The importance of professional skills teaching and assessment within veterinary education has recently been highlighted in the veterinary education literature. This academic discourse follows the acknowledgement by both veterinary employers and graduates themselves that new graduates often lack the professional skills and attitudes needed for success in clinical veterinary practice. Traditionally, veterinary curricula have focused solely on teaching content knowledge and clinical skills; however, veterinary education curricula clearly must also contain dedicated instruction in veterinary professionalism. This must include instruction in communication skills, emotional intelligence, cultural awareness, teamwork abilities, dispute resolution strategies and the awareness that multiple approaches may be required to resolve challenges. It has become unrealistic to expect students to rely on observation and role modelling to foster the development of professionalism. There is a need to incorporate explicit learning activities that reinforce the knowledge, attitudes, values, and behaviours that characterise veterinary professionalism. While role modelling remains a key aspect of the veterinary professionalism learning that takes place through the informal/hidden curriculum, many students have often had more experiences with negative role models than with positive ones. This can lead to the development of a tolerance or normalisation of negative behaviours and a decline in students’ perceptions of professionalism. This article aims to continue recent conversations on professional skills teaching within veterinary education, define what is meant by veterinary professionalism and consider the plethora of terminology used when trying to establish a definition, highlight those attributes of veterinary professionalism deemed important by veterinary stakeholders for career success and employability, and explore the challenges of incorporating the teaching and assessment of professional traits into veterinary education.

AIM: To investigate the cause of abortion in cows from farms with a history of abortion associated with Neospora caninum. METHODS: Cows and primiparous heifers (n = 2,246) that were enrolled in a clinical trial of a vaccine for N. caninum, and 403 cows and heifers that conceived >6 weeks after the planned start of mating (PSM), were monitored for abortion on five dairy farms with a history of abortion associated with N. caninum. When abortion was detected the fetus and/or placenta were submitted for histopathological examination and maternal paired sera were collected for the detection of antibodies to N. caninum using the indirect fluorescent antibody test (IFAT), bovine viral diarrhoea virus (BVDV) using ELISA, and Leptospira spp. using the microscopic agglutination test (MAT). RESULTS: At the start of the clinical trial, 189/1,760 (10.7%) of cows and 61/486 (12.6%) of heifers had IFAT titres ≥1:200 for N. caninum. Abortions were detected in 111 (4.9%) enrolled and 37 (9.2%) non-enrolled cows and heifers. The relative risk of abortion was 4.21 (95% CI 2.92–6.08) times greater in enrolled animals that were seropositive to N. caninum than seronegative animals (p < 0.01). Among all animals, histopathological lesions suggestive of protozoal abortion were seen in nine, and of bacterial infection in 15, of the 40 cases where the fetus and/or placenta were recovered. IFAT titres for N. caninum ≥1:1,000 were detected in 66 cows at abortion, including 7/9 cases where there were fetal lesions indicative of N. caninum infection. In nine cows that aborted, there was evidence of seroconversion to BVDV and eight cows had MAT titres for Leptospira spp. ≥1:200. Histopathology revealed dual infectious aetiologies in two cases and, in another 17 cases, there was serological evidence of recent exposure to a second infectious agent capable of causing abortion in conjunction with N. caninum lesions in the fetus or fetal bacteraemia. CONCLUSIONS: Multiple infectious aetiologies occur at herd-level and in individual cows on farms with a history of abortion associated with N. caninum. A diagnosis of abortion due to N. caninum infection was made in 9/34 (26.5%) cases where fetal histopathology was undertaken. CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Thorough and ongoing diagnostic investigations should be undertaken in herds with higher than expected abortion losses to identify all causative agents as control measures could be implemented that may also reduce the risk of abortion in cows infected with N. caninum.

Background: While previous research has examined components of professionalism that veterinary employers and clients expect in veterinarians, little attention has been paid to practising clinical veterinarians’ opinions on important professional competencies that help to enhance the veterinarian‐client relationship. This study used a phenomenological approach and critical incident technique to gather the narratives of practising veterinarians in New Zealand about positive and negative veterinarian‐client interactions. The intention was to identify the underlying principles of professionalism that resulted in the positive/negative outcomes of those interactions. Methods: Twenty‐two practising veterinarians were interviewed, and each respondent was asked to recollect and narrate a significant positive and a significant negative critical incident in their career that involved a veterinarian‐client interaction within a clinical setting. The professional competencies that the veterinarian believed contributed to a successful or an unsuccessful outcome were elucidated using thematic analysis. Results: Thematic analysis of the critical incident narratives revealed four major themes under the overarching theme of ‘building a relationship between the veterinarian and the client’: ‘accountability and integrity’, ‘effective communication skills’, ‘personal wellbeing’ and ‘quality of care’. Conclusion: The description of the important professional competencies that helped to enhance the veterinarian‐client relationship provides a reference for the practising profession to help improve the likelihood of veterinarians enjoying satisfied and successful careers.

The welfare of horses in endurance competitions has been the focus of recent media attention. Epidemiological studies have examined the sport at the international (FEI) level. However, much of the participation in the sport occurs at a national level in preparation for FEI level competition. The aims of this study were to describe participation in, and risk factors for elimination, from New Zealand endurance competitions. Data were collated from all endurance competitions (≥40 km) held in New Zealand during the 2010/11–2015/16 competition seasons. There were 6885 starts (n = 775 horses, n = 665 riders), horses had a median age of 9 years (IQR 6.2–10.0) and had a median of 3 (IQR 2–5) starts per season. Accumulated ride distance per season per horse decreased from a median of 240 km/horse (IQR 120–440) in 2010/11 to 180 km/horse (IQR 80–320) in 2015/16. Ride entries were dominated by the 40 km (n = 2834, 41%) and 80 km (n = 2517, 37%) distances. Eliminations increased with ride distance, from 7% in 40 km rides to 53% in the 160 km rides. Lameness accounted for the majority of eliminations (64%). The odds of elimination due to lameness were significantly associated with ride distance, location (North or South island) and time of year. The 11% of starters eliminated for metabolic reasons of the horse had increased odds of elimination associated with horse age, ride distance, location and time of year.