Rayner Emma L, Bastola Ranjita, Bedre Sumanth, Gibson Andrew D, Gamble Luke, MacKay Jill Rd
Worldwide Veterinary Service, 4 Castle Street, Cranborne, Dorset, UK.
Worldwide Veterinary Service, International Training Centre, Gramya Bhavan, RDO Trust Building, Aruvankadu, The Nilgiris 643202, Tamil Nadu, India.
Anim Welf. 2025 Feb 3;34:e8. doi: 10.1017/awf.2025.3. eCollection 2025.
Veterinarians are custodians of animal welfare, ensuring practices remain current and effective in the face of the ever-changing demands of the profession. Continuing Professional Development (CPD) is essential for protecting animal welfare, however access to quality CPD is a challenge in many countries. India has one of the fastest growing veterinary industries globally, emphasising the importance of accessible CPD opportunities that are relevant to this setting. This study used focus groups to explore how Indian veterinarians identify relevant CPD, barriers they encounter, and their experiences with CPD. We describe three themes: (1) 'career vs calling', where veterinarians' extrinsic and intrinsic motivational factors were identified, such as their desire to protect animal welfare; (2) being 'willing to learn but can't', with context-specific barriers, such as accessing reliable CPD information; and (3) 'real interactions matter', where participants described how pedagogical design influenced their choices, e.g. being able to observe animal welfare improvements through practical teaching. We have three recommendations: firstly, to improve CPD learning opportunities informed by evidence-based methods, to meet knowledge and skills gaps such as the high demand for practically focused training; secondly, the development of a unified accreditation and quality assurance framework to assess content, relevance and delivery standards of available CPD options to veterinarians; and, lastly, improved support from employers to address current barriers and facilitate attendance. These findings contribute to the current knowledge gap of factors that influence Indian veterinarians' experiences of attaining relevant, accessible CPD and makes suggestions to improve standards of veterinary care and, ultimately, patient welfare.
兽医是动物福利的守护者，要确保在面对该行业不断变化的需求时，相关做法保持与时俱进且行之有效。持续专业发展（CPD）对于保护动物福利至关重要，然而在许多国家，获得高质量的CPD却是一项挑战。印度是全球兽医行业发展最快的国家之一，这凸显了提供与该国情况相关的、可获得的CPD机会的重要性。本研究采用焦点小组来探讨印度兽医如何确定相关的CPD、他们遇到的障碍以及他们在CPD方面的经历。我们描述了三个主题：（1）“职业与使命感”，其中确定了兽医的外在和内在动机因素，例如他们保护动物福利的愿望；（2）“想学但无法学”，存在特定背景下的障碍，比如获取可靠的CPD信息；（3）“真实互动很重要”，参与者描述了教学设计如何影响他们的选择，例如通过实践教学能够观察到动物福利的改善。我们有三条建议：首先，以循证方法为依据改善CPD学习机会，以弥补知识和技能差距，比如对实践导向培训的高需求；其次，制定统一的认证和质量保证框架，以评估可供兽医选择的CPD的内容、相关性和提供标准；最后，雇主提供更多支持，以消除当前障碍并便利参与。这些发现有助于填补当前关于影响印度兽医获得相关的、可获得的CPD经历的因素方面的知识空白，并提出改进兽医护理标准以及最终改善患者福利的建议。
