Primary Care Clinical Rotations Are Associated with Shifts in Senior Veterinary Students' Perceptions of Scope,...

The study objective was to evaluate changes in senior veterinary students' perceptions of companion animal primary care and career preferences following a primary care clinical rotation. A multi-institutional survey was administered to veterinary students at 10 US colleges of veterinary medicine before and after a companion animal primary care rotation between January 2024 and July 2025. Survey items were organized into six conceptually defined perception groupings. Changes in perception scores and agreement with a career goal were analyzed using linear mixed-effects models with random intercepts for student and school. Career preferences were assessed using ordinal rankings of eight career paths, and free-text responses were analyzed using structured, AI-assisted inductive thematic analysis. A total of 442 students completed the pre-rotation survey, and 83 had a paired post-rotation survey. Post-rotation, modest but statistically significant increases were observed in perceptions of clinical complexity and intellectual engagement (β = 0.13, 95% CI 0.01-0.26) and scope and holistic practice (β = 0.09, 95% CI 0.00-0.18). Agreement that companion animal primary care was a career goal also increased (β = 0.21, 95% CI 0.07-0.36). School-level clustering accounted for little variance, while student-level clustering was substantial. Companion animal practice was the only career path for which the median rank improved. Free-text responses reflected greater appreciation of the breadth, complexity, and intellectual demands of primary care following the rotation. Overall, primary care rotations were associated with small but consistent shifts toward more informed and favorable perceptions of companion animal primary care.