Johnstone Elizabeth C S, Frye Melinda A, Lord Linda K, Baysinger Angela K, Edwards-Callaway Lily N
Department of Animal Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, United States.
College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, United States.
Front Vet Sci. 2019 Apr 10;6:103. doi: 10.3389/fvets.2019.00103. eCollection 2019.
Although leading veterinary organizations emphasize the importance of animal welfare knowledge, there exists a gap in current veterinary student animal welfare education and training. A survey instrument was created to assess third-year Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (DVM) student knowledge of key animal welfare topics, opinions regarding the inclusion of welfare education in the veterinary curriculum, and views on veterinarian responsibilities as advocates. In Spring 2018, Colorado State University added a required animal welfare course to the DVM curriculum. Pre- and post-course paper surveys were distributed to the third-year students enrolled in the animal welfare course. One hundred thirty one completed pre-course surveys were collected and 125 completed post-course surveys were collected. Of the pre and post-course surveys collected, 61 were paired with identification codes and utilized for statistical comparison. Results indicated that the course led students to view the inclusion of an animal welfare course in the veterinary curriculum more favorably ( = 0.009) and improved their confidence in conducting research on animal welfare topics ( < 0.001). The course did not change students' sense of responsibility toward welfare advocacy. Associations were not found between attitudes toward these issues and demographic variables of home community, respondent gender, and track selection ( > 0.06). Veterinarians were consistently ranked by students as the most influential member of a community in matters of animal welfare. Future research on the lack of veterinary student knowledge of animal welfare should be done on a national scale to facilitate strategic development of mandatory animal welfare courses in veterinary curricula. Future research should be designed to gain knowledge regarding DVM students' opinions and attitudes regarding effective methods of incorporating animal welfare education into their professional training.
尽管主要的兽医组织强调动物福利知识的重要性，但目前兽医学生的动物福利教育和培训仍存在差距。我们创建了一份调查问卷，以评估兽医学博士（DVM）三年级学生对关键动物福利主题的了解、对在兽医课程中纳入福利教育的看法，以及对兽医作为倡导者责任的观点。2018年春季，科罗拉多州立大学在DVM课程中增加了一门必修的动物福利课程。课前和课后的纸质调查问卷被分发给参加动物福利课程的三年级学生。共收集到131份完整的课前调查问卷和125份完整的课后调查问卷。在收集的课前和课后调查问卷中，61份配有识别码并用于统计比较。结果表明，该课程使学生对在兽医课程中纳入动物福利课程的看法更为积极（P = 0.009），并提高了他们对进行动物福利主题研究的信心（P < 0.001）。该课程并未改变学生对福利倡导的责任感。在对这些问题的态度与家庭社区、受访者性别和专业方向选择等人口统计学变量之间未发现关联（P > 0.06）。在动物福利问题上，学生们一直将兽医列为社区中最有影响力的成员。未来应在全国范围内开展关于兽医学生缺乏动物福利知识的研究，以促进兽医课程中强制性动物福利课程的战略发展。未来的研究应旨在了解DVM学生对将动物福利教育纳入其专业培训的有效方法的意见和态度。
