Survey of the UK veterinary profession 2: sources of information used by veterinarians

Students Satisfaction with the Use of PlayDoh® as a Tool to Actively Learn 3D Veterinary Anatomy More Accurately

Understanding veterinary anatomy is an essential skill for the study of veterinary medicine as well as for diagnostic imaging and therapy. Dissection facilities are increasingly limited in some schools and its alternatives have often focussed on using two-dimensional images. However, the study of veterinary anatomy is mainly concerned with identifying structures and spatial relationships between them within a 3D space, and the use of 2D teaching approaches does not provide accurate information. We tested whether PlayDoh® student-built models could be an inexpensive potential tool beneficial to veterinary students learning anatomy in three distinct scenarios: (1) during a lecture, introducing a new concept; (2) during a flipped classroom approach where a video-podcast lecture was to be watched by the students prior to the lecture and (3) as a revision session where students brought their own questions and created, under supervision, their own models to respond to them. PlayDoh® sessions benefitted 172 first-year Veterinary Medicine and Animal Science students. The most accurate visualisation of anatomical structures in 3D was the principal benefit mentioned by the learners (35%). In addition, the learners noted that the technique would help with 'retention' (18%). According to the students' preferences, it was possible to create four groups: A, B, C and D. Group A encompassed the methodologies most liked by students and consisted of lectures, dissection and demonstrations. Group B included demonstrations and 3D modelling using PlayDoh®. Group C consisted of 3D modelling using PlayDoh®, books and online and, finally, group D included the methodologies least preferred by students, i.e. online and PBL. Our findings suggest that using 3D PlayDoh® modelling has potential as a method to enhance the learning of veterinary anatomy and may be most valuable to those students learning more complex subject areas that require a 3D teaching approach in practice.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s40670-023-01892-y.

Evaluation of sources cited by an exotic animal formulary for supporting drug dosages and reference intervals in mammals

OBJECTIVES

Formularies are intended to simplify clinical decision-making by collecting evidence-based information on drugs and their dosages. This study assessed the characteristics of sources used to support drug dosages and reference intervals for mammals in a specific exotic animal formulary, and how the sources had changed over five editions.

METHODS

Each reference supporting drug dosages and reference intervals in the sections for ferrets, rabbits, rodents, hedgehogs and miniature pigs in all five editions of the formulary was evaluated and classified by two independent investigators in terms of the type of source cited. Univariable and multi-variable logistic regression models were built to evaluate changes between editions and sections.

RESULTS

In total, 1338 references supporting drug dosages and 180 references supporting reference intervals were included from all editions of the formulary. Primary sources were cited by 525 (39.2%) and 39 (21.7%) of the drug and reference interval references, respectively. For drug dosages, the current edition of the formulary (2018) cited a higher proportion of primary rather than secondary sources compared with the first edition (odds ratios 3.4, 95% confidence interval 2.1 to 5.6), while for reference intervals there were no significant changes between editions. In the current edition of the formulary, the 168 secondary sources cited for drug dosages included 78 (46.4%) textbooks, 63 (37.5%) reviews, 14 (8.3%) personal communications and 7 (4.2%) other formularies.

CLINICAL SIGNIFICANCE

A large proportion of references supporting drug dosages and reference intervals in the evaluated sections cited secondary sources. Although modest improvements have been observed over time, practitioners should be aware that the evidence supporting several drugs and dosages was limited, and assess the information within the formulary critically.

Most veterinarians treating exotic animals use formularies to select drug dosages without consistently checking their sources

OBJECTIVE

To assess what information sources veterinarians use to select drug dosages for treating exotic animals and how they implement this information.

SAMPLE

936 veterinarians from Europe, Asia, Australia, Africa, and the Americas.

PROCEDURES

An anonymous, online survey was used to collect data on information sources used for dosage decisions by veterinarians treating exotic species. Logistic regression models were built to identify associations between individual characteristics and primary outcomes.

RESULTS

Respondents reported their single most common source for establishing drug dosages as formularies (682/936 [72.9%]), followed by scientific journals (96 [10.3%]), other textbooks (68 [7.3%]), colleagues (47 [5.0%]), or continuing education notes (38 [4.1%]). Over two-thirds of the respondents (645, 68.9%) consulted a specific exotic animal formulary for establishing drug dosages in most situations. Of the 936 respondents, 407 (43.5%) reported that they sometimes (318 [34.0%]) or never (89 [9.5%]) checked the source of a dosage in a textbook or a formulary, 503 (55.3%) reported that they sometimes (399 [42.6%]) or never (104 [11.1%]) searched the original publication on a dosage, and 486 (51.9%) reported that they would base their dosage decision on the abstract of an article if they had no access to the full-text. Several respondents' reported characteristics were significant predictors of primary outcomes.

CLINICAL RELEVANCE

Considering our findings, we recommend authors of formularies and textbooks should focus on evidence-based information and state clearly when information is anecdotal. Tailored strategies to educate veterinarians treating exotic animals on the importance of primary sources are also recommended.

Study design quality of research on dogs published in peer-reviewed journals

BACKGROUND

In the past it has been criticised that only a low proportion of well-designed and well-reported studies in some medical specialities is available. The objective of this study was to systematically evaluate the quality of literature about canine medicine published in peer-reviewed journals in relation to six specific veterinary medicine specialities.

METHODS

A literature search was conducted and 25 studies per speciality were selected. The quality of the articles (n = 150) published between 2007 and 2019 was evaluated with a validated checklist.

RESULTS

In articles related to all specialities, deficits were found, such as not adequate number of animals in 60.0% of the studies. In 88.0%, information about housing and feeding of the dogs were not specified. In 69.4% of the prospective clinical studies, an ethical approval was reported, and written informed consent of the owners was obtained in 46.2%.

CONCLUSIONS

The findings revealed extensive deficits in the design and reporting of studies in canine medicine. The demand for improvement is obvious and should be addressed by authors, reviewers and journal editors in the future. Our results underline that practitioners should critically appraise the quality of literature before implementing information into practice.

Evaluation of an evidence-based veterinary medicine exercise for instruction in clinical year of veterinary medicine program

INTRODUCTION

Evidence-based veterinary medicine (EBVM) is a fundamental core competency for new graduates. Our objectives were to evaluate clinical students' use, understanding of, and confidence in EBVM before undertaking an exercise consisting of an hour seminar in conjunction with a medical librarian, followed by a journal club and to evaluate students' knowledge of and ability to apply EBVM following the exercise.

METHODS

In this cohort study, students undertaking a large animal ambulatory rotation completed questionnaires before the seminar, following the journal club, and at graduation. Students took a Fresno test evaluating EBVM knowledge at the end of the rotation.

RESULTS

Prior to the seminar, 94% of students defined EBVM at least somewhat accurately, and 51% reported EBVM was at least 'quite important'. During previous rotations, 71% of students had performed literature searches to answer a clinician-assigned question; 89% had done this to answer their own questions. Students with previous research or EBVM training were more likely to perform self-directed literature searches. The most frequently used resource was textbooks. Eighty-seven per cent and 90% of students found the seminar and journal club, respectively, at least moderately useful in improving EBVM knowledge.

CONCLUSIONS

Our results support the inclusion of an EBVM exercise during the clinical year and suggest spaced repetition may be helpful in teaching this topic.

Teaching Tip Using Play-Doh to Enhance the Perceived Learning of Veterinary Medicine

Teaching anatomy to veterinary students is challenging, and using two-dimensional (2D) representations may limit the opportunity for learners to make the connections required to fully appreciate the complex structures involved and the relationships between them. This research considered the implementation of three-dimensional (3D) modeling using Play-Doh with learners to consider whether they were able to make effective representations that may then support further learning. The evidence from teacher observations and student feedback suggests that, despite some initial hesitation surrounding the use of what some might perceive as a toy in the higher education classroom, the learners believed that the approach allowed improvement in terms of their understanding, knowledge retention and recall. They reported that the approach enabled greater visualization of the structures they were representing. For teachers, the approach has the advantage that the material is cheap, readily available, easily manipulated, can be reused, and needs no sophisticated technology.

Veterinarian barriers to knowledge translation (KT) within the context of swine infectious disease research: an international survey of swine veterinarians

Background

Food animal veterinarians face commodity specific and urgent global challenges yet conditions preventing use of best available knowledge have been sparsely studied. The American Association of Swine Veterinarians (AASV) membership (N = 1289) was surveyed online to benchmark their information priorities and their motivations and sources for keeping current with infectious disease research, and to describe their reported time, skill, access, and process as barriers to knowledge translation (KT).

Results

Respondents (n = 80) were mostly from Canada (n = 40) and the U.S.A (n = 31) and demographics approximated the AASV’s. Colleagues are the first choice for information on difficult cases (49%, 95%CI: 38–61). Half of respondents (53%, 95%CI: 41–64) spend an hour or less per week keeping up with infectious disease research. The majority reported moderate or less than moderate efficiency (62%, 95%CI: 51–72), and moderate or greater stress (59%, 95%CI: 48–70) with their process for keeping up. Journal article methods sections are commonly not read, almost a third (32%, 95% CI: 22–43) reported either they do not evaluate statistical methods or that they had poor confidence to do so, and half (52, 95%CI: 41–63) could not explain ‘confounding bias’. Approximately half (55%, 95%CI: 41-69) with direct oversight of swine herds had full access to 2 or fewer academic journals. Approximately a third of respondents (34%, 95%CI: 24–46) selected only formats involving single research studies (either full text or summaries) as preferred reading materials for keeping current over expert summaries of the body of evidence.

Conclusion

KT barriers are considerable and a source of stress for many swine veterinarians. Sub-optimal efficiency with keeping up and low confidence to appraise aspects of research are concerns. Results are consistent with previous literature and illustrate need for improved KT infrastructure and for additional training in statistical methods and interpretation of primary research. Further evaluation is warranted of why approximately a third of veterinarians in this study, for the purpose of keeping up, preferentially choose to review individual research studies over choices that would include an expert summary of the body of evidence. Consideration of reasons for this preference will be important in the planning of KT infrastructure improvements.

Supplementary information

Supplementary information accompanies this paper at 10.1186/s12917-020-02617-8.

Information seeking and evaluation: a multi-institutional survey of veterinary students

Objective

To practice evidence-based medicine, clinicians must be competent in information literacy (IL). Few studies acknowledge the critical role that reading strategies play in IL instruction and assessment of health professional students. The purpose of this study was to understand the information-seeking and evaluation behaviors of doctor of veterinary medicine (DVM) students in regard to scientific papers.

Methods

The authors studied DVM student behaviors across eight programs in North America using a web-based survey of closed- and open-ended questions about finding and evaluating scientific papers, including a task to read a linked scientific paper and answer questions about it.

Results

A total of 226 individuals responded to the survey. The sections of a scientific paper that were most commonly read were the abstract, introduction, and conclusions. Students who reported reading a higher proportion of scientific papers were more likely to feel confident in their abilities to interpret them. A third of respondents answered open-ended questions after the paper reading task. Respondents felt the least amount of confidence with one of the final steps of evidence-based medicine, that of interpreting the significance of the paper to apply it in veterinary medicine.

Conclusions

DVM students may lack the skills needed to evaluate scientific literature and need more practice and feedback in evaluating and interpreting scientific papers. Librarians who support DVM students can (1) help DVM students to efficiently evaluate scientific literature, (2) seek training opportunities in alternative modes of teaching and learning IL skills, and (3) partner with veterinary faculty and clinicians to provide students with practice and feedback in information evaluation.

Essential and core books for veterinary medicine

Objectives

This study defined core and essential lists of recent, English-language veterinary medicine books using a data-driven methodology for potential use by a broad audience, including libraries that are building collections supporting veterinary sciences and One Health initiatives.

Methods

Book titles were collected from monograph citation databases, veterinary examination reading lists, veterinary college textbook and library reserve lists, and published bibliographies. These lists were combined into a single list with titles ranked by the number of occurrences.

Results

The methodology produced a core list of 122 monographs and an essential list of 33 titles. All titles are recent, edition neutral, English language monographs. One title is out of print.

Conclusions

The methodology captured qualitative and quantitative input from four distinct populations who use veterinary monographs: veterinary practitioners, educators, researchers, and librarians. Data were collected and compiled to determine core and essential lists that represented all groups. Unfortunately, data are not available for all subareas of veterinary medicine, resulting in uneven subject coverage. This methodology can be replicated and adapted for other subject areas.

UK pet owners' use of the internet for online pet health information

The internet has been found to be a popular source for human health information. However, there is a lack of information on pet owners' use of the internet to source pet health information and implications for the owner-veterinarian relationship. Therefore, the aim of this study was to address this gap in knowledge by focusing on UK pet owners' general use of the internet to find online pet health information and the impact of this behaviour on the owner-veterinarian relationship. An online survey targeting UK pet owners resulted in 571 respondents. Respondents reported the most frequently used source for pet health information was the internet (78.6 per cent), followed by their veterinarian (72 per cent). Veterinarians and other pet owners, however, were rated as the most trustworthy sources. The topics searched for most often online were specific medical problems (61.3 per cent) and diet/nutrition (58.5 per cent). Regarding the owner-veterinarian relationship, 42.1 per cent of participants reported discussing information they found online 'sometimes' with their veterinarian. When asked if their veterinarian recommended specific websites, nearly half (49.6 per cent) stated that their veterinarian 'never' made such recommendations, yet over 90 per cent said they would visit veterinarian-recommended websites.

Analysing the opinions of UK veterinarians on practice-based research using corpus linguistic and mathematical methods

The use of corpus linguistic techniques and other related mathematical analyses have rarely, if ever, been applied to qualitative data collected from the veterinary field. The aim of this study was to explore the use of a combination of corpus linguistic analyses and mathematical methods to investigate a free-text questionnaire dataset collected from 3796 UK veterinarians on evidence-based veterinary medicine, specifically, attitudes towards practice-based research (PBR) and improving the veterinary knowledge base. The corpus methods of key word, concordance and collocate analyses were used to identify patterns of meanings within the free text responses. Key words were determined by comparing the questionnaire data with a wordlist from the British National Corpus (representing general English text) using cross-tabs and log-likelihood comparisons to identify words that occur significantly more frequently in the questionnaire data. Concordance and collocation analyses were used to account for the contextual patterns in which such key words occurred, involving qualitative analysis and Mutual Information Analysis (MI3). Additionally, a mathematical topic modelling approach was used as a comparative analysis; words within the free text responses were grouped into topics based on their weight or importance within each response to find starting points for analysis of textual patterns. Results generated from using both qualitative and quantitative techniques identified that the perceived advantages of taking part in PBR centred on the themes of improving knowledge of both individuals and of the veterinary profession as a whole (illustrated by patterns around the words learning, improving, contributing). Time constraints (lack of time, time issues, time commitments) were the main concern of respondents in relation to taking part in PBR. Opinions of what vets could do to improve the veterinary knowledge base focussed on the collecting and sharing of information (record, report), particularly recording and discussing clinical cases (interesting cases), and undertaking relevant continuing professional development activities. The approach employed here demonstrated how corpus linguistics and mathematical methods can help to both identify and contextualise relevant linguistic patterns in the questionnaire responses. The results of the study inform those seeking to coordinate PBR initiatives about the motivators of veterinarians to participate in such initiatives and what concerns need to be addressed. The approach used in this study demonstrates a novel way of analysing textual data in veterinary research.

Veterinarian Nominated Common Conditions of Rabbits and Guinea Pigs Compared with Published Literature

Rabbits and guinea pigs are increasingly popular pets in the UK, yet little is known about their common ailments, or how these relate to what appears in the published literature. The aim of this study was to characterise the common conditions of rabbits and guinea pigs, and to compare these with the topics found in the published literature. Information about the common conditions seen in rabbits and guinea pigs in clinical practice was obtained from a survey of UK veterinarians. The common conditions seen were compared with results from a structured literature search. Conditions relating to the dental (29.9%), and skin (37.6%) body systems were commonly nominated by veterinarians for rabbits and guinea pigs, respectively. A total of 655 rabbit and 1086 guinea pig citations were examined and there appeared to be a mismatch between the conditions nominated in the veterinary questionnaire, and those found in the literature. This is the first time that the published literature has been compared to the nominated caseload of veterinarians in practice, and there is concern that the literature about rabbits and guinea pigs may not be representative of, or relevant to the caseload seen in clinical practice. This is of importance for clinicians being able to apply an objective, evidence-based approach. The publishing of clinically-relevant, research-based evidence should be prioritised.

Information Resources for the Exotic Animal Practitioner

An essential component of evidence-based practice is finding the best available evidence to answer a clinical question. Finding evidence is difficult for veterinarians in general, and exotic animal clinicians in particular, owing to the lack of studies that provide a high level of clinically relevant evidence and limited access to resources. Knowing where and how to search for evidence can facilitate evidence-based practice.

The Awareness of the International Veterinary Profession of Evidence-Based Veterinary Medicine and Preferred Methods of Training

Evidence-based veterinary medicine (EVM) is an evolving discipline in veterinary medicine so it is important to periodically “benchmark” opinion about EVM across the profession. An international survey to assess veterinarians’ awareness of EVM was conducted. Veterinarians were surveyed via an online questionnaire (all countries) or a postal questionnaire (UK only). Participants were asked whether they had heard of EVM, where they had first heard the term, and their preferences of method for receiving continuing professional development (CPD). There were 6310 respondents, of which 4579 (72.5%) worked in the UK and 5384 (85.3%) were clinicians. Veterinarians that had heard of EVM (n = 5420, 85.9%) were most likely to be clinicians (OR = 4.00; 95% CI: 3.37, 4.75), respondents working in the UK (OR = 1.32; CI: 1.13, 1.54), or respondents with a postgraduate degree or qualification (OR = 1.77; CI: 1.51, 2.08). The most common sources from which respondents had heard of EVM were at vet school or university (n = 1207, 29.8%), via literature (peer-reviewed papers or other publications) (n = 1074, 26.5%), and via CPD courses (n = 564, 13.9%). Most respondents were interested in finding out more about EVM (n = 4256 of 6173, 69%). The preferred methods of CPD were day or evening seminars (n = 2992 of 6017, 49.7%), conferences (n = 1409, 23.4%), and online courses (n = 524, 8.7%), although the order of preference differed slightly between groups. There appears to be substantial awareness of EVM amongst veterinarians internationally. However, it appears that further training in EVM would be welcomed. Preferences on how CPD in general is received differs between groups, so this should be borne in mind by training providers when formulating a strategy for the dissemination of EVM training across the global profession.

The Effect of Personality on Occupational Stress in Veterinary Surgeons

Statistics show that veterinary surgeons are in one of the professions with the highest suicide rates. This indicates the sector has significant well-being issues, with high levels of occupational stress and burnout. Previous research has focused on environmental factors in isolation, overlooking the influence of personality. This study aimed to establish that personality is a better predictor of occupational stress than environment. UK veterinary surgeons (n=311) completed an online survey composed of three questionnaires; the NEO Five-Factor Inventory, the Maslach Burnout Inventory, and the Job Stress Survey. Multiple regression analysis revealed that personality is a better predictor of occupational stress than environment (p<.001). Neuroticism is the trait that significantly predicts occupational stress (p<.001), and the components of neuroticism that contribute the most to stress are depression (p=.002) and anger hostility (p=.005). Demographic factors such as the number of years the veterinarian has been qualified acted as a mediator between depression and occupational stress (p<.001), and as a moderator between personal accomplishments and occupational stress (p=.028). Overall findings suggest that newly qualified veterinarians are at greater risk of suffering from high levels of occupational stress than those well established in the profession, and that veterinarians with higher levels of depression and anger hostility are likely to experience greater levels of occupational stress. Implications highlight the need for greater awareness of potentially susceptible personality traits in the veterinary admissions process. This would allow for the identification of those at risk and the implementation of interventions.

International Evidence-Based Medicine Survey of the Veterinary Profession: Information Sources Used by Veterinarians

Veterinarians are encouraged to use evidence to inform their practice, but it is unknown what resources (e.g. journals, electronic sources) are accessed by them globally. Understanding the key places veterinarians seek information can inform where new clinically relevant evidence should most effectively be placed. An international survey was conducted to gain understanding of how veterinary information is accessed by veterinarians worldwide. There were 2137 useable responses to the questionnaire from veterinarians in 78 countries. The majority of respondents (n = 1835/2137, 85.9%) undertook clinical work and worked in a high income country (n = 1576/1762, 89.4%). Respondents heard about the survey via national veterinary organisations or regulatory bodies (31.5%), online veterinary forums and websites (22.7%), regional, discipline-based or international veterinary organisations (22.7%) or by direct invitation from the researchers or via friends, colleagues or social media (7.6%). Clinicians and non-clinicians reportedly used journals most commonly (65.8%, n = 1207/1835; 75.6%, n = 216/286) followed by electronic resources (58.7%, n = 1077/1835; 55.9%, n = 160/286), respectively. Respondents listed a total of 518 journals and 567 electronic sources that they read. Differences in veterinarian preference for resources in developed, and developing countries, were found. The nominated journals most read were the Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association (12.7% of nominations) for clinicians and the Veterinary Record (5.7%) for non-clinicians. The most accessed electronic resource reported was the Veterinary Information Network (25.6%) for clinicians and PubMed (7.4%) for non-clinicians. In conclusion, a wide array of journals and electronic resources appear to be accessed by veterinarians worldwide. Veterinary organisations appear to play an important role in global communication and outreach to veterinarians and consideration should be given to how these channels could be best utilised for effective dissemination of key research findings.