Evaluation of the longer-term impacts on working practices of veterinarians in India after attending a canine surgical neutering training programme

Effective, continuing professional development opportunities provide veterinarians with the necessary skills to uphold animal welfare standards. In India, surgical neutering is integral in successfully managing the large, free-roaming dog population; the delivery of skills-based, training opportunit...

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Main Authors: Emma L Rayner, Anahita Kumar, Ilona Airikkala-Otter, Stacy Sequeira, Richard Mellanby, Andrew D Gibson, Luke Gamble, Stella Mazeri
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Cambridge University Press 2025-01-01
Series:Animal Welfare
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Online Access:https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S0962728625000302/type/journal_article
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author Emma L Rayner
Anahita Kumar
Ilona Airikkala-Otter
Stacy Sequeira
Richard Mellanby
Andrew D Gibson
Luke Gamble
Stella Mazeri
author_facet Emma L Rayner
Anahita Kumar
Ilona Airikkala-Otter
Stacy Sequeira
Richard Mellanby
Andrew D Gibson
Luke Gamble
Stella Mazeri
author_sort Emma L Rayner
collection DOAJ
description Effective, continuing professional development opportunities provide veterinarians with the necessary skills to uphold animal welfare standards. In India, surgical neutering is integral in successfully managing the large, free-roaming dog population; the delivery of skills-based, training opportunities which result in long-term behavioural changes remains challenging. Indian veterinarians attending a 12-day, practically focused, training programme on canine surgical neutering, completed a questionnaire prior to the commencement of training and 10–12 months afterwards. Questions explored the programme’s impact on their attitudes, working practices, and retained knowledge. A total of 207 participants completed both questionnaires. Ten to 12 months after attendance, most participants reported increased confidence undertaking common surgical and clinical tasks; they felt both motivated and able to use their newly acquired knowledge and skills in their workplace, with some peer-to-peer skills transfer opportunities. Many reported high levels of employer engagement resulting in improvements in the workplace, including equipment investment. Evidence for sustained improvements in working practices were noted in four key areas: surgical practices, use of perioperative analgesia, use of perioperative antibiotics, and post-operative wound management. Average knowledge scores in four areas (surgical skills, peri-operative analgesia, post-operative antibiotics and post-operative care) increased significantly 10–12 months after the training programme as compared to before, after accounting for other participants’ characteristics. These findings provide evidence for sustained improvements in workplace practices and patient care after attending a skills-based training opportunity, with a concomitant positive impact on standards of animal welfare. Furthermore, it may inform the development and implementation of future, educational, outcomes-focused training initiatives.
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spelling doaj-art-50190084baba4e98b4cfc7ea902ac5022025-08-20T03:05:49ZengCambridge University PressAnimal Welfare0962-72862054-15382025-01-013410.1017/awf.2025.30Evaluation of the longer-term impacts on working practices of veterinarians in India after attending a canine surgical neutering training programmeEmma L Rayner0https://orcid.org/0009-0009-6314-3483Anahita Kumar1Ilona Airikkala-Otter2Stacy Sequeira3Richard Mellanby4Andrew D Gibson5Luke Gamble6Stella Mazeri7Worldwide Veterinary Service, 4 Castle Street, Cranborne, Dorset, UKWorldwide Veterinary Service, Hicks International Training Centre Madungo Vaddo, near Assagao Panchayat, Assagao, Bardez, Goa, IndiaWorldwide Veterinary Service, International Training Centre, Gramya Bhavan, RDO trust Building, Aruvankadu, The Nilgiris 643202, Tamil Nadu, IndiaWorldwide Veterinary Service, Hicks International Training Centre Madungo Vaddo, near Assagao Panchayat, Assagao, Bardez, Goa, IndiaRoyal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies, https://ror.org/01920rj20 The University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UKWorldwide Veterinary Service, 4 Castle Street, Cranborne, Dorset, UK The Epidemiology, Economics and Risk Assessment (EERA) Group, https://ror.org/01920rj20The Roslin Institute, Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies, Easter Bush, Midlothian, UKWorldwide Veterinary Service, 4 Castle Street, Cranborne, Dorset, UKThe Epidemiology, Economics and Risk Assessment (EERA) Group, https://ror.org/01920rj20The Roslin Institute, Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies, Easter Bush, Midlothian, UKEffective, continuing professional development opportunities provide veterinarians with the necessary skills to uphold animal welfare standards. In India, surgical neutering is integral in successfully managing the large, free-roaming dog population; the delivery of skills-based, training opportunities which result in long-term behavioural changes remains challenging. Indian veterinarians attending a 12-day, practically focused, training programme on canine surgical neutering, completed a questionnaire prior to the commencement of training and 10–12 months afterwards. Questions explored the programme’s impact on their attitudes, working practices, and retained knowledge. A total of 207 participants completed both questionnaires. Ten to 12 months after attendance, most participants reported increased confidence undertaking common surgical and clinical tasks; they felt both motivated and able to use their newly acquired knowledge and skills in their workplace, with some peer-to-peer skills transfer opportunities. Many reported high levels of employer engagement resulting in improvements in the workplace, including equipment investment. Evidence for sustained improvements in working practices were noted in four key areas: surgical practices, use of perioperative analgesia, use of perioperative antibiotics, and post-operative wound management. Average knowledge scores in four areas (surgical skills, peri-operative analgesia, post-operative antibiotics and post-operative care) increased significantly 10–12 months after the training programme as compared to before, after accounting for other participants’ characteristics. These findings provide evidence for sustained improvements in workplace practices and patient care after attending a skills-based training opportunity, with a concomitant positive impact on standards of animal welfare. Furthermore, it may inform the development and implementation of future, educational, outcomes-focused training initiatives.https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S0962728625000302/type/journal_articleAnimal welfarecontinuing professional developmentdog welfarelong-term outcomespractical skills trainingveterinary education
spellingShingle Emma L Rayner
Anahita Kumar
Ilona Airikkala-Otter
Stacy Sequeira
Richard Mellanby
Andrew D Gibson
Luke Gamble
Stella Mazeri
Evaluation of the longer-term impacts on working practices of veterinarians in India after attending a canine surgical neutering training programme
Animal Welfare
Animal welfare
continuing professional development
dog welfare
long-term outcomes
practical skills training
veterinary education
title Evaluation of the longer-term impacts on working practices of veterinarians in India after attending a canine surgical neutering training programme
title_full Evaluation of the longer-term impacts on working practices of veterinarians in India after attending a canine surgical neutering training programme
title_fullStr Evaluation of the longer-term impacts on working practices of veterinarians in India after attending a canine surgical neutering training programme
title_full_unstemmed Evaluation of the longer-term impacts on working practices of veterinarians in India after attending a canine surgical neutering training programme
title_short Evaluation of the longer-term impacts on working practices of veterinarians in India after attending a canine surgical neutering training programme
title_sort evaluation of the longer term impacts on working practices of veterinarians in india after attending a canine surgical neutering training programme
topic Animal welfare
continuing professional development
dog welfare
long-term outcomes
practical skills training
veterinary education
url https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S0962728625000302/type/journal_article
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