IntroductionThe readiness for interprofessional collaboration (IPC) is rooted in interprofessional education (IPE). IPE shapes views of IPC and socializes students into professional roles. Previous work showed differences among medical, veterinary, and dual degree Master of Public Health (MPH) students in identity and role expectations using the Readiness for Interprofessional Learning Scale (RIPLS). Yet, it is uncertain which roles and identities are elicited while using this instrument. The authors sought to answer the following question: What professional and interprofessional identities do veterinary students construct through stories in response to RIPLS items focused on roles and identities?MethodologyUsing think-aloud interviews with focused RIPLS items, 9 veterinary students shared narratives of veterinary and interprofessional identities related to constructs of the RIPLS. Within a social constructivist framework, data were analyzed using thematic analysis.ResultsAnalysis identified several complex narrated identities that overlap and inform the veterinary professional identity, including veterinarian, veterinary interprofessional, interprofessional, and One Health identity. Participants narrated veterinarians in stories as communicators with a wide range of professional roles who must advocate for themselves and the status of their profession. Veterinary interprofessionals were multi-level team players within a veterinary healthcare team that collaborate to achieve common goals, with an emphasis on maintaining team safety. Interprofessional identity encapsulates skills and attitudes that veterinary medicine shares with other healthcare fields, yet employs them independently, which were discovered by participants through casual interactions with people trained in other fields. Participants discussed One Health as an important interprofessional space where veterinarians collaborate with other fields for a ‘greater good’. Ambiguity regarding identity and roles emerged in relation to the RIPLS.DiscussionThese findings affirm research that situates veterinary professional identities as complex, contradictory, and dual. One Health orientations resonate strongly with the veterinary community and may be better suited for IPC inclusive of veterinary medicine. Social media and social interactions have potentially significant impacts on veterinary professional identity development and remain underexplored. Participant confusion surrounding RIPLS items contributes to criticisms of the tool, widely discussed in IPE/C literature. Further work is needed to identify the best tools and approaches to investigate veterinary professional identity and attitudes toward IPC.

Summer veterinary research scholars programs (VRSPs) provide valuable hands-on mentored research experience to pre-clinical veterinary students with exposure to various career options. In response to ongoing funding challenges, we aimed to document program impact on participants' careers. We hypothesized that a higher proportion of VRSP participants would pursue a graduate degree, internship, residency, and peer-reviewed publication than non-participants. Veterinarians who graduated in 2000-2024 from Kansas State University, Mississippi State University, the University of Missouri, or the University of Wisconsin completed an online survey. We analyzed quantitative data using logistic regression, including VRSP participation, school, and their interaction as fixed effects. We coded and themed open-ended responses. The study enrolled 1614 alumni (385 VRSP, 1,229 non-VRSP). Participation in VRSPs was associated with increased odds of MS (odds ratio [OR] 3.2, 95% CI = 1.7-5.8, p = .0002), PhD (OR = 9.9, CI = 4.3-22.9, p < .0001), internship (OR = 2.3, CI = 1.7-3.2, p < .0001), residency (OR = 3.7, CI = 2.6-5.3, p < .0001), and peer-review publication (OR = 7.9, CI = 5.7-11.0, p < .0001). The likelihood of pursuing a career in academia (OR = 3.0, CI = 1.8-4.8, p < .0001) was also associated with participation in a VRSP. Qualitative results included five main themes related to how VRSP was significant to participants' careers: Influential, Catalytic, Pivotal, Valuable, and Possible. Early exposure to hands-on mentored research through VRSP successfully impacts alumni careers, contributing to the education and advancement of veterinary researchers. Favorable outcome measures from this study support advocacy to justify renewed federal funding for VRSPs as well as ongoing support from academia and industry.

BACKGROUND:Veterinary professionals may be at risk for experiencing mental health concerns. Therefore, it is important to understand their mental health experiences and factors that have the potential to improve wellbeing, including self-compassion. METHODS:This study assessed mental health symptoms and their correlates and evaluated the relationships between self-compassion and mental health concerns among a cross-sectional sample of 475 veterinary professionals in the United States between May and October 2018. RESULTS:Approximately 19% of the participants reported clinically significant symptoms of depression, and 22% reported clinically significant symptoms of anxiety. Eleven percent reported a history of engaging in non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI), 27% reported a history of suicidal ideation, and 6% reported attempting suicide at some point. Women reported higher levels of depression and anxiety, as well as a higher lifetime prevalence of NSSI and suicidality. Early career professionals reported higher levels of anxiety. Importantly, veterinary professionals with greater self-compassion reported lower rates of psychological distress, and these relationships remained after controlling for the effects of gender and years of experience. LIMITATIONS:The cross-sectional and correlational design used in the study precluded causal inferences about the impacts of self-compassion on mental health concerns or the relationships among them. Non-probability sampling methods and potential self-selection bias may also impact the generalisability of the results. CONCLUSION:These findings underscore the complexities of mental health for veterinary professionals and the potential mental health benefits of self-compassion. Practical self-compassion interventions are discussed.

Veterinary students may be at risk for experiencing mental health concerns. Some scholars have suggested that maladaptive perfectionism is a contributing factor, although little research has examined this empirically. The main objectives of this study were to explore the relationships between perfectionistic cognitions, self-compassion, and psychological distress among 472 Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (DVM) students in the United States. Veterinary students reported experiencing more frequent perfectionistic cognitions than a normative non-clinical sample of college students. There were no significant differences in overall psychological distress between veterinary students and a normative clinical sample of college students seeking services at university counseling centers. Participants who reported experiencing more frequent perfectionistic cognitions also tended to report lower self-compassion and greater psychological distress. Self-compassion mediated the relationship between perfectionistic cognitions and psychological distress, which suggests that improving self-compassion may be one way of reducing the impacts of maladaptive perfectionism on veterinary students' mental health.

Medical sciences education emphasizes basic science learning as a prerequisite to clinical learning. Studies exploring relationships between achievement in the basic sciences and subsequent achievement in the clinical sciences generally suggest a significant positive relationship. Basic science knowledge and clinical experience are theorized to combine to form encapsulated knowledge– a dynamic mix of information that is useful for solving clinical problems. This study explores the relationship between basic science knowledge (BSK), clinical science knowledge (CSK), and clinical problem-solving ability, as measured within the context of four veterinary colleges using both college-specific measures and professionally validated, standardized measures of basic and clinical science knowledge and problem-solving ability. Significant correlations existed among all variables. Structural equation modeling and confirmatory factor analysis were used to produce models showing that newly acquired BSK directly and significantly predicted BSK retained over time and newly acquired CSK, as well as indirectly predicted clinical problem-solving ability (mediated by newly acquired CSK and BSK retained over time). These findings likely suggest a gradual development of schema (encapsulated knowledge) and not an isolated development of biomedical versus clinical knowledge over time. A broader implication of these results is that explicitly teaching basic science knowledge positively and durably affects subsequent clinical knowledge and problem-solving ability independent of instructional strategy or curricular approach. Furthermore, for veterinary colleges specifically, student performance as measured by both course-level and standardized tests are likely to prove useful for predicting subsequent academic achievement in classroom and clinical settings, licensing examination performance, and/or for identifying students likely in need of remediation in clinical knowledge.

The anatomy of the equine distal limb (EDL) is both complex and important to veterinary clinical practice. First-year veterinary students (VM1s) often struggle to adequately understand it. Two third-year veterinary students collaborated with instructors to create an instructional video to facilitate first-year students' comprehension of EDL anatomy. The video was offered to all VM1s. Learning outcomes were assessed via practical exams. Exam scores on EDL structures were compared between students who did (video) and students who did not (no video) watch the video. Students' laboratory experiences and confidence were evaluated with a post-exam survey. The third-year students documented their experiences while producing the video. Eighty percent of VM1s viewed the video; 91% rated the video as very valuable. The video improved student confidence during the practical exam by 9%, and 89% of surveyed students indicated the video positively impacted their exam grade. One item score was significantly improved in the video group (p < .001), as was the score of the five questions combined (p < .001). As expected, overall practical exam scores were not statistically different. Student collaborators indicated that participation reinforced their knowledge while enhancing their professional development. Student collaboration was a beneficial strategy for instructional support development that positively impacted student affect and also generated opportunities for the involved students' professional growth.

BACKGROUND The 2019 ASVCP Education Committee Forum for Discussion, presented at the annual ASVCP/ACVP meeting, identified a need to develop recommendations for teaching laboratory quality management principles in veterinary clinical pathology residency training programs. OBJECTIVES To present a competency-based framework for teaching laboratory quality management principles in veterinary clinical pathology residency training programs, including entrustable professional activities (EPAs), domains of competence, individual competencies, and learning outcomes. METHODS A joint subcommittee of the ASVCP Quality Assurance and Laboratory Standards (QALS) and Education Committees executed this project. A draft guideline version was reviewed by the ASVCP membership and shared with selected ACVP committees in early 2022, and a final version was voted upon by the full QALS and Education Committees in late 2022. RESULTS Eleven domains of competence with relevant individual competencies were identified. In addition, suggested learning outcomes and resource lists were developed. Domains and individual competencies were mapped to six EPAs. CONCLUSIONS This guideline presents a framework for teaching principles of laboratory quality management in veterinary clinical pathology residency training programs and was designed to be comprehensive yet practical. Guidance on pedagogical terms and possible routes of implementation are included. Recommendations herein aim to improve and support resident training but may require gradual implementation, as programs phase in necessary expertise and resources. Future directions include the development of learning milestones and assessments and consideration of how recommendations intersect with the American College of Veterinary Pathologists training program accreditation and certifying examination.

Research reveals veterinary medical students and professionals are at increased risk for mental health problems such as depression, anxiety, and suicidality, yet many individuals in distress do not seek professional mental health services. Although some barriers to accessing services have been identified, other factors, including how professional culture influences service underutilization, are poorly understood. In this study, we used a mixed-methods approach to investigate 573 veterinary students' perceptions of barriers to seeking mental health services and potential mechanisms to lessen them. We identified four barrier themes: stigma, veterinary medical culture and identities, services, and personal factors. Participants' suggestions for reducing barriers to seeking help related to three themes: culture, services, and programmatic factors. We compared perceptions of barriers based on the severity of participants' self-reported symptoms of depression and anxiety and found that participants with severe depression, compared with participants with mild depression, were more likely to perceive barriers related to veterinary medical culture. The results of this study provide a deeper understanding of veterinary students' barriers to seeking mental health services and, in particular, how these barriers, as both individual and sociocultural phenomena, are often interrelated and mutually reinforcing.

There has been a shift in gender for the veterinary medical profession, with little attention paid to the affects of women becoming veterinary students.To interrogate women becoming-veterinarians, I tell stories of becomingveterinarian with a story of becoming-scholar, using narrative inquiry.I used data produced with current veterinary students in conversation with a photograph of a whiteboard and me.I embarked on an inventive analysis of sorting data excerpts and producing a new "white coat" with them-embroidering participant quotes onto the white coat I received when I entered veterinary school.This intra-action produced insights about becoming and I (re)present the crystallisation of these analyses into narratives of becoming stitched together.In this story, I interrogate my role and pose questions about learning and becoming.

This article responds to the query “what do intra-active pedagogies produce?” Our experiences with intra-active pedagogies produced a productive flux for us, two graduate students. Although being with this flux was welcome with/in these intra-active pedagogies, with/in other spaces(s) it was unwelcome. Through thinking with theory and writing, we produced new concepts to stay with the flux in our becomings (post-)qualitative scholars: We produced pedagogies of sustainment (POSt). (Re)Presenting three POSt concepts we invite those who teach, learn, and participate in qualitative research courses to consider the ethics of intra-active pedagogies and what emerges and diffracts through the becomings of scholars.

Embedded university counseling services are becoming more common, but there has been limited discussion regarding practices and challenges associated with developing and sustaining them. In this article, we discuss the application of innovative embedded models to meet the mental health needs of professional students in colleges of veterinary medicine. We also consider implications for establishing and providing embedded counseling services for other student populations.

The mental health and wellness of veterinary students is an important contemporary focus of scholarship. Yet, to date, little empirical work has investigated mental health experiences and rates of mental health service use in large samples of veterinary students from multiple institutions. The purpose of this study is to explore the prevalence of mental health concerns among veterinary medical students, as well as rates of mental health service utilization, using validated measures and a large sample. Study participants were 573 veterinary medical students currently enrolled in accredited veterinary medical programs in the United States. Approximately one third of participants reported levels of depression or anxiety above the clinical cut-off, and a strong positive correlation was found between the two. Depression and anxiety were also associated with prior engagement in non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI), suicidal ideation, and prior suicide attempts. Nearly 80% of participants who scored above the clinical cut-off for depression or anxiety reported seeking some form of mental health services currently or in the past, and a majority reported having positive experiences with services. Results also indicated a higher than typical rate of NSSI among veterinary medical students. Implications for outreach, research, and education are discussed.

Veterinary medical students may be at increased risk for a variety of mental health problems. However, research with student samples suggests that students in distress may not seek professional help, even when mental health services are available. The purpose of this study was to explore veterinary students' willingness to seek mental health services for several common presenting concerns, as well as their perceptions of their peers' willingness to seek help for the same concerns. We also sought to explore the roles of public stigma, self-stigma, and attitudes toward seeking professional psychological help in explaining students' willingness to seek services using a serial mediation analysis. Study participants were 573 veterinary medical students currently enrolled in accredited programs in the United States. Participants reported being most willing to seek mental health services for issues regarding substance abuse, traumatic experiences, and anxiety. They also tended to perceive other students were less willing to seek mental health services for most presenting issues than they actually were. As expected, self-stigma and attitudes toward seeking professional psychological help serially mediated the relationship between public stigma and willingness to seek mental health services. Public stigma was positively related to self-stigma, self-stigma was negatively related to attitudes toward seeking professional psychological help, and attitudes toward seeking help were positively related to willingness to seek mental health services. Implications for outreach, research, and education are discussed.

Currently there is little guidance given to teachers in selecting focal issues for socio-scientific issues (SSI)-based teaching and learning. As a majority of teachers regularly collaborate with other teachers, understanding what factors influence collaborative SSI-based curriculum design is critical. We invited 18 secondary science teachers to participate in a professional development on SSI-based instruction and curriculum design. Through intentional design, we studied how these teachers formed curriculum design teams and how they selected focal issues for SSI-based curriculum units. We developed substantiative grounded theory to explain these processes. Key findings include how teachers' tensions and agential moves worked in tandem in the development of a safe and shared place to share discontentment and generate opportunities to form design teams and select issues. Teacher passion and existing resources are factors as influential as considerations for issue relevance. Implications for teacher professional development and research are included.

Student-centered and inquiry-based teaching improve science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) learning at all levels. However, reform efforts have been met with limited success due to complex interactions between structural relics of our education systems and the pre-existing beliefs of STEM instructors. Using the Teacher-Centered Systemic Reform model and the construct of agency, we investigated these interactions through three case studies of new undergraduate science instructors after they completed a graduate introductory course: college science teaching. Data included interviews, in-class observations, surveys, and classroom artifacts. Forming a case narrative, data revealed instructors' beliefs, practices, and the barriers that had to be circumnavigated, overcome, or accommodated by instructors. Results demonstrated how different forms of agency mediated the barriers and outcomes that emerged between the personal and contextual factors associated with college science teaching. This study provides insight for supporting new college instructors, fills a gap in the literature, and enhances theoretical understanding of the importance of agency in systemic reform.

OBJECTIVE:Obesity-related glomerulopathy is characterized initially by glomerular hyperfiltration with hypertrophy and then development of proteinuria. Putative mechanisms include endothelial dysfunction and filtration barrier injury due to oxidant stress and immune activation. There has been recent interest in targeting dipeptidyl peptidase 4 (DPP4) enzyme due to increasing role in non-enzymatic cellular processes.METHODS:The Zucker obese (ZO) rat (aged 8 weeks) fed a normal chow or diet containing the DPP4 inhibitor linagliptin for 8 weeks (83 mg/kg rat chow) was utilized.RESULTS:Compared to lean controls, there were increases in plasma DPP4 activity along with proteinuria in ZO rats. ZO rats further displayed increases in glomerular size and podocyte foot process effacement. These findings occurred in parallel with decreased endothelial stromal-derived factor-1α (SDF-1α), increased oxidant markers, and tyrosine phosphorylation of nephrin and serine phosphorylation of the mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR). DPP4 inhibition improved proteinuria along with filtration barrier remodeling, circulating and kidney tissue DPP4 activity, increased active glucagon like peptide-1 (GLP-1) as well as SDF-1α, and improved oxidant markers and the podocyte-specific protein nephrin.CONCLUSIONS:These data support a role for DPP4 in glomerular filtration function and targeting DPP4 with inhibition improves oxidant stress-related glomerulopathy and associated proteinuria.