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Benefits of Animal Exposure on Veterinary Students' Understanding of Equine Behaviour and Self-Assessed Equine Handling Skills.

ABSTRACT: Horses are one of the most dangerous animals veterinarians have to work with. For many veterinary students, their first exposure to horses occurs during practical classes. To evaluate the level of knowledge students have of equine behaviour and their equine handling competency when entering the programme, 214 veterinary students (1st and 4th year) were recruited to participate in a questionnaire. Participants were asked to choose one out of 12 terms that best represented the affective state of a horse in a picture, and to self-assess their equine handling skills. Half (n = 56/115) of the first-year students correctly interpreted the horse's behaviour. The majority had (1) a poor understanding of equine learning mechanisms and (2) poor self-rated equine handling skills. A history of pet ownership (p = 0.027) and the presence of horses on their family property (p = 0.001) were significantly associated with a correct understanding of equine behaviour. Fourth-year students were three times more likely to accurately interpret the horse's behaviour (p = 0.01) and rated their handling skills higher than first-year students (p = 0.006). These results suggest that previous animal experience confers a considerable advantage to interpret equine behaviour and highlight the critical importance of practical training in the veterinary programme.

SUBMITTER: Guinnefollau L

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6769774 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Benefits of Animal Exposure on Veterinary Students' Understanding of Equine Behaviour and Self-Assessed Equine Handling Skills.

Guinnefollau Lauréline L Gee Erica K EK Bolwell Charlotte F CF Norman Elizabeth J EJ Rogers Chris W CW

Animals : an open access journal from MDPI 20190828 9

Horses are one of the most dangerous animals veterinarians have to work with. For many veterinary students, their first exposure to horses occurs during practical classes. To evaluate the level of knowledge students have of equine behaviour and their equine handling competency when entering the programme, 214 veterinary students (1st and 4th year) were recruited to participate in a questionnaire. Participants were asked to choose one out of 12 terms that best represented the affective state of a ...[more]

PMID: 31466298

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Project description:Veterinary behaviour medicine should be a foundation subject of the veterinary curriculum because of its wide scope of applications to veterinary practice. Private practitioners are likely to be the primary source of information on animal behaviour for most pet owners, however studies indicate that behavioural issues are not frequently discussed during companion animal consultations and many practitioners lack confidence in dealing with behavioural problems, likely due to poor coverage of this subject in veterinary education.There is a need to identify learning outcomes to support day one competences in veterinary behaviour medicine and these should be informed by practice-based evidence. This study aimed to investigate the nature and frequency of behavioural queries experienced by veterinary professionals in Ireland, the provision of behavioural services at companion animal practices, behaviour referral practices and challenges associated with providing a behaviour service.Two online surveys were developed, one for private veterinary practitioners (PVP) and one for veterinary nurses (VN). Invitations to participate were distributed using contact details from the Premises Accreditation Scheme database on the Veterinary Council of Ireland website. Thirty-eight PVPs and 69 VNs completed the survey.Results indicated that less than half of companion animal practices offer behavioural consults and under a third of practices provide training and socialization events. Over half of the practices surveyed have referred cases to a behavioural specialist.The majority of respondents encountered behavioural queries weekly. Ninety-eight percent reported receiving queries regarding dog behaviour. Toilet training and unruly behaviour were two issues encountered frequently. Behavioural issues in cats were also common. House soiling and destructive behaviour were the problems most frequently encountered by respondents.The two most commonly cited barriers to providing behavioural consultations were lack of in-house or personal expertise, and that clients were not willing to pay for these services.Furthermore over half of all veterinary professionals surveyed indicated that they had received inadequate undergraduate training in veterinary behaviour medicine.Behavioural problems in companion animals can affect the quality of life of pets and their owners. Our survey findings indicate that many veterinary professionals frequently encounter behavioural problems and identify an opportunity for improved provision in behaviour medicine in veterinary education.

Project description:BackgroundCompanion animal behaviour problems significantly impact companion animal (and owner) welfare. Veterinary behavioural medicine (VBM) is an emerging discipline and aims to provide evidence-based advice to owners and veterinary professionals to support normal behaviour in companion animals through appropriate socialisation and training and to address behaviour problems in a constructive and welfare-friendly manner. The approach to problem behaviours in dogs has changed in recent years; previously a mis-understanding of the biological theory of dominance has been used to explain certain behavioural problems in dogs which has led to the use of punishment-based treatment methods. Current research advocates the benefits of reward-based methods and highlights the risks of implementing positive punishment-based training techniques to both dogs and owners. Golden and Hanlon (Ir Vet J 71: 12, 2018) have reported that veterinary professionals in Ireland are frequently asked to advise on dog behaviour problems. This study aimed to explore veterinary professionals' understanding of training and treatment options for frequently encountered dog behaviour problems, and to help support the development of competences in VBM in Ireland.MethodsAn online survey was developed, including a pre-test evaluation by a pilot group of veterinary professionals, on SurveyMonkey®. The link to the online survey was distributed via third-party professional associations and social media. The survey contained twelve vignettes illustrating advice from veterinary professionals on common behaviour scenarios. Using a Likert Scale, respondents were asked to assess the likelihood of the advice to support best outcome for the dog. Best outcome was defined as one which provides a resolution to the behavioural problem while not compromising the animal's welfare.Results84 private veterinary practitioners (PVP) and 133 veterinary nurses (VN) completed the survey. In the majority of vignettes, most veterinary professionals agreed with our classification of best outcome, but several areas of uncertainty were identified. Marked variations in response were found for PVPs in vignettes depicting advice recommending citronella collars, invisible radio fences, trainers utilising dominance language, and another dog for separation anxiety. For VNs, variations in response were found in vignettes depicting dominance-based training and advice on separation anxiety. Significant differences were found in the responses of VNs and PVPs for the vignettes recommending the use of citronella collars (p < 0.01) and invisible radio fences (p < 0.05), where VNs agreed with their recommendation less often than PVPs. PVPs graduating since 2013 agreed with the recommendation of invisible radio fences less often than PVPs graduating before 2013 (p < 0.05). VNs graduating before 2013 agreed with the recommendation of an accredited trainer (p < 0.05) and disagreed with the use of flooding to treat fear (p < 0.05) more often than VNs graduating since 2013.ConclusionsOur findings have identified specific areas of uncertainty with regards knowledge of positive punishment-based training and the treatment of common dog behaviour problems, highlighted the demand for continuing professional education in VBM and provided further evidence of the need to develop day one competences in VBM for veterinary medicine and nursing programmes at university level.

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Project description:BACKGROUND:Although searching for health information on the internet has offered clear benefits of rapid access to information for seekers such as patients, medical practitioners, and students, detrimental effects on seekers' experiences have also been documented. Health information overload is one such side effect, where an information seeker receives excessive volumes of potentially useful health-related messages that cannot be processed in a timely manner. This phenomenon has been documented among medical professionals, with consequences that include impacts on patient care. Presently, the use of the internet for health-related information, and particularly animal health information, in veterinary students has received far less research attention. OBJECTIVE:The purpose of this study was to explore veterinary students' internet search experiences to understand how students perceived the nature of Web-based information and how these perceptions influence their information management. METHODS:For this qualitative exploratory study, 5 separate focus groups and a single interview were conducted between June and October 2016 with a sample of 21 veterinary students in Ontario, Canada. RESULTS:Thematic analysis of focus group transcripts demonstrated one overarching theme, The Overwhelming Nature of the Internet, depicted by two subthemes: Volume and Type of Web-based Health Information and Processing, Managing, and Evaluating Information. CONCLUSIONS:Integrating electronic health information literacy training into human health sciences students' training has shown to have positive effects on information management skills. Given a recent Association of American Veterinary Medical Colleges report that considers health literacy as a professional competency, results of this study point to a direction for future research and for institutions to contemplate integrating information literacy skills in veterinary curricula. Specifically, we propose that the information literacy skills should include knowledge about access, retrieval, evaluation, and timely application of Web-based information.

Dataset Information

Benefits of Animal Exposure on Veterinary Students' Understanding of Equine Behaviour and Self-Assessed Equine Handling Skills.

Publications

Benefits of Animal Exposure on Veterinary Students' Understanding of Equine Behaviour and Self-Assessed Equine Handling Skills.

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