Veterinary Practice Management Research Articles

One Health: coronavirus

Abstract Members of two of the World Small Animal Veterinary Association’s advisory committees offered guidance on reducing the potential for coronavirus transmission within veterinary practices in a webinar for colleagues across the globe on 15 September. One of the messages ringing loud and clear was that veterinary practice managers must prepare for the possibility of a second – and even a third – lockdown period and minimize the risk to the health of their staff, clients and business. John Bonner reports…

Adherence to veterinary recommendations for ectoparasiticides purchased by cat owners in the USA

BackgroundSafe and effective flea and tick treatment options for cats are important in companion animal practice because of feline ectoparasite infestation prevalence and the potential for parasitic disease transmission. Retrospective cat owner purchasing transactions at United States of America (USA) veterinary clinics were obtained for three topical feline flea and tick ectoparasiticides. One medication, fluralaner, had a 12-week redosing interval, while two other medications (fipronil/s-methoprene/pyriproxyfen; imidacloprid/pyriproxyfen) were approved for monthly redosing. The annual number of doses purchased by cat owners was determined for each of the three medications and then compared between medications. The objective was to evaluate whether 12-week retreatment intervals resulted in a different duration of coverage compared to monthly treatments for ectoparasiticide products.MethodsStudy results were obtained by analyzing the transactional records from a commercial database derived from veterinary practice management software. The study database consisted of cat owner purchasing records from January 2017 through June 2019 from 671 veterinary practices representing 41,630 cats.ResultsCat owners purchased an average of 1.5 doses of fluralaner per year which, based on a 12-week redosing interval, provides 4.2 months of treatment coverage. Cat owners who used monthly flea and tick medications respectively purchased 3.6 months (fipronil/s-methoprene/pyriproxyfen combination) and 2.8 months (imidacloprid/pyriproxyfen) annually of each of the two medications. Average yearly cat owner purchases of fluralaner provide a significantly longer duration of coverage than for cat owners purchasing fipronil/s-methoprene/pyriproxyfen (17% more) or imidacloprid/pyriproxyfen (50% more).ConclusionsCat owners who obtained a flea and tick treatment with a 12-week redosing interval (fluralaner) protected their cats for up to 17% or 50% longer duration each year, respectively, compared to the duration of protection obtained by cat owners who used a medication re-dosed monthly. Cat owners should increase their duration of flea and tick coverage to come closer to achieving veterinary recommendations.

Online procurement of pet supplies and willingness to pay for veterinary telemedicine

Changing consumer shopping behaviors, and specifically the shift towards online procurement of goods and services, have altered the retail landscape of nearly all goods, including pet products and services. Whilst it is known and commonly discussed that less retail business for products and medications is being conducted in clinics than in the past, it is not well documented where that commerce is now taking place, and by what customer segments. For cats, dogs, and other pets, specialty food and food in general was purchased by a high percentage of respondents at the physical store. Sixteen-percent of dog owners, 17 % of cat owners and 14 % of other animal owners purchased prescription food at the veterinarian. Ten percent of dog owners, 10 % of cat owners, and 9 % of other animal owners purchased prescription food from the physical store. A high percentage of cat and dog owners purchased flea and tick preventative, heartworm preventative and prescription medications at the veterinarian, followed by the physical store. Using a choice experiment, both dog and cat owners were willing-to-pay a statistically significant positive amount for having their veterinarian, or a veterinarian in their community (who was not their veterinarian) on the veterinary telemedicine call or video when compared to a veterinarian from outside the community. In relation to the willingness to pay (WTP) for a telemedicine veterinary consultation with a veterinarian outside of the pet owners' community, dog owners were willing to pay $38.04 more for a telemedicine veterinary consultation with their regular veterinarian, and $13.38 more for a telemedicine veterinary consultation with a veterinarian in the dog owners' community. Cat owners had a WTP of $38.12 per call or visit for having their veterinarian as the consultant which was statistically higher than their WTP for a veterinarian in their community, $12.74 when compared to a veterinarian outside their community. When comparing the mean price adjusted WTP between cat and dog owners, there were not any statistically significant differences found. Quantifying pet owner willingness to pay for commonly discussed attributes of telemedicine, such as whether a local veterinarian is consulted (versus a veterinarian from outside the community), facilitates veterinary practice management decision making as practices adjust product and service offerings to meet the changing consumer demand of pet owners in today’s marketplace.

Practice management

Veterinary practice managers have a duty to ensure their staff get enough rest to safeguard their own health and that of their patients, according to a leading expert on the science of sleep. This was the message from one of the lecture sessions at the SPVS/VMD 2020 conference.

Marketing in German Veterinary Practices

The veterinary profession in Germany changed significantly in the past 20 years, and nowadays it can be categorized according to the specializations with a high emphasis on the target species (e.g. dogs, cats). Furthermore, the veterinary practice owners and managers are facing challenges of the fast-growing vet market, as well as the digitalization and its new marketing instruments and tools. The aim of our study was to survey if the German rural mixed animal veterinarians were keeping pace with time and investing in the marketing of their practices. A survey amongst pet owners and mixed animal veterinary practices was conducted regarding the marketing activities in the veterinary practices by using questionnaires in the district of Cloppenburg, Lower-Saxony, Germany, between February and June 2018. The questionnaires were spread through a Facebook group for pet owners and via email to the vet practitioners and we received 60 answers from pet owners and 21 answers from vet practices. The results show that the German mixed animal veterinary practices do not only lack marketing knowledge but the marketing strategies and tools as well. The surveyed veterinary practices neglected to improve their marketing communication activities, therefore, failed to analyze their customers’ needs. They usually did not invest in vet marketing services that would otherwise generate new customers or keep the existing clients. It can be concluded that the marketing trainings for the veterinary practice managers and owners working in the German rural areas would be a major need.
 

A Pilot Study for Estimating the Cardiopulmonary Signals of Diverse Exotic Animals Using a Digital Camera.

Monitoring the cardiopulmonary signal of animals is a challenge for veterinarians in conditions when contact with a conscious animal is inconvenient, difficult, damaging, distressing or dangerous to personnel or the animal subject. In this pilot study, we demonstrate a computer vision-based system and use examples of exotic, untamed species to demonstrate this means to extract the cardiopulmonary signal. Subject animals included the following species: Giant panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca), African lions (Panthera leo), Sumatran tiger (Panthera tigris sumatrae), koala (Phascolarctos cinereus), red kangaroo (Macropus rufus), alpaca (Vicugna pacos), little blue penguin (Eudyptula minor), Sumatran orangutan (Pongo abelii) and Hamadryas baboon (Papio hamadryas). The study was done without need for restriction, fixation, contact or disruption of the daily routine of the subjects. The pilot system extracts the signal from the abdominal-thoracic region, where cardiopulmonary activity is most likely to be visible using image sequences captured by a digital camera. The results show motion on the body surface of the subjects that is characteristic of cardiopulmonary activity and is likely to be useful to estimate physiological parameters (pulse rate and breathing rate) of animals without any physical contact. The results of the study suggest that a fully controlled study against conventional physiological monitoring equipment is ethically warranted, which may lead to a novel approach to non-contact physiological monitoring and remotely sensed health assessment of animals. The method shows promise for applications in veterinary practice, conservation and game management, animal welfare and zoological and behavioral studies.

Quantification of the health-status of the Dutch Labrador retriever population

Health issues in purebred dogs are currently considered one of the biggest problems in companion animal health. The Labrador retriever (LR) is one of the most popular dog breeds. The aim of this study was to quantify LR breed health in comparison with mixed-breed dogs (MB), by using four different data sources: a veterinary practice management system (appr. 35,000 unique individuals LR + MB), data from two animal insurance companies (appr. 15,500 and 4500 individuals respectively), and a histopathological laboratory (appr. 4000 individuals).After extensive recoding of the data, health parameters utilised to quantify breed health were longevity, frequency of practice visits and insurance expense claims, and diagnostic codes. A Kaplan-Meier univariate and multivariable Cox proportional hazard model were used to evaluate longevity. A negative binomial model was used to analyse the frequency of visits, claims, and diagnostic codes in both sets of insurance data. Logistic regression was used to look into the categorical diagnostic codes in the laboratory data.The median lifespan of the LR was similar (12 years, practice data) or longer (10 versus 8 years, insurance data) than MB for individuals with a known birth and death date. When including censored individuals, survival time in the LR was comparable to MB individuals up to 10 years of age. Above 10 years of age, the LR lived a similar length as MB with a medium to large body size, but shorter than all MB. The LR visited the veterinary practice more often (risk ratio (RR) 1.2, 95% confidence interval 1.2–1.3), and also showed a higher frequency of insurance expense claims (RR 2.2 (2.1–2.3) and RR 1.2 (1.1–1.3) respectively for the two insurance data sets). The largest difference in organ systems between the LR and MB in insurance claims was related to ears (RR 5.3 (4.8–5.8) and RR 2.6 (2.3–3.1)), followed by airways (RR 2.6 (2.4–2.8)), tendons & muscles (RR 2.4 (2.2–2.6) and RR 1.4 (1.1–1.7)), and joints (RR 1.7 (1.3–2.1)), without a difference in median age at diagnosis. The data from the histopathological laboratory suggested a higher disease burden related to oncology for the LR compared to MB (OR 1.2, 95% CI 1.0–1.3). Oncological diagnoses were made at a younger age in the LR (8.8 versus 9.4 years).The disease burden was significantly higher for the LR than MB, but these results may suffer from substantial bias such as selection bias towards the database, and different behaviour of LR versus MB owners with regards to veterinary care. In the future, longer term population data can corroborate these results.

Validation of text-mining and content analysis techniques using data collected from veterinary practice management software systems in the UK

Electronic patient records from practice management software systems have been used extensively in medicine for the investigation of clinical problems leading to the creation of decision support frameworks. To date, technologies that have been utilised for this purpose such as text mining and content analysis have not been employed significantly in veterinary medicine.The aim of this research was to pilot the use of content analysis and text-mining software for the synthesis and analysis of information extracted from veterinary electronic patient records. The purpose of the work was to be able to validate this approach for future employment across a number of practices for the purposes of practice based research. The approach utilised content analysis (Prosuite) and text mining (WordStat) software to aggregate the extracted text. Text mining tools such as Keyword in Context (KWIC) and Keyword Retrieval (KR) were employed to identify specific occurrences of data across the records. Two different datasets were interrogated, a bespoke test dataset that had been set up specifically for the purpose of the research, and a functioning veterinary clinic dataset that had been extracted from one veterinary practice.Across both datasets, the KWIC analysis was found to have a high level of accuracy with the search resulting in a sensitivity of between 85.3–100%, a specificity of between 99.1–99.7%, a positive predictive value between 93.5–95.8% and a negative predictive value between 97.7–100%. The KR search, based on machine learning, was utilised for the clinic-based dataset and was found to perform slightly better than the KWIC analysis.This study is the first to demonstrate the application of content analysis and text mining software for validation purposes across a number of different datasets for the purpose of search and recall of specific information across electronic patient records. This has not been demonstrated previously for small animal veterinary epidemiological research for the purposes of large scale analysis for practice-based research. Extension of this work to investigate more complex diseases across larger populations is required to fully explore the use of this approach in veterinary practice.

Today's students are tomorrow's professionals

I recently attended VetEd 2017 – the annual Veterinary Education Symposium. Hosted by a different veterinary school each year, this year it was held at the University of Liverpool. Many veterinary conferences place their emphasis on providing continued professional development (CPD) for veterinary surgeons and veterinary nurses in practice; highlighting recent knowledge and skills within the industry and showcasing new developments in veterinary equipment and practice management. These highly valuable sources of CPD and networking for veterinary professionals and students, however, do not bridge the gap between education, teaching and student learning experiences and the workplace.

My career - from a youth training scheme to practice manager.

Renay Rickard is practice manager of Kernow Veterinary Group in Cornwall. Her entry to the veterinary profession was as a veterinary nurse, but her role evolved into a management one as the practice grew into a group. She is president of the Veterinary Practice Management Association.

Evidence in Practice - A Pilot Study Leveraging Companion Animal and Equine Health Data from Primary Care Veterinary Clinics in New Zealand.

Veterinary practitioners have extensive knowledge of animal health from their day-to-day observations of clinical patients. There have been several recent initiatives to capture these data from electronic medical records for use in national surveillance systems and clinical research. In response, an approach to surveillance has been evolving that leverages existing computerized veterinary practice management systems to capture animal health data recorded by veterinarians. Work in the United Kingdom within the VetCompass program utilizes routinely recorded clinical data with the addition of further standardized fields. The current study describes a prototype system that was developed based on this approach. In a 4-week pilot study in New Zealand, clinical data on presentation reasons and diagnoses from a total of 344 patient consults were extracted from two veterinary clinics into a dedicated database and analyzed at the population level. New Zealand companion animal and equine veterinary practitioners were engaged to test the feasibility of this national practice-based health information and data system. Strategies to ensure continued engagement and submission of quality data by participating veterinarians were identified, as were important considerations for transitioning the pilot program to a sustainable large-scale and multi-species surveillance system that has the capacity to securely manage big data. The results further emphasized the need for a high degree of usability and smart interface design to make such a system work effectively in practice. The geospatial integration of data from multiple clinical practices into a common operating picture can be used to establish the baseline incidence of disease in New Zealand companion animal and equine populations, detect unusual trends that may indicate an emerging disease threat or welfare issue, improve the management of endemic and exotic infectious diseases, and support research activities. This pilot project is an important step toward developing a national surveillance system for companion animals and equines that moves beyond emerging infectious disease detection to provide important animal health information that can be used by a wide range of stakeholder groups, including participating veterinary practices.

Recruitment and Hiring Strategies of Private Practitioners and Implications for Practice Management Training of Veterinary Students.

Hiring new employees is one of the most important and difficult decisions all veterinary practice managers and owners face. In an effort to improve hiring decisions, many employers are choosing to screen potential employees more thoroughly through the use of interviews, background checks, personality assessments, and online research including social and professional networking websites. The current study reports results from an anonymous online survey created to evaluate practicing veterinarians' attitudes and practices related to the use of recruitment and hiring tools. Results suggest that, compared to those in other professions, veterinarians underutilize these evaluative tools. The profession could benefit from more opportunities for both practitioners and veterinary students to learn how to utilize a broader range of hiring and recruitment techniques. One area of particular and growing concern is the use of Internet social media for evaluation of potential employees. Despite the fairly low number of participants who indicated they currently research applicants online, a significant number plan to implement this practice in the future. Many students are unaware of how their online postings can affect their future job possibilities and career. It is therefore important to designate time within continuing education programs and professional veterinary curricula to educate these populations about hiring and recruitment tool options and about how to manage their personal Internet interactions (especially social media) to enhance and maintain their professional image (e-professionalism).

Equine Insulin Resistance (EIR): private veterinary practice prevention and management learned in over 1,000 cases in the last 3 years

s / Journal of Equine Veterinary Science 33 (2013) 838–859 855 Magnesium, chromium, and cinnamon have also been recommended for the control insulin resistance in horses, but there is a paucity of scientific evidence to support their use. It is conceivable that some horses respond to specific supplements whereas others do not, and this may be explained by the multiple manifestations of insulin dysregulation. However, veterinarians should be cautious about horse owners substituting supplements for good management practices until further scientific evidence is presented. The practice of harvesting blood to lower iron concentrations in horses is not condoned. This recommendation arose from findings in other species linking iron overload with insulin resistance. In a study recently performed by the University of Kentucky, resveratrol lowered insulin concentrations in horses with insulin dysregulation. Results have only been presented as an abstract to date; the full article must be evaluated before recommendations for resveratrol supplementation are made. 017 Fish oil is a modulator of neutrophil function in chronic laminitis Samantha M. Steelman , David M. Hood , Yang Y. Fan , Robert S. Chapkin , and Bhanu P. Chowdhary 1 Department of Veterinary Integrative Biosciences, Texas A&M University, Hoof Diagnostic and Rehabilitation Clinic, Bryan, TX, 3 Program in Integrative Nutrition & Complex Diseases, Texas A&M University Take-home message: Dietary supplementation with marine-based omega-3 fatty acids might be beneficial in chronic laminitis. Introduction: Recent experiments in our lab have shown that horses with chronic laminitis exhibit neutrophilic infiltration of the laminar tissue and that neutrophils from these animals produce elevated levels of inflammatory cytokines, suggesting a role for these cells in chronic laminitis. Fish oil has been shown to reduce chronic, neutrophil-driven inflammation in a number of other species. We therefore conducted a pilot experiment to determine the ability of fish oil supplementation to attenuate inflammation in horses with chronic laminitis. Materials and Methods: Four horses with chronic laminitis were fed 80 g of powdered fish oil daily for 45 days. Blood was collected on days 0, 7, 14, and 21, and force plate analyses were performed on days 0 and 45. Data were analyzed using ANOVA for repeated measures. Results: Fish oil supplementation significantly decreased neutrophil chemotaxis in response to zymosan and increased neutrophil production of resolvin D1, an antiinflammatory lipid. No changes in lameness or mean stance load pattern were noticed. Discussion and Conclusions: Contrary to some published reports, we found ample evidence to indicate that fish oil supplementation can reduce inflammation in horses. The lack of effect on measurements of lameness is likely due to the short duration of the study. Dietary supplementation with marine-based omega-3 fatty acids might be beneficial in chronic laminitis. 018 Equine Insulin Resistance (EIR): private veterinary practice prevention and management learned in over 1,000 cases in the last 3 years Frank K. Reilly Equine Medical & Surgical Associates, West Chester, PA Take-homemessage: With care, it is possible to return the horse to some grass turnout in a safe, practical, and tested manner. Equine Insulin Resistance (EIR) is now the leading cause of laminitis worldwide. Owners, farriers, and veterinarians are seeing an increase in the number of cases and want information on what works and what does not in avoiding EIR, and practical ways to manage the problem. Recent advances in diagnostic testing have helped to identify EIR through blood tests, but widely varying test techniques make it difficult for the owner to understand what the numbers mean. Telling owners to feed lousy hay and keep the horse on a dirt lot is not being accepted as an answer by most owners with EIR horses. The ability to return to some grass turnout in a safe, practical, and tested manner, so that the horse can bewith other horses and not be segregated, is important information.

Fish oil is a modulator of neutrophil function in chronic laminitis

s / Journal of Equine Veterinary Science 33 (2013) 838–859 855 Magnesium, chromium, and cinnamon have also been recommended for the control insulin resistance in horses, but there is a paucity of scientific evidence to support their use. It is conceivable that some horses respond to specific supplements whereas others do not, and this may be explained by the multiple manifestations of insulin dysregulation. However, veterinarians should be cautious about horse owners substituting supplements for good management practices until further scientific evidence is presented. The practice of harvesting blood to lower iron concentrations in horses is not condoned. This recommendation arose from findings in other species linking iron overload with insulin resistance. In a study recently performed by the University of Kentucky, resveratrol lowered insulin concentrations in horses with insulin dysregulation. Results have only been presented as an abstract to date; the full article must be evaluated before recommendations for resveratrol supplementation are made. 017 Fish oil is a modulator of neutrophil function in chronic laminitis Samantha M. Steelman , David M. Hood , Yang Y. Fan , Robert S. Chapkin , and Bhanu P. Chowdhary 1 Department of Veterinary Integrative Biosciences, Texas A&M University, Hoof Diagnostic and Rehabilitation Clinic, Bryan, TX, 3 Program in Integrative Nutrition & Complex Diseases, Texas A&M University Take-home message: Dietary supplementation with marine-based omega-3 fatty acids might be beneficial in chronic laminitis. Introduction: Recent experiments in our lab have shown that horses with chronic laminitis exhibit neutrophilic infiltration of the laminar tissue and that neutrophils from these animals produce elevated levels of inflammatory cytokines, suggesting a role for these cells in chronic laminitis. Fish oil has been shown to reduce chronic, neutrophil-driven inflammation in a number of other species. We therefore conducted a pilot experiment to determine the ability of fish oil supplementation to attenuate inflammation in horses with chronic laminitis. Materials and Methods: Four horses with chronic laminitis were fed 80 g of powdered fish oil daily for 45 days. Blood was collected on days 0, 7, 14, and 21, and force plate analyses were performed on days 0 and 45. Data were analyzed using ANOVA for repeated measures. Results: Fish oil supplementation significantly decreased neutrophil chemotaxis in response to zymosan and increased neutrophil production of resolvin D1, an antiinflammatory lipid. No changes in lameness or mean stance load pattern were noticed. Discussion and Conclusions: Contrary to some published reports, we found ample evidence to indicate that fish oil supplementation can reduce inflammation in horses. The lack of effect on measurements of lameness is likely due to the short duration of the study. Dietary supplementation with marine-based omega-3 fatty acids might be beneficial in chronic laminitis. 018 Equine Insulin Resistance (EIR): private veterinary practice prevention and management learned in over 1,000 cases in the last 3 years Frank K. Reilly Equine Medical & Surgical Associates, West Chester, PA Take-homemessage: With care, it is possible to return the horse to some grass turnout in a safe, practical, and tested manner. Equine Insulin Resistance (EIR) is now the leading cause of laminitis worldwide. Owners, farriers, and veterinarians are seeing an increase in the number of cases and want information on what works and what does not in avoiding EIR, and practical ways to manage the problem. Recent advances in diagnostic testing have helped to identify EIR through blood tests, but widely varying test techniques make it difficult for the owner to understand what the numbers mean. Telling owners to feed lousy hay and keep the horse on a dirt lot is not being accepted as an answer by most owners with EIR horses. The ability to return to some grass turnout in a safe, practical, and tested manner, so that the horse can bewith other horses and not be segregated, is important information.

Mushroom toxicosis: cause or confounder in seasonal canine illness?

Mushroom toxicosis: cause or confounder in seasonal canine illness?

Role of veterinary management in increasing pig breeding efficiency: a methodological approach

The aim of this research was to determine the effects of different factors of production (farm management strategy, veterinary management, physical farm conditions, and breeding technology) on the performance of Hungarian pig breeding farms. Performance is defined in a broad sense, reflecting the complexity of pig breeding, taking into consideration technological and economic indices. According to our hypothesis a direct, quantifiable stochastic relation can be shown between management strategy, veterinary practice management, construction and building engineering characteristics of plants, breeding technology and the performance of farms. The data for the analysis were acquired by a direct question survey of more than 130 Hungarian pig breeding farms. Utilising these data, different indices were created for each farm with the purpose of information compression. Based on these indicators, a series of linear regression equations was set up to describe the relationship between independent (exogenous) variables, such as management strategy, intervening causal variables (such as the piglet rearing technology and veterinary practice management) and the performance, as the dependent variable. This simultaneous equation model was tested using Mplus® software. The results serve as quantitative, statistical evidence for the effect of management practice in general, and veterinary management in particular, on the performance of pig breeding farms. This can be considered as clear proof of the economic importance of veterinary management.

Role of veterinary management in increasing pig breeding efficiency: a methodological approach

The aim of this research was to determine the effects of different factors of production (farm management strategy, veterinary management, physical farm conditions, and breeding technology) on the performance of Hungarian pig breeding farms. Performance is defined in a broad sense, reflecting the complexity of pig breeding, taking into consideration technological and economic indices. According to our hypothesis a direct, quantifiable stochastic relation can be shown between management strategy, veterinary practice management, construction and building engineering characteristics of plants, breeding technology and the performance of farms. The data for the analysis were acquired by a direct question survey of more than 130 Hungarian pig breeding farms. Utilising these data, different indices were created for each farm with the purpose of information compression. Based on these indicators, a series of linear regression equations was set up to describe the relationship between independent (exogenous) variables, such as management strategy, intervening causal variables (such as the piglet rearing technology and veterinary practice management) and the performance, as the dependent variable. This simultaneous equation model was tested using Mplus® software. The results serve as quantitative, statistical evidence for the effect of management practice in general, and veterinary management in particular, on the performance of pig breeding farms. This can be considered as clear proof of the economic importance of veterinary management.

The transition into veterinary practice: Opinions of recent graduates and final year students

BackgroundThe transition from veterinary student to member of the veterinary profession is known to be challenging. This study aimed to determine and compare the opinions of final year veterinary students and recent graduates on graduate attributes that ease this transition.MethodsThe study was carried out across 3 veterinary schools in the United Kingdom. Paper based or electronic surveys were used. Final year students in the 3 schools were surveyed either electronically (school A) or on paper (schools B and C). Student cohort sizes were 112, 227 and 102 respectively. Recent graduates were contacted either at a reunion event (school A) or electronically from database records (school B and school C). Cohort sizes of contacted graduates were 80, 175 and 91 respectively. Respondents were asked to rate 42 individual attributes on a 5 point Likert scale. Focus groups with final year students and recent graduates and telephone interviews with recent graduates were carried out. Data were analysed by two researchers through a combination of manual coding and thematic analysis. Data were grouped into broad themes then sorted into narrower themes. Data were then searched for counter examples.ResultsResponse rates for final year students were 34% (school A), 36% (school B) and 40% (school C). Response rates for recent graduates were 56% (school A), 20% (school B) and 11% (school C). There was a high level of agreement between the cohorts with respect to communication skills, problem solving and decision making skills, recognition of own limitations and the ability to cope with pressure all rated unanimously important or very important. Business acumen, knowledge of veterinary practice management and research skills were the 3 attributes ranked at the bottom of the list. Nine attributes were identified with a significantly different (p < 0.05) ranking between the cohorts. Final year students ranked veterinary clinical knowledge, knowledge of veterinary public health and zoonotic issues, veterinary legislation and veterinary practice management, commitment to continuing professional development and ability to evaluate information higher than recent graduates. Recent graduates ranked the attributes of integrity, friendliness and compassion higher than final year students.ConclusionsRecent graduates and final year students rate highly the attributes which help foster the client/veterinarian relationship. Recent graduates reflect that a focus on knowledge based attributes is less important once in practice when compared to final year. The study confirms the importance to recent graduates and final year students of attributes considered as non-technical in the transition to working in the veterinary profession.

Occupational Stress in Veterinary Nurses: Roles of the Work Environment and Own Companion Animal

ABSTRACTVeterinary nursing has been identified as an occupation at risk for occupational stress and burnout, but a better understanding of job stressors and influencing factors is needed. The aim of this study was to examine occupational stress in a veterinary nursing population based on established work stress theories. This study sought to determine which environmental aspects of the work situation may be detrimental to well-being and which factors may operate to reduce job stress. A sample of South Australian veterinary nurses (n = 127) completed a postal questionnaire about their work environment (job demands and control, work social supports) and their psychological distress, work burnout, and job satisfaction, with a response rate of 76.5%. The potential influence of attachment to participants' own companion animals was investigated using the Owner Pet Relationship Scale. Hierarchical regressions then explored the contribution to psychological outcomes, of social support at work and attachment to own companion animal, after controlling for work load, exposure to euthanasia, contact with clients, work demands, and work control. While social support at work ameliorated occupational stress, attachment to companion animal was linked to decreased job satisfaction. Supportive interpersonal relations in the workplace have a key role in veterinary nurses' job satisfaction. Management skill training may have a role in the development of more satisfying workplaces for the veterinary nursing sector, which may have implications for the undergraduate and post-registration training of veterinary practice managers.

Connecting Knowledge Resources to the Veterinary Electronic Health Record: Opportunities for Learning at Point of Care

Electronic health records (EHRs) provide clinical learning opportunities through quick and contextual linkage of patient signalment, symptom, and diagnosis data with knowledge resources covering tests, drugs, conditions, procedures, and client instructions. This paper introduces the EHR standards for linkage and the partners-practitioners, content publishers, and software developers-necessary to leverage this possibility in veterinary medicine. The efforts of the American Animal Hospital Association (AAHA) Electronic Health Records Task Force to partner with veterinary practice management systems to improve the use of controlled vocabulary is a first step in the development of standards for sharing knowledge at the point of care. The Veterinary Medical Libraries Section (VMLS) of the Medical Library Association's Task Force on Connecting the Veterinary Health Record to Information Resources compiled a list of resources of potential use at point of care. Resource details were drawn from product Web sites and organized by a metric used to evaluate medical point-of-care resources. Additional information was gathered from questions sent by e-mail and follow-up interviews with two practitioners, a hospital network, two software developers, and three publishers. Veterinarians with electronic records use a variety of information resources that are not linked to their software. Systems lack the infrastructure to use the Infobutton standard that has been gaining popularity in human EHRs. While some veterinary knowledge resources are digital, publisher sites and responses do not indicate a Web-based linkage of veterinary resources with EHRs. In order to facilitate lifelong learning and evidence-based practice, veterinarians and educators of future practitioners must demonstrate to veterinary practice software developers and publishers a clinically-based need to connect knowledge resources to veterinary EHRs.