League of VetaHumanz SuperPower Pack Program: Introducing Young People from Diverse Backgrounds to STEM Learning Activities and Veterinary Science Careers.

League of VetaHumanz uses a nationwide network of university-community partnerships to provide veterinary STEM learning experiences for children who are more likely to lack access to enriching, supplemental educational opportunities due to systemic barriers based on their race, ethnicity, or socioeconomic status. To include participation beyond in-person programming, SuperPower Packs, self-guided, learning experiences, were developed. Leveraging social cognitive career theory and the "Batman Effect," SuperPower Packs are designed to build self-efficacy, and seed STEM and veterinary science career aspirations by engaging children in STEM learning through connections with a veterinary role model. Four SuperPower Packs were developed. Beginning in the fall of 2021, for 17 months, 16,655 SuperPower Packs were distributed to children in 23 states. A small portion of children who received the game (3.8%, N = 614, 6-12 years old) returned evaluation surveys that measured activity engagement, likelihood of role model identification and demographics. Participants indicated variation in their experiences, but mean scale scores show desirable perceptions of engagement (MRange = 2.38 - 2.90/3) and role model identification (MRange = 2.15 - 2.94/3). These positive learning and role model experiences help set the stage to encourage youth to pursue similar learning and career opportunities in the future.

Using Strategies from Physical Training of Athletes to Develop Self-Study Programs for Veterinary Medical Students.

Veterinary medical students, similar to elite collegiate athletes, are developing strategies for learning new skills and for self-care to take their performance to the next level. As veterinary students learn to successfully navigate an information-dense, high-volume curriculum, many sacrifice wellness, leadership opportunities, extracurricular activities, and social interactions. Strategies from athletes' physical training were used to design a self-study program for first-year veterinary medical students. Major considerations in program design were the characteristics of the human being, learning goals, and contextual constraints. The study program included a warm-up, study sessions, and a cooldown. The program was offered to first-year veterinary medical students at Purdue University's College of Veterinary Medicine. Thirty-two students requested study programs and 21 completed surveys at the semester end. Results were analyzed quantitatively and by using an adapted conventional content analysis approach. Responses were organized into three main domains: reason for participation, program utility, and program satisfaction. Students shared that the most helpful aspects of the program were assisting with organization and time management, providing accountability, and reducing overwhelm by enhancing well-being and performance; they reported that these learned skills would support their well-being as future professionals. This article describes the experiences of one group of veterinary students at one college using these programs. The long-term goal is to develop a model program for all veterinary students to manage curricular demands while maintaining well-being.

Examining Effects of a Multisite Youth Outreach Program: A Meta-Analysis Approach.

This paper presents the application of a meta-analysis approach to the evaluation of youth-learning data from the nationally distributed This is How We "Role" program. The application of meta-analysis for examining the impact of other multisite youth programs encountering similar data analysis challenges is discussed. At each This is How We "Role" program site, university partners collected data to examine youth-participant learning. Data analysis from these unique sites was challenging as the approach had to accommodate the innate heterogeneity across sites due to differences in implementation, sample size, and learning context. The meta-analysis method revealed details of the underlying variation between sites that could be masked by typical regression approaches, estimated overall program effects, examined subgroups and identified heterogeneity across project sites. The results showed the This is How We "Role" program generally increased learning at each site and as a whole, even though the program effects varied across sites. This example demonstrates the utility of using the meta-analysis approach to similar multi-site youth development programs.

A Global Veterinary Education Program for North American Veterinary Students: A Description of Purdue University Best Practices.

Worldwide growth in global mobility has transformed the way we communicate, trade, and approach global issues. The rise of global migration and distribution comes with a higher probability of transmitted disease, human-wildlife conflict, and food safety issues. No longer viewed as isolated incidents, the occurrence of global health threats in one part of the globe is now a concern throughout the world. Our society needs globally conscious veterinarians who are dedicated to affecting world change through the improvement of animal and human health; veterinarians who are prepared to collaborate, exchange, and engage with the world around them. Higher education institutions for veterinary medicine have the responsibility to prepare their students to become agents of change within society and rewrite the narrative on global health. This article highlights the intentional approach that Purdue University College of Veterinary Medicine took to address the need for more globally conscious veterinarians. The article provides examples of administrative structures, funding sources, global engagement opportunities, methods to increase student awareness of opportunities, and student support. Finally, we describe the impact of this approach in increasing student participation in global engagement.

Developing a Scalable STEM Career Development Program for Elementary School-Aged Students.

This article describes an approach to designing a scalable career development curriculum for elementary school students using minimal-cost and readily available resources. Content experts, veterinary medical students, university staff, teachers, community partners, evaluation experts, and a children's book illustrator developed a library of low-cost, culturally responsive, fun, and educationally engaging lessons to expose elementary school-aged students to scientific knowledge and careers in veterinary medicine. The home team piloted and evaluated the approach at a local community center. Teams in eight other states were provided materials to pilot and assess the program. Seven of those teams successfully piloted the program and provided evidence of child engagement. Although models, props, and other costly supplies enhance delivery of Science Technology Engineering and Math lessons, our experience with the delivery of this curriculum was proof of concept that a low-cost curricular model is one strategy to facilitate scaling and sustainability of an engaging veterinary science curriculum.

Challenges and Issues Surrounding Promotion and Tenure of Faculty with Clinical Service Responsibilities in Veterinary Medicine.

Mentoring, assessing, and rewarding faculty who have clinical service responsibilities with promotion and tenure can be challenging in many respects. Clinical service responsibilities can limit the time that faculty have available to participate in scholarly activities, especially if the scholarship required for promotion is restricted to traditional research efforts where an individual faculty member is assessed in terms of the number of scientific publications in high-tiered journals with senior authorship and the amount of extramural funding garnered. Even if other forms of scholarship are recognized, metrics used to evaluate research efforts are often inappropriately applied to other scholarly activities. This challenge is not unique to veterinary medicine. This literature review reveals information regarding barriers and recommended solutions from other healthcare and service professions as recognizing scholarly engagement in academic veterinary medicine is just beginning. Opportunities and examples of how faculty can derive scholarship from their clinical service activities are provided. In addition, an approach for mentoring faculty in the prospective planning and documenting of scholarly engagement efforts is suggested. Lastly, challenges and guidance for assessing such scholarship in academic veterinary medicine are recommended as one step toward encouraging colleges of veterinary medicine to develop methods to assess scholarly engagement within their promotion and tenure processes. A change in approach to the promotion and tenure process can result in more faculty being rewarded for their clinical, diagnostic, and scholarly excellence, which positively impacts patient care, career fulfillment, institutional reputation, the veterinary profession, and society as a whole.

Fat dogs and coughing horses: K-12 programming for veterinary workforce development.

Workforce development strategies to educate, inform, and diversify the veterinary profession of the future must begin with children in elementary school. This article provides a description of the Fat Dogs and Coughing Horses program, which takes a multifaceted approach toward informing young students, beginning in first grade, about the interesting work and career opportunities available in the field of veterinary medicine. The program, a collaboration among Purdue University and Indiana public schools, is supported by a Science Education Partnership Award from the Office of Research Infrastructure Programs, a component of the National Institutes of Health. The overall goal of the program is to provide formal and informal educational opportunities for students, parents, teachers, and the public about the science involved in keeping people and their animals healthy. Examples of health concerns that impact both people and their pets are used to inform and excite children about careers in the health sciences. The program resulted in (1) curricula for students in Grades 1-3, 6, and 9; (2) four children's books and a set of collectible cards which highlight veterinarians, veterinary technicians, and research scientists who work with animals; and (3) four traveling museum-level quality exhibits. Preliminary assessment data has shown that the implementation of the curricula enhanced student science learning and science attitudes and interests. The program provides evidence that partnerships among professionals in veterinary medicine and K-12 education can result in impactful workforce development programs.

The impact of using a veterinary medicine activity book in the classroom on fifth- and sixth-grade students' depictions of veterinarians.

Efforts to develop a diverse, future veterinary workforce must start as early as elementary school, when children begin to form perceptions about careers. The objective of the current project was to determine the impact of the Veterinary Medicine Activity Book: Grade 5 on fifth- and sixth-grade students' depictions of veterinarians. The book was delivered as part of the curriculum in four classrooms. Students were asked to draw a veterinarian and describe the veterinarian's activities before and after being exposed to the book. Drawings were evaluated for the gender and race/ethnicity of the illustrated veterinarian, the description of the veterinarian's activity, and animals portrayed. Significant differences were detected within three of four classrooms. In one class, after exposure to the activity book, more students drew male veterinarians and veterinarians performing an activity specifically mentioned in the book. In a second class, more students drew large animals after exposure to the activity book. In a third class, after exposure to the activity book, more students drew large animals and veterinarians performing an activity specifically mentioned in the book. Results provide preliminary evidence that children's depictions of veterinarians can be altered through use of educational materials delivered in classrooms through teacher-led discussion or formal lesson plans.