An admissions system to select veterinary medical students with an interest in food animals and veterinary public health

Predicting career sector intent and the theory of planned behaviour: survey findings from Australian veterinary science students

Background

Producing graduates for a breadth of sectors is a priority for veterinary science programs. Undergraduate career intentions represent de-facto ‘outcome’ measures of admissions policy and curricula design, as intentions are strong predictors of eventual behaviour. Informed by Ajzen’s Theory of Planned Behaviour, this study aimed to identify if contextually relevant attitudes and self-ratings affect student intentions for veterinary career sectors.

Results

Survey responses from 844 students enrolled in five Australian veterinary programs in 2014 were analysed. Intention was measured for biomedical research/academia, industry, laboratory animal medicine, public health/government/diagnostic laboratory services, mixed practice, intensive animal production, companion animal practice, not work in the veterinary profession, and business/entrepreneurship. Hierarchical multiple linear regression analysis enabled comparison of explanation of variance in intent by demographics, animal handling experience, species preference, and attitudes to aspects of veterinary work. Career sector intentions were highest for mixed or companion animal clinical practice, then business/entrepreneurship, then non-clinical sectors. Overall, intent was explained to a greater extent by species preferences than by animal experience, attitudes to aspects of veterinary work and demographics (with the exception of mixed practice intent) with gender having no significant effect. Several variables exerted negative effects on career intent for less popular career sectors.

Conclusion

Ajzen’s Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) provides a framework to increase understanding of and predict career sector intentions. Incorporation of attitude and self-efficacy measures in our study revealed preference for species types contributes greatly to career sector intentions for veterinary students, particularly for the more popular practice based sectors. Importantly, specific species preferences and other attitudes can have a negative effect on intent for non-aligned veterinary sectors. Further research is required to identify additional attitudes and/or beliefs to better explain variance in intent for less popular career sectors. Veterinary admissions processes may benefit from utilising the TPB framework. Identified effects revealed by this study may stimulate innovation in marketing, recruitment, admissions and curricular design, such as timing and role modelling, to utilise positive effects and mitigate against negative effects identified for sectors requiring greater representation of career intent in the student body.

Electronic supplementary material

The online version of this article (10.1186/s12917-018-1725-4) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Predictive Value of Three Different Selection Methods for Admission of Motivated and Well-Performing Veterinary Medical Students

In search for valid and reliable selection methods that predict applicants' study motivation and academic performance during the 3-year bachelor's program at the Dutch Faculty of Veterinary Medicine (FVM), this study aimed to (1) examine the predictive value of the three FVM selection methods for study motivation and academic performance (i.e., direct admission and weighted lottery based on secondary school grade point average [GPA], and selection based on non-cognitive criteria), and (2) examine whether type and level of study motivation could be of value regarding selection of well-performing students. Data from two cohorts at the FVM (n = 186) were obtained, including mean summed scores on study motivation (using the Academic Motivation Scale [AMS] and additional items) and several academic outcome measures; among others, analyses of covariance (ANCOVA) were performed to examine differences between the three admission groups. Spearman's correlations and linear regression were applied to examine the relationship between study motivation and academic performance. Lottery-admitted students demonstrated a stronger extrinsic motivation than selected students (p < .05). Directly admitted students outperformed students from the other two admission groups on several academic outcome measures (p < .05). Only the level of motivation was related to academic performance (p < .05). According to the results, direct admission based on a high secondary school GPA in particular has predictive value for good academic performance during the 3-year bachelor's program of the veterinary course. The type of motivation seems to be of no value regarding selection of well-performing students, whereas level of motivation might be a useful criterion for this purpose.

The influence of achievement before, during and after medical school on physician job satisfaction

In this longitudinal study, we investigated the relationship between physicians' prior achievements (before, during and after medical school) and job satisfaction, and tested the two lines of reasoning that prior achievements influence job satisfaction positively or negatively, respectively. The participants were graduates who started their medical training in 1982 (n = 147), 1983 (n = 154), 1992 (n = 143) and 1993 (n = 153). We operationalised job satisfaction as satisfaction (on a 10-point scale) with 13 cognitive, affective and instrumental aspects of the participants' jobs. The measures of achievement before, during and after medical school included pre-university grade point average, study progress and a residency position in the specialty of first choice, respectively. We included the effect of curriculum type (problem-based learning versus traditional), gender and years of experience as moderator variables. Higher achievers before and during medical school were more satisfied about their income (β = .152, p < .01 and β = .149, p < .05), but less satisfied with their opportunities for personal development (β = -.159, p < .05). High achievers after medical school were more satisfied with professional accomplishments (β = .095, p < .05), with appreciation from support personnel (β = .154, p < .01) and from patients (β = .120, p < .05). Effect sizes were small. Prior achievements influenced job satisfaction. The direction of the influences depended on the job satisfaction aspect in question, which indicates that it is important to distinguish between aspects of job satisfaction. To optimize job satisfaction of high achievers, it is important for graduates to obtain their preferred specialty. Furthermore, it is vital to provide them with enough opportunities for further development.

Bridging the gap between veterinary student interest and professional demand for poultry-specialized veterinarians: a French experience

Recent crises concerning poultry production revealed a relative deficit in the availability of veterinary competencies to manage some acute public health and animal welfare concerns. Veterinary education might be critically questioned about this deficit. The authors present the experience of the education program on poultry production medicine at the Veterinary College of Nantes in France over a 10-year period. First, the program consists of integrative teaching focused on a holistic multidisciplinary approach to this professional field on a compulsory basis. Evaluation of the course by the students through a questionnaire (N=1,032) showed a large favorable consensus. Second, the completion of an elective program targeting profession-specific competencies may allow the student to challenge his or her choice of this professional orientation in the undergraduate curriculum. According to the importance they want to give to poultry, and concurrently to other species, students have the possibility of building a curriculum that is either partly or fully devoted to poultry production medicine: a 6-month thesis, 2-10 weeks of professional training, 2 weeks in the field to solve a poultry flock health problem, and 2-4 weeks of specialized courses in poultry production medicine. To round off this curriculum, the national post-graduate program in poultry production medicine is highlighted, as well as its links with the residency program of the European College of Poultry Veterinary Science.

Factors affecting track selection by veterinary professional students admitted to the school of veterinary medicine at the University of California, Davis

Factors affecting track selection before admission to the School of Veterinary Medicine at the University of California, Davis, and factors affecting change of tracks after the first two years of the curriculum were investigated by means of a survey of the 118 students of the graduating class of 2009. The student's background experience before admission to the School of Veterinary Medicine and other personal reasons were significant factors affecting small-animal and mixed-animal track choices. The student's background experience before admission to the School of Veterinary Medicine was the only significant factor for choosing the zoological track. The most significant factor for students to change their track from the mixed or zoological track to the small-animal track was background experience before admission to the School of Veterinary Medicine. Anticipated increased employment opportunities after graduation was the most significant factor for students to change their track from the mixed- or small-animal track to the zoological track. Other personal reasons was the significant variable for students to change their track from small-animal or zoological to mixed-animal track. Thus, to increase the number of students interested in tracks with lower enrollment, exposure of potential applicants to experience relevant to that track before admission and Admissions Committee selection criteria are likely to increase the odds of students' choosing that track.