Practices, preferences, and opinions of New Zealand veterinarians towards continuing professional development.

Aims: To describe the current practices and preferences of New Zealand veterinarians towards continuing professional development (CPD), explore factors acting as perceived barriers to CPD engagement, and identify opportunities for reforming the current CPD regulations. Methods: A cross-sectional survey of all veterinarians registered with the Veterinary Council of New Zealand (VCNZ) was conducted in October 2019. Descriptive statistics were provided for all quantitative study variables and thematic analysis was performed on the free-text survey comments to identify key issues regarding the current CPD regulations in New Zealand. Results: Complete survey responses were provided by 222/3,484 (6.4%) registered veterinarians. Most respondents (153/222; 68.9%) were satisfied with the amount of CPD completed and spent a mean of $2,511 (median $2,000; min $0; max $20,000) on CPD activities each year. The most popular CPD formats were those involving collegial interaction including conference and skills training workshops. The choice of CPD activities was most commonly influenced by interest in the topics and the desire to become more competent in their work while the main barriers were difficulties fitting CPD around work and family commitments. There were 164 (73.9%) respondents who cited at least one occasion in the previous 12 months where participating in CPD caused them to modify their existing practices. Thematic analysis of the free-text comments revealed several major themes related to the administrative burden of recording CPD activities under the current regulatory framework, and the need to develop CPD plans tailored towards the unique circumstances and goals of individual veterinarians. Respondents also expressed concerns over the reliability of using CPD record audits for evaluating professional competency. Factors identified as being the most helpful for improving the current CPD framework were simplifying the CPD points categories and developing a mechanism to record and share CPD activities in real-time. Conclusions: While most respondents felt there was significant value in completing CPD, the current regulatory framework was perceived to be administratively burdensome and inflexible in allowing them to tailor CPD activities to match their unique employment situation, learning style and professional goals. Clinical relevance: Providing resources that could assist veterinarians to design and implement tailored CPD programmes may improve professional and personal outcomes. However, further research is needed to develop more effective mechanisms for identifying veterinarians who are not performing competently without placing excessive administrative burdens on those who are.

Experiences of employers, work colleagues, and mentors with new veterinary graduates and preferences towards new graduate support programmes.

Aims: To describe the experiences of employers, work colleagues, and mentors who have recently worked with new veterinary graduates in New Zealand, explore factors influencing perceptions of new graduate performance, and identify opportunities for providing better support to new graduates and their employers. Methods: All veterinarians registered with the Veterinary Council of New Zealand (VCNZ) were invited to participate in a cross-sectional survey. Descriptive statistics were calculated for all study variables and a mixed-effects multivariable logistic regression model was constructed to explore factors associated with perceptions of new graduate performance. Thematic analysis was performed on free-text comments to identify key issues with new graduate support. Results: The survey was completed by 83 veterinarians with 68 (81.9%) providing information on 95 individual new graduates they had mentored. New graduates exceeded expectations in their ability to research cases and communicate with colleagues while time management and awareness of financial issues were highlighted as weaknesses. The mean total time respondents spent supervising new graduates during their first year was 166.8 (median 95; min 0; max 852) hours. New graduates who were not considered the best applicants for the job and those who had left their job were 6.3 (95% CI = 2.11-11.8) and 5.4 (95% CI = 1.55-19.0) times, respectively, more likely to be rated as performing below expectations. Thematic analysis revealed major themes related to the inadequate preparation of students in veterinary school, employers lacking adequate training and resources to supervise new graduates, and intergenerational differences in work ethic and expectations, which may be contributing to burnout and dissatisfaction for new graduates and their employers. Components of new graduate support programmes that were perceived to be most helpful were having regular meetings between the supervisor and employee to discuss performance and wellbeing, having compulsory sessions with an experienced veterinarian for career advice, and having non-compulsory checklists of technical and non-technical skills to guide professional development planning. However, there was varying levels of support for including these measures in a formal new graduate support programme. Conclusions: While respondents highlighted many challenges faced by new graduates and their employers, there was often disagreement about the root cause of the problem and potential solutions. Clinical relevance: Providing non-compulsory checklists to help employers work with new graduates to develop tailored professional development plans and support structures within their unique practice environment may result in more positive experiences as new graduates transition from student to independent practitioner.

Experiences of recent veterinary graduates in their first employment position and their preferences for new graduate support programmes.

Aims: To explore the experiences of recent veterinary graduates in their first employment position, to investigate risk factors for leaving this position, and to identify their preferences towards new graduate support programmes.Methods: All 693 individuals who completed their veterinary degree and registered with the Veterinary Council of New Zealand between May 2014 and May 2019 were invited to participate in a cross-sectional survey regarding their employment experiences. Descriptive statistics were calculated for all study variables and a multivariable logistic regression model was constructed to explore factors associated with increased risk of new graduates leaving their first position. Thematic analysis was performed on the free-text comments to identify key issues with new graduate support.Results: The survey was completed by 162/693 veterinarians (23.4%). Of 153 respondents who provided information on their first employment position, 61 (39.9%) commenced their veterinary career in companion animal practice, 44 (28.8%) in mixed animal practice, 36 (23.5%) in large animal practice, and 12 (7.8%) worked in another veterinary discipline. Most respondents (124/153; 81.0%) were rostered for after-hours emergency shifts during their first year with variable levels of support from their practice. Among 72 respondents (44.4%) who had left their first job, the mean length of employment was 1.4 (median 1; min 1; max 4) years. The most common reasons reported for leaving were a toxic practice culture and lack of adequate support. The risk of leaving was increased by being put in situations they could not handle (OR 5.26; 95% CI = 1.49-20.6) and employers that did not regularly check their wellbeing (OR 5.08; 95% CI = 1.52-18.9). Only 56/144 (38.9%) respondents and 30/144 (20.8%) respondents supported introducing compulsory checklists of technical and soft skills, respectively. Providing regular feedback, creating a supportive practice culture, setting reasonable workload expectations, providing clinical and professional advice, and developing tailored skills development plans were identified as key areas that employers of new graduates should address.Conclusions: Lack of appropriate mentoring and toxic practice cultures were the most common reasons for new graduates leaving their first job. Although respondents identified that employers should provide new graduates with better support, most were not supportive of introducing a compulsory programme.Clinical relevance: To help new graduates transition into their first professional veterinary roles, employers should ensure that new graduates are only placed in situations that they can handle competently and check regularly on their mental and physical wellbeing.

Endemic foot and mouth disease: pastoral in-herd disease dynamics in sub-Saharan Africa.

Foot and mouth disease (FMD) burden disproportionally affects Africa where it is considered endemic. Smallholder livestock keepers experience significant losses due to disease, but the dynamics and mechanisms underlying persistence at the herd-level and beyond remain poorly understood. We address this knowledge gap using stochastic, compartmental modelling to explore FMD virus (FMDV) persistence, outbreak dynamics and disease burden in individual cattle herds within an endemic setting. Our analysis suggests repeated introduction of virus from outside the herd is required for long-term viral persistence, irrespective of carrier presence. Risk of new disease exposures resulting in significant secondary outbreaks is reduced by the presence of immune individuals giving rise to a period of reduced risk, the predicted duration of which suggests that multiple strains of FMDV are responsible for observed yearly herd-level outbreaks. Our analysis suggests management of population turnover could potentially reduce disease burden and deliberate infection of cattle, practiced by local livestock keepers in parts of Africa, has little effect on the duration of the reduced risk period but increases disease burden. This work suggests that FMD control should be implemented beyond individual herds but, in the interim, herd management may be used to reduced FMD impact to livestock keepers.

Gene transfer in skeletal muscle by systemic injection of DODAC lipopolyplexes.

Lipid-based vectors are a promising tool for gene therapy applications. Several studies have reported their use in vivo to transfect different organs. Few data, however, are available about lipid-mediated gene transfer in skeletal muscle. Here we report the initial results obtained after systemic administration of lipopolyplexes based on the DODAC cationic lipid in an animal model of muscle regeneration. In particular, we compared three routes of administration: intravenous (i.v.), intracardiac (IC) and intra-arterial (IA). Analysis of reporter gene expression (luciferase) showed that regenerating muscle is more efficiently transfected in all cases and that IA injection is by far the best approach.

Retinal detachment in the pheasant (Phasianus colchicus).

Retinal detachment was observed as a cause of blindness in small numbers of reared pheasants in widely separated geographical areas. Lesions were bilateral but asymmetrical in 16 birds. In three pheasants only one eye was affected. Clinical signs were first noticed at 5 weeks of age. Affected birds were blind by the time they were mature. Early lesions comprised subretinal fluid and degeneration of the vitreous body. Following separation of the retina at the junction of the pigmented epithelium and photoreceptors, adhesions took place between the detached tissue and both the pecten and lens. Peripheral cystoid defects were seen concomitantly in the retinas of seven pheasants but these were bilateral in only two individuals. The cause of the disease is unknown.

Partial retinal dysplasia and subsequent degeneration in a mutant strain of domestic fowl (rdd).

An inherited recessive form of retinopathy has been discovered in the domestic fowl (rdd) which is characterized by progressive deterioration of the retina, culminating in blindness by sexual maturity. Morphologically, the condition is recognizable by abnormalities in both the retinal pigment epithelium and the neural retina. Gaps in the pigment epithelium which are first detected macroscopically at nine days of incubation become larger and more numerous until the time of hatching, then disappear during the subsequent week. Undulations in the outer nuclear, outer plexiform, and inner nuclear layers are obvious by 11 days of incubation. There is a marked reduction of photoreceptors at 18 days of incubation as compared to normal controls. After hatching, the thickness of the retina decreases with age, primarily due to cell loss from the photoreceptor region and inner nuclear layer. Detachment of the atrophic retinas generally occurs in adults, and is followed in some adults by granulation and ossification of the vitreous. Problems concerning the site of the lesion are discussed.