US Veterinary Colleges Research Articles

Veterinary students are willing to accept job flexibility by trading off some salary.

To determine the value veterinary students place on nonpecuniary job benefits related to working arrangements. 381 companion animal-focused veterinary students at 14 US veterinary colleges. We employed a survey with a choice-based conjoint experiment. The experimental data were analyzed with a random parameter logit model, from which willingness to accept was calculated. The results indicated that students would prefer working 4 days a week and closer to 40 hours per week, with 13 days of paid time off. Flexible working arrangements were valued from approximately $1,500 to $3,400, depending on the attribute being analyzed. Paid time off was most highly valued. These results will help employers better identify the current preferences of soon-to-be associate veterinarians and can match job offer/working arrangements to enhance recruitment and retention within veterinary practices.

Fifty Years in the Life of Veterinary Students

Many changes in US veterinary colleges and their student bodies have occurred during the past 50 years. These have reflected US demographics in many ways. With these changes have come many changes in student life. The Association of American Veterinary Medical Colleges has played an important role in facilitating and tracking many of the changes by creating numerous opportunities for colleges to work together on issues related to admissions, diversity, and scholarly publication in the Journal of Veterinary Medical Education.

Student Perceptions of an Animal-Welfare and Ethics Course Taught Early in the Veterinary Curriculum

Animal welfare and veterinary ethics are two subjects that have been acknowledged as necessary for inclusion in the veterinary curriculum. In fact, the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) Council on Education has mandated that veterinary ethics be taught to all students in US veterinary colleges. Animal welfare was recently included in the US veterinarian's oath, and AVMA established a committee to create a model curriculum on the subject. At US veterinary colleges, the number of animal-welfare courses has more than doubled from five in 2004 to more than 10 in 2011. How and what is taught with regard to these two subjects may be as important as whether they are taught at all, and a variety of approaches and varying amounts and types of content are currently being offered on them. At Michigan State University's College of Veterinary Medicine, students were introduced to animal welfare and veterinary ethics during their first semester in a mandatory two-credit course. To assess their perception of the course, students completed an online evaluation at the end of the semester. Most students found the course to be challenging and effective and felt that they improved their ability to identify and discuss ethical dilemmas.

150th Anniversary of Veterinary Education and the Veterinary Profession in North America: Part 4, US Veterinary Colleges in 2011 and the Distribution of their Graduates

This fourth article in an ongoing series of articles published in the Journal of Veterinary Medical Education on veterinary education and the veterinary profession provides information on the colleges and schools that exist in the US in 2011. This article provides a brief description of the educational programs and recent accreditation of the veterinary schools at Western University of the Health Sciences and Ross University on the Island of St. Kitts. Without taking into consideration Caribbean colleges, the number of veterinary student positions in US colleges has increased by approximately 24% in the past decade. The number of students attending veterinary colleges is unevenly distributed across the country with many of the more populous states having fewer students per 100,000 people than less populous states. The percentage of veterinarians who reside in the state of their alma mater also varies widely with alumni from some colleges remaining in the state of the college from which they graduated (e.g., Texas A&M and the University of California at Davis) and the graduates of other colleges (e.g., Cornell University and the University of Pennsylvania) being more widely distributed across the country. The location of veterinarians is also provided by state and adjusted for population and state size.

Fulbright Scholar International Teaching and Research Opportunities for Veterinary Faculty

The Fulbright program was established by the US Congress to "enable the government of the United States to increase mutual understanding between the people of the United States and the people of other countries." The Core Fulbright Scholar Program sends more than 800 US faculty and administrators to 125 countries to lecture or conduct research around the world each year. Unfortunately, only 28 faculty members from the US veterinary colleges have used Fulbright Scholar opportunities in the last 20 years (1989-2009). Considering recent worldwide events, such as the global dispersion of the Asian strain of highly pathogenic avian influenza and pandemic H1N1 2009 affecting human and animal species, the importance of awareness and education of veterinarians to such global issues is obviously urgent. Therefore, Fulbright scholarships represent an important opportunity to gain experience and bring this time-critical information back to fellow faculty and students. Veterinarians who wish to contribute to internationalization of the curricula and their campuses should consider applying for Fulbright Scholar support to launch their career in this pivotal direction. For details about the Fulbright Scholar Program, eligibility, and application procedures, please visit <http://www.cies.org/us_scholars/>.

Racial, Cultural, and Ethnic Diversity within US Veterinary Colleges

A comprehensive survey containing 30 questions regarding racial, cultural, and ethnic issues was sent electronically to each of the member colleges within the Association of American Veterinary Colleges (AAVMC) during 2005. Responses were received from 25 of the 28 veterinary colleges in the United States and two foreign colleges. Most colleges had more than one respondent complete the survey. Since the respondents were not identified and were not uniform in regards to position within each college, some responses might have reflected the individual respondent's views rather than the college's actual situation or philosophy. The information gained from this survey demonstrates strong trends in attitudes to and practices with respect to diversity in US veterinary colleges. Three major areas were addressed in the survey-college and university environment and cultures, faculty and curriculum, and recruitment and retention of veterinary students from underrepresented minorities. In many instances, the survey confirmed a lack of knowledge about diversity issues at the respondents' institutions. These survey results will serve as a benchmark for gauging changes in the profession's racial, cultural, and ethnic demographics in the future and as a foundation upon which to build effective diversity programs.

A historical overview of African American veterinarians in the United States, 1889- 2000.

The annals of veterinary medical history rarely mention the presence of African American veterinarians and other minorities. Between 1889 and 1948, records show, a meager 70 African Americans graduated from veterinary schools in the United States and Canada. It was not until the veterinary school at Tuskegee (Institute) University was established in 1945 that a significant increase in the number of African American veterinarians occurred in the United States, and over the ensuing years their participation in every facet of the profession has been striking. Their employment in various areas of the profession and their successful performance in the workforce have done much to dispel stereotypical perceptions about minorities. Despite demographic data indicating that the United States is moving rapidly toward a multicultural society, recruitment programs to increase the number of African American students and faculty at the 27 US veterinary colleges have not kept pace with the declared goals of ethnic diversity. If the needs of a changing culture are to be met, veterinary medical education must look toward more ethnic inclusion in the student body and faculty. To that end, the Iverson C. Bell Symposium has consistently advocated the adoption of new and creative methods for increasing minority student enrollment and expanding faculty opportunities in the nation's veterinary colleges.

Survey on Avian Medical Education in US Veterinary Colleges (2002–2004)

A survey was conducted to identify the current state of educational programs in avian medicine through lecture, laboratory, and clinical training at accredited veterinary medical schools in the United States. Surveys were conducted by phone, e-mail, or standard mail. Questionnaires were sent to a member of the American Board of Veterinary Prac titioners (ABVP) if a diplomate taught at the col lege. The survey was initially performed from Novem ber 2002 through January 2003. Nonrespondents were contacted again in February 2004 through March 2004. For those institutions for which no re sponse was obtained (n = 7), information was gath ered from the 2000 American College of Zoological Medicine Workshop on Veterinary Curricula.2 Insti tutions were assigned the following regions accord ing to AVMA demographic studies: Pacific, moun tain, west north central, west south central, east north central, east south central, south Atlantic, middle Atlantic, and New England (Fig l).1

Perceptions of fourth-year veterinary students about the human-animal bond in veterinary practice and in veterinary college curricula

Objective To assess veterinary students' perceptions regarding the importance of addressing the human-animal bond in veterinary practice and their perceptions about the adequacy of curricula on the human-animal bond as presented in US veterinary colleges. Design Survey. Procedure Data were collected via a brief questionnaire mailed during the summer of 1996. Questionnaires were returned by 552 senior veterinary students representing 21 of 27 veterinary colleges in the United States. Results Senior veterinary students believed that the human-animal bond should be a concern of practicing veterinarians, but most did not believe they were receiving adequate instruction about the human-animal bond in their veterinary colleges. Gender was significantly related to differences in perceptions; female students appeared to have more interest in addressing the human-animal bond than male students. Students in small animal programs viewed the human-animal bond differently than those in large animal programs. Finally, students attending schools with extensive human-animal bond or human relations curricula were more likely to believe they were receiving adequate instruction in this area than students in other schools. Conclusions and Clinical Implications Curricula addressing the human-animal bond need to be developed and implemented in veterinary colleges in the United States. (J Am Vet Med Assoc 1999;215:1428–1432)

Occupational factors and reproductive outcomes among a cohort of female veterinarians

Objective To estimate absolute and relative risks of preterm delivery (PTD) and small-for-gestational-age (SGA) births among a cohort of female veterinarians in relation to selected occupational factors, including clinical practice type (CPT). Design Retrospective cohort survey. Sample Population 2,997 female graduates from US veterinary colleges between 1970 and 1980. Procedure Relevant health and occupational data were collected through a self-administered mail questionnaire with telephone follow-up of nonrespondents. Absolute and relative risks of PTD and SGA births were estimated in relation to maternal CPT at the time of conception and exposure to 13 occupational factors. Attempts were made to control confounding by use of multiple logistic regression analyses. Results Absolute and relative risks of PTD were highest for veterinarians employed in exclusively equine clinical practice. Although several increased, none of the CPT-specific relative risk estimates were significantly different from the null value of 1. Exposure-specific analyses indicated that occupational involvement with solvents among exclusively small animal practitioners was associated with the highest relative risk of PTD. A small number of SGA births limited information that could be obtained from these analyses. Overall absolute risks of PTD and SGA births among cohort members were much lower in comparison with the general female population. Clinical Implications Given the large number of women currently practicing and entering the profession of veterinary medicine, clinical tasks associated with potential reproductive hazards should be approached with heightened awareness and increased caution, especially activities that may involve exposure to solvents. (J Am Vet Med Assoc 1998;213:61-67)

Needlestick injuries among female veterinarians: frequency, syringe contents and side-effects.

In a mixed-mode survey of all 1970-80 female graduates of all US veterinary colleges, information was obtained regarding several health, personal and occupational factors including data on occupational needlestick events. Among the 2,532 survey respondents, 1,620 reported one or more needlesticks after graduation from veterinary college (64.0% of all respondents). A total of 2,663 stick events were reported, although the descriptions of each puncture event varied in quality/completeness, probably due in large part to their retrospective nature. Substances most often injected include vaccines, antibiotics, anaesthetics and animal blood. Of the 438 sticks resulting in at least one side-effect (16.4% of all sticks), 337 were classified as mild and localized at the site of injection (12.4% of all sticks, approximately 77% of sticks producing a side-effect), with 18 characterized as severe and systemic (0.7% of all sticks, approximately 4% of sticks producing a side-effect). One accidental self-injection of a prostaglandin compound resulted in a spontaneous abortion, heightening awareness that occupational needlesticks may also represent a serious human reproductive health hazard. The estimated overall needlestick injury rate for this group of health care professionals was 9.3 sticks per 100 person-years (PYs) of practice, comparable to reported rates among health care workers such as nurses, laboratory technicians and hospital housekeeping staff. Accounting for underreporting of the stick events, the actual injury rate is likely to be at least 20 sticks per 100 PYs. When stick rates were estimated by clinical practice type (small animal, large animal and mixed practice), all-small-animal and mixed-practice veterinarians demonstrated the highest rates, with all-large-animal practitioners demonstrating a rate lower by about 40%.

Mixed-mode survey of female veterinarians yields high response rate.

In a recent study of female veterinarians, a subgroup of health professionals growing rapidly in number, the authors employed a mixed-mode survey design in targeting the cohort of women graduating from all US veterinary colleges during the 11-year period 1970-80 (n = 2,997). The questionnaire elicited information on a variety of health and occupational factors and required 35 minutes on average to complete. In the first stage, a modified version of Dillman's Total Design Method for mailed, self-administered questionnaires was employed, yielding a response rate of 82.9%. In the second stage, a telephone interview of all mail non-respondents was attempted, yielding a response rate here of only 30.1%, but increasing the overall response rate among those contacted to 90.2%. Non-respondents differed little from mail (early) or telephone (late) respondents with respect to year of graduation and geographic region of veterinary college attendance. Gentle probing of telephone non-respondents suggested the personal nature of some questions and the amount of time required to answer all questions were the main reasons they chose not to participate. It therefore appears that conventional survey techniques may be successfully employed in health studies of health professionals, particularly if issues of great concern to the target population are addressed.