Evidence from human medicine shows a rise in telephone communication in support of after-hours services and in providing medical advice, follow-up information, etc. While specific training programs are continuously being developed for human medical education, limited publications are available on training veterinary students in telephone communication. Presented is our method of introducing a telephone communication skills exercise to third-year veterinary students. The exercise progressed over three phases and currently follows the principles of the Calgary-Cambridge Guide. Challenges and improvements on implementing a telephone communication exercise are discussed. Within veterinary communication curricula, attention should be given to the specific communication skills required for successful telephone consultations. In the absence of visual nonverbal cues and prompts during a telephone interaction, communication skills must be applied with greater intent and attention to achieve an effective consultation outcome.
Leptospirosis is endemic in most of the Caribbean region, and it is considered to be one the most widespread zoonotic diseases in the world. In cats and dogs, the disease is caused by many different serovars. Cats and dogs have frequent interactions with other animal species including humans, thus they are a potential reservoir for transmission. The objective of this study was to evaluate the seroprevalence of Leptospira sp. in cats in St Kitts. During the periods of February 2015 through December 2015, serum, whole blood and urine were collected from a number of feral cats in Saint Kitts. The standard microscopic agglutination test (MAT) was utilized to determine which feral cats were positive for various serovars: Icterohemorrhagiae, Ballum, Bataviae, Canicola, Grippotyphosa, Ictero, and Pomona. Polymerase chain immunoreactivity (PCR) was performed on urine samples. Out of the 103 feral cats tested, seven cats were MAT positive to one serovar. The overall seroprevalence was estimated at 6.9 % (Confidence Interval: 1.9 % -11.9 %). One of the MAT positive cats also tested PCR positive. Although the seroprevalence is low, this study detected an exposure of cats to Leptospira spp. in St Kitts. Our study is the first published seroprevalence survey of Leptospirosis in cats on the Caribbean island of Saint Kitts.
To gather and evaluate validity evidence in the form of content and reliability of scores produced by 2 surgical skills assessment instruments, 1) a checklist, and 2) a modified form of the Objective Structured Assessment of Technical Skills (OSATS) global rating scale (GRS).Study design: Prospective randomized blinded study. Sample population: Veterinary surgical skills educators (n =10) evaluated content validity. Scores from students in their third preclinical year of veterinary school (n = 16) were used to assess reliability.Methods: Content validity was assessed using Lawshe's method to calculate the Content Validity Index (CVI) for the checklist and modified OSATS GRS.The importance and relevance of each item was determined in relation to skills needed to successfully perform supervised surgical procedures. The reliability of scores produced by both instruments was determined using generalizability (G) theory. Results: Based on the results of the content validation, 39 of 40 checklist items were included. The 39-item checklist CVI was 0.81. One of the 6 OSATS GRS items was included. The 1-item GRS CVI was 0.80. The G-coefficients for the 40-item checklist and 6-item GRS were 0.85 and 0.79, respectively. Conclusion:Content validity was very good for the 39-item checklist and good for the 1-item OSATS GRS. The reliability of scores from both instruments was acceptable for a moderate stakes examination. Impact: These results provide evidence to support the use of the checklist described and a modified 1-item OSAT GRS in moderate stakes examinations when evaluating preclinical third-year veterinary students' technical surgical skills on low-fidelity models.
In small animal practice, ailments of the extremities are common. Limb bandages are often indicated for degloving injuries, fracture support, and many other orthopedic conditions. Consequently, veterinarians frequently perform bandage placement on their small animal patients. Bandages such as the Modified Robert Jones, Robert Jones, Ehmer sling, and Velpeau sling are some of the commonly applied bandages in practice. Small animal bandaging is an essential component of veterinary skills training. However, many veterinary curricula offer very little if any practical bandage training during the student's pre-clinical veterinary education. At Ross University School of Veterinary Medicine (RUSVM), through collaboration with Veterinary Simulators Industries Ltd a a bandage limb model was developed to address the lack of practical training and to help minimize live animal use for bandage training. In 2014 a questionnaire was conducted with RUSVM faculty and second year veterinary students to determine their perception of the use of the bandage limb model for the purpose of teaching small animal bandaging techniques. Participants included eight faculty who were selected based on their experience with bandaging and 110 students enrolled in the Surgery One Laboratory course. The questionnaire utilized a five-point Likert scale. The median of overall perception scores of the bandage limb model were 33 (out of 40) for students and 46.5 (out of 50) for faculty. These results suggest that veterinary students and faculty perceive the bandage limb model as an acceptable alternative that would be useful in teaching veterinary students small animal bandaging techniques. Further studies are required to evaluate the effectiveness of the model in teaching bandaging skills in comparison to the use of a live animal.
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