Using a Card Sort Technique to Determine the Perceptions of First-Year Veterinary Students on Veterinary Professionalism Attributes Important to Future Success in Clinical Practice.

First-year veterinary students' perceptions on the veterinary professionalism attributes important to future success in clinical practice were explored using a card sort technique. The key findings were that self-oriented attributes (overall mean: 3.20; 42% responses were essential) and people-oriented attributes (overall mean: 3.13; 39% essential) were rated more highly than task-oriented attributes (overall mean: 2.98; 31% essential) (1-4 scale: 1 = irrelevant, 4 = essential). Within these overall ratings, the establishment/maintenance of effective client relationships (people-oriented attribute; mean: 3.84) and the ability to be composed under pressure and recover quickly (self-oriented attribute; mean: 3.82) received the highest scores. The highest task-oriented score was the ability to work to a high standard and achieve results (mean: 3.57). There was no difference between ethnicities or between men and women, but respondents < 20 years of age gave higher scores to people-oriented attributes than did older respondents (≥ 20 years). The use of the card sort technique has not been widely reported in veterinary educational literature, and so this study represents a novel approach to garnering opinions from newly enrolled veterinary students-a group of stakeholders whose views on this subject are seldom sought. The results show that first-year veterinary students have well-developed opinions on the key attributes of veterinary professionalism and indicate that the early development of students' opinions needs to be taken into consideration in the design of professionalism curricula within veterinary programs.

Using the critical incident technique to determine veterinary professional competencies important for enhancing the veterinarian-client interaction.

BACKGROUND: While previous research has examined components of professionalism that veterinary employers and clients expect in veterinarians, little attention has been paid to practising clinical veterinarians' opinions on important professional competencies that help to enhance the veterinarian-client relationship. This study used a phenomenological approach and critical incident technique to gather the narratives of practising veterinarians in New Zealand about positive and negative veterinarian-client interactions. The intention was to identify the underlying principles of professionalism that resulted in the positive/negative outcomes of those interactions. METHODS: Twenty-two practising veterinarians were interviewed, and each respondent was asked to recollect and narrate a significant positive and a significant negative critical incident in their career that involved a veterinarian-client interaction within a clinical setting. The professional competencies that the veterinarian believed contributed to a successful or an unsuccessful outcome were elucidated using thematic analysis. RESULTS: Thematic analysis of the critical incident narratives revealed four major themes under the overarching theme of 'building a relationship between the veterinarian and the client': 'accountability and integrity', 'effective communication skills', 'personal wellbeing' and 'quality of care'. CONCLUSION: The description of the important professional competencies that helped to enhance the veterinarian-client relationship provides a reference for the practising profession to help improve the likelihood of veterinarians enjoying satisfied and successful careers.

Welfare Assessment and Husbandry Practices of Working Horses in Fiji.

Keywords: Fiji; working horse; welfare, intervention; husbandry; healthcare.

A serosurvey of bluetongue and epizootic haemorrhagic disease in a convenience sample of sheep and cattle herds in Zimbabwe.

A convenience sample of sheep and cattle herds around the cities of Harare, Kwekwe and Bulawayo, located in the Highveld region of Zimbabwe, was used to estimate the seroprevalence and sero-incidence of bluetongue virus (BTV) and epizootic haemorrhagic disease virus (EHDV) antibodies. A competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay was used to identify serum antibodies against BTV and EHDV across three rainy seasons. The median sero-prevalence of BTV and EHDV antibodies in cattle was 62% (interquartile range [IQR]: 30-89) and 56% (IQR: 5-77), respectively. In sheep, the median sero-prevalence of BTV and EHDV was 41% (IQR: 19-63) and 0% (IQR: 0-21), respectively. Median sero-incidences of BTV and EHDV antibodies in cattle of 43% (IQR: 22-67) and 27% (IQR: 9-57) respectively were recorded. The median sero-incidence of BTV in sheep was 14% (IQR: 6-23). Based on these preliminary findings, animal health workers in Zimbabwe should continue to monitor the exposure rates of cattle and sheep to BTV and consider the possibility of strains emerging with increased pathogenicity. There are no previous published reports of antibodies against EHDV in Zimbabwe so the possibility of epizootic haemorrhagic disease existing in domestic livestock should now be considered by Zimbabwean animal health officials. Seroconversions to BTV and EHDV occurred predominantly at the end of each rainy season (March and April), which generally corresponds to high numbers of the Culicoides vectors. BTV isolations were made from three individual cows in two of the sentinel herds and all three were identified as serotype 3. This is the first time BTV serotype 3 has been recorded in Zimbabwe, although its presence in neighbouring South Africa is well documented.

The sero-prevalence and sero-incidence of African horse sickness and equine encephalosis in selected horse and donkey populations in Zimbabwe.

Sentinel herds and samples submitted by private equine practitioners were used to determine the sero-prevalence and sero-incidence of African horse sickness virus (AHSV) and equine encephalosis virus (EEV) in horse and donkey populations in the Highveld region of Zimbabwe. The sero-prevalence and sero-incidence of antibodies against these viruses were determined using the competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for the detection of serum antibodies. In donkeys, the median sero-prevalence of AHSV antibodies, across the three rainy seasons under study, was 75% (inter quartile range [IQR] 67-83), with a seasonal median sero-incidence of 45% (IQR 40-63). In horses, the median sero-prevalence of EEV antibodies was 63% (IQR 21-73), with a median seasonal sero-incidence of 10.5% (IQR 10-14), while in donkeys the median sero-prevalence of EEV antibodies was 80% (IQR 67-90), with a median seasonal sero-incidence of 50% (IQR 40-60). This study highlighted the significant levels of exposure of donkeys to AHSV and horses and donkeys to EEV in Zimbabwe despite equine encephalosis remaining unreported by Zimbabwean veterinarians to date. Most seroconversions in sentinel herd animals to AHSV and EEV occurred towards the end of the rainy season in March, April and May corresponding to the time of the year when the Culicoides vectors are in high abundance. In order to determine the clinical significance of these infections, blood and spleen samples, submitted by private equine veterinary practitioners over a 5-year period, from horses showing characteristic clinical signs of African horse sickness were tested for the presence of viral antigen using the antigen capture ELISA. The median sero-prevalence of AHSV antigen in horses recorded from these samples was 38% (IQR 33-88). The predominant AHSV antigen from these samples was serotype 7 (33%) followed by serotype 2 (26%) and serotypes 4 and 8 (16% each). African horse sickness virus serotypes 3 and 9, identified in this study, had not been previously reported in Zimbabwe.

The occurrence of Culicoides species, the vectors of arboviruses, at selected trap sites in Zimbabwe.

A study of the distribution of Culicoides species was conducted by establishing 12 light trap sites over five rainy seasons between 1998 and 2003 covering all the geo-climatic natural regions of Zimbabwe. In total, 279 919 specimens of Culicoides were trapped over a total of 163 trapping nights. The highest median counts of Culicoides per trapping night were recorded in natural region III, which has climatic conditions conducive to the successful development of the larvae. Culicoides imicola, the major vector of bluetongue and African horse sickness viruses in Africa, was found to be the most abundant species (80.4%), followed by Culicoides enderleini (5.9%) and Culicoides milnei (5.2%). This study identified 10 species of Culicoides that had not been previously described in Zimbabwe, including Culicoides loxodontis and Culicoides miombo, which are members of the C. imicola complex. A total of 23 994 Culicoides midges were collected from five trap sites in Harare, Zimbabwe, with the dominant species, C. imicola, representing 91.6% of the total collection. Seventeen arboviruses were isolated from these midges, 15 of which were bluetongue virus. The predominant bluetongue virus serotype was serotype 11, followed by serotypes 1, 8, 12 and 15. Bluetongue virus serotypes 1, 2, 8, 10, 12, 15, 16 and 18, detected in this study, had not been previously reported in Zimbabwe.

Medical and surgical management of an intra-abdominal abscess of hepatic origin in a horse.

CASE DESCRIPTION: A 4-year-old Arabian-cross mare was examined because of a 48-hour history of pyrexia, lethargy, and signs of abdominal discomfort. CLINICAL FINDINGS: On initial evaluation, the horse was in good body condition, but febrile, tachycardic, tachypneic, and icteric and had signs of colic. Findings on CBC and serum biochemical analysis indicated marked systemic inflammation and hepatocellular damage. Serial abdominal ultrasonographic examinations revealed progressive, localized hepatic parenchymal abnormalities in the left ventral aspect of the abdomen in proximity to the left liver lobes, and eventual identification of an irregularly marginated, hyperechoic walled region of heterogenous echogenicity consistent with an encapsulated hepatic abscess. TREATMENT AND OUTCOME: Medical treatment was initiated with administration of doxycycline and flunixin meglumine. After 7 days, the horse's clinical signs and hematologic values improved. After 14 days, the horse was discharged from the hospital and prescribed continuation of doxycycline treatment for 14 days. One week following hospital discharge, the horse was reevaluated for recurrent signs of colic and pyrexia. The horse was sedated, and the region overlying the caudal aspect of the seventh rib was desensitized with an inverted L nerve block by local infiltration with 2% lidocaine. While the horse was standing and sedated, drainage of an encapsulated intra-abdominal abscess was followed by rib resection and removal of a portion of necrotic left lateral liver lobe. The development of a pneumothorax following rib resection represented the only major surgical complication. Twelve months later, the horse was clinically normal and had returned to its previous level of performance. CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Rib resection in standing sedated horses, together with appropriate medical management, should be considered an option for removal of well-encapsulated cranially located intra-abdominal abscesses that are adherent to the ventrolateral aspect of the body wall in horses.