Criteria which included actual experience with farm animals have resulted in the selection of more students who plan to enter and remain in rural mixed practice. Further studies over the longer term will be necessary to assess the extent to which these plans are realized.

Charles Sturt University in New South Wales, Australia, is responding to a national need for veterinarians with the skills and attributes to fulfill roles in rural practice and the large-animal industries. Rural practitioners must competently and confidently handle a range of large animals if they are to build a relationship of mutual trust with clients and deliver effective animal-health services. Training in animal handling begins in the first year of the course with highly structured small-group practical classes involving cattle, horses, sheep, dogs, cats, pigs, poultry, and laboratory animals (rats and mice). Other experiences with animals in the first three years build on basic animal-handling skills while performing other veterinary activities. Students who provide documented evidence of prior animal-handling experiences are admitted, and learning and teaching strategies aim to enhance skills and knowledge. Rigorous examinations use a competency-based approach prior to extramural placements on farms and in veterinary practices. A continuing process of evaluation, review, and refinement will ensure continual improvement and graduate veterinarians with strong skills in animal handling.

Objective To determine demographic details of applicants to the veterinary degree program at and relate this information to student selection processes.Design Retrospective evaluation of applicant data.Methods Database records of 4042 applicants to the veterinary program (2006)(2007)(2008)(2009)(2010)(2011)(2012)(2013)(2014)(2015)(2016) were retrieved from university records. Summary statistics were used to determine basic demographic data, which were related to pre-entry academic achievement and results of selection processes using univariable and multivariable analyses.Results for continuous explanatory variables are expressed as median and 95% confidence interval (CI), with comparison by Mann-Whitney test. Results for categorical explanatory variables are expressed as the percentage of students offered entry to course (with 95% CI), with significance determined by χ 2 analysis. Multivariable analysis was performed by logistic regression, with the effect expressed as the odds ratio (OR) and 95% CI for significant variables. The regression model accounted for 66.7% of observed variability.

This study supported the selection criteria and educational approaches at CSU in establishing most of the new graduates in rural and regional mixed veterinary practice.

BackgroundProducing 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.ResultsSurvey 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.ConclusionAjzen’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.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (10.1186/s12917-018-1725-4) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.