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Clinical year veterinary students are concerned about calving cows and request more real-life, practical exposure to
Jayne Orr1, Monika Mihm Carmichael1, Rob Kelly2
1Scottish Centre for Production Animal Health and Food Safety, School of Biodiversity, One Health and Veterinary Medicine, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, UK.
Background:
Newly qualified veterinarians are expected to attend emergencies, for example, cow calving, but their clinical exposure to these scenarios before graduation may be limited. This study aimed to investigate what affects veterinary students' confidence and attitudes regarding calving cows.
Methods:
Paper questionnaires were distributed to veterinary students in their third (n = 240, 2016/2017 and 2017/2018) and fourth years (n = 347, 2016/2017, 2017/2018 and 2018/2019) at one UK university to ascertain their demographic data, confidence regarding calving cows (rated on a scale from 1 to 5) and their concerns and suggestions for improving their confidence.
Results:
Responses were received from 156 and 300 consenting third- and fourth-year students, respectively. The mean total calving confidence score was higher in the fourth year (34.3/65) than in the third year (30.8/65, p < 0.05), and students from both years rarely rated themselves as being 'confident' or 'very confident' in 13 individual calving tasks. Having some previous experience (odds ratio [OR] 3.34), intending to work with cows (OR 3.25), being from Europe (OR 3) or North America (OR 2.72) and in the fourth year (OR 2.3) increased the odds (p < 0.01) of students having some calving confidence. Four main concerns were identified: myself, the task, the animal and the farmer. The students requested more real-life, practical exposure to improve their confidence.
Limitations:
Students were from a single UK veterinary school, and the study relied on self-reported confidence levels.
Conclusion:
Overall, students lacked confidence in calving cows and were concerned about many aspects of this high-stakes clinical scenario. Veterinary faculty and extramural study providers need to collaborate to develop students' confidence in this area before graduation.
