that information flow is particularly important in recruitment, suggesting that future recruitment strategies may want to target improved communication about LAM and animal research in general.

Evaluating gender discrepancies in the time to successful match into a small animal surgery residency program

OBJECTIVE

To determine any association between gender and likelihood of first attempt match and overall time to match into an American College of Veterinary Surgery (ACVS)-registered small animal surgical residency program (SASRP).

STUDY DESIGN

Online survey.

SAMPLE POPULATION

A total of 100 (77 female, 23 male) ACVS small animal surgery residents or diplomates participating in a SASRP during the past 5 years.

METHODS

An online survey was sent to eligible individuals. Respondents anonymously provided information related to demographics, postgraduate internships, and qualifications at the time of each surgical residency application. First attempt and overall match success were evaluated by gender through univariable analysis and then via a multivariable model.

RESULTS

Men were 2.89 times more likely to match directly into a SASRP following a rotating internship than women (p = .041), and women completed more total internships than men prior to successful match into a SASRP (p = .030); however, men were found to have more publications at the time of first residency application (p < .001) or successful match (p = .018). Multivariable analysis revealed no association between gender on overall match success or first attempt match rate when considering all other qualifications.

CONCLUSION

No evidence for gender bias was found during the Veterinary Internship and Residency Matching Program (VIRMP) SASRP applicant selection process; however, gender specific patterns in research qualifications were identified.

IMPACT

Gender-blinded assessment is not considered necessary for the VIRMP small animal surgical resident selection process. Efforts should be made to educate applicants about the impact of research on the residency selection process and encourage research engagement of female students and graduates.

Professional stereotypes among specialties and fields of work within the veterinary community

BACKGROUND

Medical specialties hold varying degrees of prestige, stemming from the existence of stereotypes among them. These have been shown to lead to prejudice against specific specialists, which not only influences career choices but also affects the perception of equality among specialties.

METHOD

The aim of the research was to determine the presence of stereotypes in the UK veterinary community. Using an online questionnaire, participants were asked to provide an adjective that best characterises 15 specialties, in addition to their perceptions on prestige and gender association. Word cloud analysis coupled with sentiment analysis in Python using the language processing software Natural Language Toolkit (NLTK) was used to assess sentiments with respect to the adjectives.

RESULTS

There were 665 questionnaire respondents, and there was evidence of their construction of specialty-specific stereotypes. Some specialties were perceived more negatively than others, including equine general practitioners, surgeons, pathologists, dermatologists and public health veterinarians/epidemiologists. Gender bias was identified within this study, most prominently within production animal and behavioural medicine veterinarians. The most prestigious specialties were neurology, surgery and cardiology.

CONCLUSION

Specialty-specific stereotypes exist within the veterinary community. Acknowledging their existence is a first step to recognising the influence they have on career choices.

Comparison of resident and intern salaries with the current living wage as a quantitative estimate of financial strain among postgraduate veterinary trainees

OBJECTIVE

To compare resident and intern salaries with current regional living wages as a quantitative estimate of financial strain.

SAMPLE

152 residency programs and 141 internship programs listed with the Veterinary Internship and Residency Matching Program for the 2021-2022 training year.

PROCEDURES

Data were collected for program annual salary and location. Regional living wage for each location was determined with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Living Wage Calculator, and annual salary was compared with living wage to estimate income surplus before and after taxes. Results for programs in academia and private practice were compared. Spearman correlation was used to determine whether program annual salary was significantly associated with regional living wage.

RESULTS

Mean ± SD income surplus before taxes was $7,786 ± 9,426 for clinical residency programs, $16,672 ± 5,105 for laboratory animal programs, and $5,829 ± 8,119 for internships. Academic residencies and internships offered salaries significantly lower than those offered in private practice, and income surpluses before and after taxes were significantly lower for academic programs than for private practice programs. There were weak and moderate, respectively, correlations between program annual salary and regional living wage for residency (r = 0.369) and internship (r = 0.570) programs.

CLINICAL RELEVANCE

Postgraduate training prolongs financial instability, and annual salaries generally do not meet the minimum income standard of a living wage. Financial stress has implications for mental health and diversity, and these findings invite deeper consideration of current remuneration practices for veterinary residents and interns.