Nutrition is an essential knowledge area for student veterinary professionals, ^{1 , 2} yet commonly cited as an underrepresented topic in veterinary and veterinary nurse curricula. ^{3 – 5} Consequently, veterinary professionals may lack the knowledge, skills, or confidence to counsel clients and provide nutrition-related patient care. ^{6 – 8} This study forms the baseline stage of a longitudinal project comparing the nutrition knowledge and competence of first-year veterinary (VS) and veterinary nursing students (VNS) in the UK and Ireland. Participants were recruited by nonprobability, convenience purposive sampling, and by email invitation from educational providers. Data were collected between October 2023 and January 2024. Participation was voluntary and informed consent obtained. 135 VS and 186 VNS completed the online survey. Most (82%, n = 211) expressed interest in learning about nutrition. The ability to educate owners and assess pets’ physical condition and nutrition status was considered important by 97% ( n = 250) and 98% ( n = 253), respectively. Over three-quarters of respondents (77%; n = 178) believed that the diet should be evaluated and discussed at every veterinary visit. Students had greater confidence in their ability to conduct a nutritional assessment on dogs and cats than exotic pets. Fewer students (36%; n = 84) believed cooked diets to be healthier than raw, and perceived risks of raw outweighed benefits (38%; n = 88). Half of respondents were unsure about diet choices. Most VS (77%; n = 67) and VNS (87%; n = 125) deemed vegetarian diets unsuitable for dogs and cats. Students enter their studies with preconceived ideas and potential misinformation about nutrition. Nutrition education must be adequately represented within curricula to protect animal health.

Negative experiences in clinical learning environments (CLEs) lead to long-term consequences such as decreased confidence, reluctance to engage, and attrition from Veterinary programmes (Holt, Farrell and Corrigan, 2023). The Small Animal Hospital, a training site for final-year Veterinary students, immerses them in real-world clinical practice. As a potentially high-stress environment, measures to improve student psychological safety were implemented, with the launch of a Learning Environment Champions (LEC) initiative. Developed in response to student feedback, it encompasses a compassionate pedagogical approach involving staff and students working in partnership, with the aim of enhancing the CLE by promoting supportive and positive learning experiences. This case study describes the first year of the initiative, which is a system for monitoring student perceptions of, and experiences within, the CLE while simultaneously working to change the culture of the CLE by focusing on civility and psychological safety. Using an iterative cycle of feedback and improvement, developments included a new staff role, staff training, a hospital social contract, a process for student safeguarding, and student-led creation of resources. Reflective professional discussions highlighted that the initiative has built staff appreciation of the importance of a civil CLE, has positively influenced teaching and clinical support of students, but raised concerns of unintended consequences for LECs including compassion fatigue. The early phase of this initiative has created a support system for students during their practicum. Long term, this may help to significantly improve student perceptions of the CLE, thus improving the learning potential for this environment.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate changes in owner-reported pain, interference of pain on function, and quality of life (QOL) in dogs with clinically suspected osteoarthritis when wearing a collar containing a static magnet. ANIMALS: 16 dogs over 5 years old weighing between 10 and 40 kg with a clinical diagnosis of osteoarthritis and on stable treatment. METHODS: A prospective, blinded crossover study in which dogs wore a collar containing a static magnet or placebo for two 4-week study arms separated by a 2-week washout period. Clients completed the Canine Brief Pain Inventory prior to collar placement and then weekly throughout each arm. Changes in QOL, pain severity, and pain interference scores from the beginning to the end of these arms and changes between the arms were calculated and analyzed using Wilcoxon signed rank tests. RESULTS: 40% of included dogs were on stable doses of NSAIDs. The pain severity scores (PSS), pain interference scores (PIS), and QOL scores were not significantly different at the start of the arms. There was no significant change in PSS or PIS from the start to end of the placebo arms (median changes, 0 and –0.1). Both PSS and PIS reduced significantly during the magnet arms (median changes, –1.0 and –1.2, respectively). The QOL scores did not change significantly in either arm (median changes, 0 and 0). CLINICAL RELEVANCE: This preliminary study suggests that magnetic collars reduce owner-reported pain severity and pain interference on function in dogs with clinically suspected osteoarthritis, and further, larger investigations are now warranted.

Background: Veterinary practices provide exceptional patient care and client support when there is effective teamwork between veterinary nurses and veterinarians. However, the frequency of this interprofessional collaboration has not been measured. Methods: A cross‐sectional online survey, using the Nurse‒Physician Collaboration Scale to measure the frequency of the collaborative behaviours of joint decision making (JDM), cooperativeness (C) and sharing patient information (SPI), was administered to registered and student veterinary nurses. A multivariable logistic regression model was constructed for each behaviour construct. Results: Veterinary nurses ( n = 835) self‐reported collaboration with veterinarians at item level as either ‘good’ or ‘mixed’ (defined as a median item score ≤2 or >2‒3.5). Overall, the median (interquartile range) scores by collaborative behaviour construct were 2 (2‒3) for JDM, 2 (1‒3) for C and 2 (2‒3) for SPI. Multivariable analysis found that role and practice type were significantly associated with participants reporting good experiences in each behaviour construct. Limitations: The survey did not capture the perspectives of veterinarians for comparison. Conclusion: Collaboration between veterinary nurses and veterinarians is good, but improvements in all behaviour constructs could be made. Efforts should focus on improving communication and increasing the opportunities to mutually participate in patient care decision making.