Little is known about veterinary entrepreneurial predisposition. Yet entrepreneurship and intrapreneurship (entrepreneurial behaviour of employees) foster business innovation and growth and support wealth creation and employment in both privately and corporately owned businesses which deliver contemporary veterinary services. We used responses from 515 final-year students in Australian entrepreneurship, nursing, and veterinary programs to capture entrepreneurial intention (EI), outcome expectations (OE-sb), entrepreneurial self-efficacy (ESE), and corporate/large organisation work intentions (CWIs). Veterinary respondents stood out for their high EI and high OE-sb, but low financial ESE and low CWI. Proportions of veterinary, entrepreneurship, and nursing respondents differed markedly across distinct cluster profiles representing entrepreneurial, intrapreneurial, both entrepreneurial and intrapreneurial, indifferent, and corporate employment intentions and attributes. Post hoc analysis revealed proportional cluster membership differences for respondents from different veterinary schools. Our findings raise questions regarding (1) the effectiveness of veterinary business curricula competencies which focus on expense management and (2) the implications of the mismatch of motivations and goals of new veterinary sector entrants whose low intent to work in a corporate environment is at odds with increasing corporate ownership of veterinary practices. To inform curricular change, we recommend further research to evaluate the relative impact of individual factors, admissions factors, and the formal or hidden curricula on entrepreneurial intention in veterinary final-year students.

IntroductionAltruism is considered a trait of veterinary and other health professionals, but the level of altruism in the veterinary profession is unknown. We designed a metric conjoint experiment to reveal other-orientation (an individual's caring concern for the wellbeing of others) and self-interest. We draw on the ‘Theory of Other-Orientation’, which states that individuals' decision-making heuristics can be impacted by their other-orientation independent of their self-interest. In patient-focused contexts, highly other-oriented or altruistic (veterinary) professionals may care too much for others and suffer immediate or cumulative financial and personal costs of such caring. At the same time, other-orientation can enhance job-related attitudes and outcomes, such as job satisfaction.MethodsIn a metric conjoint experiment, Australian final-year veterinary, science, nursing, entrepreneurship, and engineering students rated eight job scenarios with orthogonally arranged high and low levels of three job characteristics (n = 586) to provide observed measures of other-orientation and self-interest.ResultsA two-way MANOVA showed other-orientation or self-interest differed per discipline, but not gender. Veterinary (and engineering) respondents were less other-oriented than nursing respondents. Veterinary (and entrepreneurship) respondents were more self-interested than nursing respondents. K-Means cluster analysis confirmed four distinct profile groupings—altruistic/self-sacrificing, ‘both other-self’, self-interested and selfish—aligning with the discourse in the literature. Human nursing respondents stood out for the most members (50%) in the ‘both other-self’ profile compared to veterinary respondents (28%). Respondents of one of three veterinary schools stood out for the most members (19%) in the altruistic/self-sacrificing group.DiscussionOur metric conjoint experiment illustrates an alternative to ‘self-report’ items with Likert-scaled responses. Our finding of the ‘both other-self’ group adds to the literature, which considers that other-orientation and self-interest are separate constructs that are difficult to co-exist in individuals. This mix of traits is deemed helpful by organizational psychology scholars, for sustainability and wellbeing, especially for healthcare professionals involved in high-frequency and intense, patient-focused interactions. Our findings highlight the need for more research on the potential role of other-orientation and self-interest in veterinary school admissions processes, the hidden or taught curricula, job-related attitudes and beliefs, and wellbeing and professional sustainability in the veterinary sector.

This paper presents a mini-review of employability as a guiding outcome in veterinary education-its conceptualisation, utility, core elements and dimensions, and pedagogical approaches-through a summary of the findings of a major international project with the same aims (the VetSet2Go project). Guided by a conception of the successful veterinary professional as one capable of navigating and sustainably balancing the (sometimes competing) needs and expectations of multiple stakeholders, the project integrated multiple sources of evidence to derive an employability framework representing the dimensions and capabilities most important to veterinary professional success. This framework provides a useful complement to those based in narrower views of competency and professionalism. One notable difference is its added emphasis on broad success outcomes of satisfaction and sustainability as well as task-oriented efficacy, thus inserting "the self" as a major stakeholder and bringing attention to resilience and sustainable well-being. The framework contains 18 key capabilities consistently identified as important to employability in the veterinary context, aligned to five broad, overlapping domains: veterinary capabilities (task-oriented work performance), effective relationships (approaches to others), professional commitment (approaches to work and the broader professional "mission"), psychological resources (approaches to self), plus a central process of reflective self-awareness and identity formation. A summary of evidence supporting these is presented, as well as recommendations for situating, developing, and accessing these as learning outcomes within veterinary curricula. Though developed within the specific context of veterinarian transition-to-practise, this framework would be readily adaptable to other professions, particularly in other health disciplines.

Assisting students to develop employability attributes is considered a core responsibility of higher education institutions. While there are some common employability attributes across disciplines, there are also differences. Empirical research into employability from less-well represented disciplines, such as veterinary science, helps to broaden the current employability discourse. Using semi-structured interviews, and criterion sampling for maximal variation, this study explored factors employers consider when selecting new graduate veterinarians for employment. Eighteen employers were interviewed and data were analysed using thematic analysis within the context of an interpretivist, constructivist lens. Accounts were distilled into 20 sub-themes, or 'selection factors', and arranged into four interlinked themes: (1) personal attributes; (2) interpersonal skills; (3) veterinary capabilities; and (4) job match. This work illuminates the complexity of each selection factor including local influences, employer interpretations and 'filter in' and 'filter out' considerations. Findings emphasise the critical role that employer circumstances and needs can play in the selection of new graduate veterinarians, and the influence of perceptions of candidate job suitability and employee-workplace match. Our results resonate with existing employability literature, while highlighting some nuanced and previously underemphasised selection factors that may be of relevance beyond our discipline.

BACKGROUND:Producing graduates for a breadth of sectors is a priority for veterinary science programs. Undergraduate career intentions represent de-facto 'outcome' measures of admissions policy and curricula design, as intentions are strong predictors of eventual behaviour. Informed by Ajzen's Theory of Planned Behaviour, this study aimed to identify if contextually relevant attitudes and self-ratings affect student intentions for veterinary career sectors.RESULTS:Survey responses from 844 students enrolled in five Australian veterinary programs in 2014 were analysed. Intention was measured for biomedical research/academia, industry, laboratory animal medicine, public health/government/diagnostic laboratory services, mixed practice, intensive animal production, companion animal practice, not work in the veterinary profession, and business/entrepreneurship. Hierarchical multiple linear regression analysis enabled comparison of explanation of variance in intent by demographics, animal handling experience, species preference, and attitudes to aspects of veterinary work. Career sector intentions were highest for mixed or companion animal clinical practice, then business/entrepreneurship, then non-clinical sectors. Overall, intent was explained to a greater extent by species preferences than by animal experience, attitudes to aspects of veterinary work and demographics (with the exception of mixed practice intent) with gender having no significant effect. Several variables exerted negative effects on career intent for less popular career sectors.CONCLUSION:Ajzen's Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) provides a framework to increase understanding of and predict career sector intentions. Incorporation of attitude and self-efficacy measures in our study revealed preference for species types contributes greatly to career sector intentions for veterinary students, particularly for the more popular practice based sectors. Importantly, specific species preferences and other attitudes can have a negative effect on intent for non-aligned veterinary sectors. Further research is required to identify additional attitudes and/or beliefs to better explain variance in intent for less popular career sectors. Veterinary admissions processes may benefit from utilising the TPB framework. Identified effects revealed by this study may stimulate innovation in marketing, recruitment, admissions and curricular design, such as timing and role modelling, to utilise positive effects and mitigate against negative effects identified for sectors requiring greater representation of career intent in the student body.

Australian Veterinary JournalVolume 95, Issue 4 p. 122-122 BOOK REVIEW Blackwell's five-minute veterinary practice management consult. 2nd edition. Edited by Lowell Ackerman. Wiley Blackwell Publishing, 2013. 808 pages. A$152.95. ISBN 9781118529249. A Feakes, A FeakesSearch for more papers by this author A Feakes, A FeakesSearch for more papers by this author First published: 27 March 2017 https://doi.org/10.1111/avj.12470 *The reviewer is a co-author of a chapter in this book. Read the full textAboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Share a linkShare onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditWechat No abstract is available for this article. Volume95, Issue4April 2017Pages 122-122 RelatedInformation

Objective To assess the effectiveness of cholecalciferol (D-3) doses for maintaining adequate vitamin D status in crias and adult female alpacas at pasture.Design A field experiment during winter and early spring in a herd on a farm in South Australia.Animals and procedure Crias, usually less than 6 months of age and female alpacas, aged 2 to 6 years, were given a single subcutaneous dose of 0, 1000 or 2000 IU D-3/kg body weight. Plasma concentrations of 25-hydroxycholecalciferol (25-OH D-3), phosphorus, calcium and vitamins A and E and alkaline phosphatase activity were measured at intervals over a period of 16 weeks after treatment.Results Crias not given a vitamin D supplement had reduced growth rate during winter and one animal showed clinical signs of rickets. Vitamin D treatment had no effect on the body weight of mature females. Vitamin D supplements increased the 25-OH D-3 and phosphorus concentrations in plasma of both crias and adult females; alkaline phosphatase activity was not affected by treatment.Conclusion It is suggested that for alpacas in southern Australia a subcutaneous dose of 1000 IU D-3/kg body weight to crias in late autumn and again in mid winter and to adult females in mid winter should prevent vitamin D inadequacy.

Adele Feakes, Jennifer Hyams, Stuart Barber, Martin Cake,, Blaise Webster, Edward Palmer, Kiro R. Petrovski, , Dana A. Thomsen