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Thriving in clinical veterinary practice : a strengths-based, qualitative investigation of thriving in clinical veterinarians in Aotearoa New Zealand : a thesis presented for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Veterinary Science at Massey University, Manawatū, New Zealand
(Massey University, 2025-11-21) Cantley, Charlotte Emily Louise
Veterinarians play an important role in society, contributing to animal health, public health, and environmental sustainability. However, there is growing international concern about the well-being and workforce stability of veterinarians, particularly those working in clinical practice. Much of the existing research has focused on the negative impact of veterinary work on well-being, emphasising that veterinarians experience high levels of psychological distress and burnout. However, there is a lack of understanding of what enables veterinarians not only to cope in clinical practice but also to thrive and enjoy fulfilling careers. This research employed a qualitative approach, grounded in positive psychology, to explore the factors that help veterinarians thrive in clinical practice. Using in-depth, semi-structured interviews, this research investigated the lived experiences of clinical veterinarians in Aotearoa New Zealand, to identify the factors that contribute to a fulfilling and sustainable career. Participants across the three studies represented veterinarians from a wide range of clinical practice types, including companion animal, production animal, equine, and mixed practice. They included late-career veterinarians (n = 19), new and recent graduates (n = 22), and mid-late career veterinarians who were not practice owners or senior managers (n = 29). Reflexive thematic analysis was utilised to identify key themes from the data. Three final key concepts emerged as critical to thriving in veterinary clinical practice: positive leadership, a psychologically safe clinic culture, and a strong sense of purpose and meaning in work, referred to as the “3Ps” of thriving. For early-career veterinarians, positive mentorship in a psychologically safe environment was crucial for developing confidence, self-efficacy, and a professional identity suitable for general practice. Mid- and late-career veterinarians who experienced positive leadership and a healthy, safe workplace culture reported an evolving sense of purpose that included providing care to patients and expanded to encompass mentoring and supporting others in the profession, as well as philanthropic work and community commitment. These veterinarians expressed high levels of engagement and were often motivated by fostering thriving in others. The attitudes and behaviours of clinic managers were noted as particularly important. Thus, a thriving veterinary career can be considered an odyssey — a long, transformative journey shaped by challenges, growth, and continuous learning. It reflects an evolving sense of purpose, making the role of a clinical veterinarian far more than just a job. Based on these findings, a practical framework of evidence-based recommendations was designed to foster thriving throughout a veterinarian’s career. These recommendations target three levels of influence: the individual, the clinic, and the broader veterinary profession, and may help address the ongoing issues of recruitment and retention in veterinary practice. This research provides valuable insights into the benefits of pursuing a clinical career, contributing to the growing body of literature on positive well-being in the veterinary field. It highlights the importance of leadership and psychological safety — topics that have received relatively little attention in veterinary contexts — and shows how they enable veterinarians to find purpose and meaning in their work. Importantly, the research highlights that fostering thriving is a collective responsibility, shared between veterinary businesses, individual veterinarians, and the profession as a whole.
The veterinarian’s role in end-of-life management of animals : an exploration of veterinary training and the perspectives of New Zealand cat owners : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Veterinary Science at Massey University, Manawatū, New Zealand
(Massey University, 2021) Littlewood, Katherine
Domestic cats are living longer and more of them are living with chronic conditions. It is up to the owner(s) to make the decision about when, and how, to end the life of their cat. Owners may find such end-of-life decisions difficult, as they are influenced by many factors relating to their cat and to themselves. Owners often involve their veterinarian in the decision-making process; therefore, it is essential that veterinarians understand the role they play in end-of-life management of animals. To ensure veterinarians are effectively supporting owners to make end-of-life decisions, there is also a need to know how veterinary students are taught relevant topics and skills. The central question this research aimed to answer was: 'what is the veterinarian's role in end-of-life management of older and chronically ill cats in New Zealand?' Study 1 investigated how aspects of end-of-life management – technical euthanasia skills, end-of-life decision-making, and grief management – were taught to Australasian veterinary students. Study 2 then explored the role veterinarians play in end-of-life management from the perspective of owners of older and chronically ill cats, as well as how those owners made the decision to end their cat’s life. Study 1 demonstrated some gaps that, if filled, could improve veterinary training in end-of-life management of animals. Technical aspects of euthanasia were not taught consistently for companion animals and this needs to be improved to ensure new graduates meet client expectations – that is, they are as competent as my cat owner participants assumed. There also appeared to be gaps in teaching end-of-life decision-making relative to what was important to cat owners. Owners expected their veterinarian to be the professional or ‘expert’ when it came to knowledge of animal health and welfare, but not all veterinary students were taught how to assess animal welfare or quality of life in the context of end-of-life decisions. In contrast, teaching of grief-related topics left only a few gaps to fill. Grief management teaching best reflected many of the features my cat owner participants wanted from their veterinarian, and particularly the human-centred themes taught to students. Most of this grief management teaching was performed by student counsellors and psychologists in earlier (preclinical) years. This means these human-centred themes may not have been explicitly linked to the decision-making process, and, more importantly, to the veterinarian’s role in end-of-life management. Without explicit alignment, veterinary students may be left thinking that veterinarians have only a limited role, or even no role at all, in managing their clients’ emotions and that this should be left to trained professionals. However, my cat owner participants emphasised the important role their veterinarian had played in the end-of-life process, suggesting that training, in New Zealand at least, is effective in this regard. Significant methodological developments in this research include designing and conducting in-depth interviews using social science methodology, in addition to the analysis and interpretation of qualitative data. Future studies should compare owner and veterinary perceptions of the same euthanasia event to obtain a detailed picture of the veterinarian’s role in end-of-life management of animals.
Rapua te mea ngaro : exploring the access of Māori to veterinary education in Aotearoa New Zealand : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy at Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand
(Massey University, 2021) Jillings, Eloise Katherine Puia
Currently there is no research literature regarding the ethnicity of veterinary applicants, veterinary students, or the veterinary workforce in New Zealand. Recent unpublished data indicates only 2% of veterinarians identify as Māori, despite Māori comprising 16.5% of the New Zealand population. This PhD is the first step in addressing this gap and bringing to light the important issues of Māori representation and inclusion in veterinary education and subsequently the veterinary profession in New Zealand. The thesis has two overarching goals. The first is to explore how the access of Māori to veterinary education, and therefore the veterinary workforce, is influenced by sociodemographic factors under three separate admission processes. The second is to explore the impact of sociodemographic factors and academic achievement prior to admission on the academic success of Māori once selected into the program. The studies in this thesis were conducted with Kaupapa Māori research positioning. The thesis presents a quantitative analysis of veterinary applicant and selected student data from 2003 to 2019. Descriptive statistics and linear and logistic regression are utilised to explore the representation of Māori in the veterinary applicant and selected student cohorts, the association of sociodemographic variables and selection assessments, and academic outcomes of Māori and non-Māori once selected. From this thesis it has been shown that Māori were underrepresented in the veterinary applicant pool and experienced more educational barriers than non-Māori. Māori are also underrepresented in the selected student cohort, and had 0.37 times the odds of selection than non-Māori prior to introduction of an equity process for Māori student selection. Scores on five of the six selection assessments were associated with ethnicity, with Māori receiving lower scores. However, once selected into the veterinary programme, there was no difference in the academic outcomes of Māori and non-Māori. Introduction of the equity process for Māori was not associated with a decrease in academic outcomes post-selection, and introduction of non-academic criteria into the selection process was associated with an improvement in academic outcomes. The veterinary profession is not representative of New Zealand. Māori underrepresentation is also seen in the veterinary applicant and selected student cohorts. This needs to be addressed for reasons of Indigenous rights, social justice, social mobility, and to ensure the veterinary profession benefits from Māori worldviews and therefore is relevant to a growing Māori population. Enacting initiatives aimed to widen access to the veterinary programme, with the eventual goal of improving representation of Māori in the veterinary workforce, needs to be a priority for Massey University, the sole provider of veterinary education in Aotearoa, and the wider profession.
Career pathways of New Zealand veterinary graduates : influences, experiences, and decisions : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Veterinary Science at Massey University, Manawatū, New Zealand
(Massey University, 2021) King, Natalie
As local and international concern about a shortage of veterinarians grows, developing an understanding of veterinarians’ career pathways and the factors that influence their career decisions is of increasing importance. The aim of this research was to explore the patterns that exist among the career pathways of two cohorts of New Zealand veterinary graduates, 10- and 20-years post-graduation, and to identify the factors that had been influential in shaping their career trajectories. A mixed methods approach provided a means to develop a detailed understanding of veterinarians’ career pathways through integration of survey (n=109) and interview (n=25) data. Perceptions of why people cease veterinary work were documented alongside the lived career experiences of these two cohorts of Massey University veterinary graduates. Cohort members’ career pathways were varied. Most (83%) held a clinical veterinary role 10 years after graduation. However, after 20 years, fewer (57%) held clinical veterinary roles. Almost one-quarter of the 20-year cohort worked in non-veterinary roles, and a further 14% held non-clinical veterinary roles. Some aspects of career patterns differed between the men and women and between the two cohorts, but there were also similarities. Veterinarians’ career decisions were multifaceted, and six key themes were developed to describe the factors that influenced them. Considering the cohort members’ material, social, and cognitive work values provided a useful lens through which to explore how their work environments and personal characteristics and aspirations influenced their career decisions. Veterinarians’ workplace experiences and the degree of fit between their personal characteristics and aspirations, and the workplace environment, influenced their feelings towards their work and their state of wellbeing, which in turn influenced their career decisions. However, these factors alone were insufficient to fully describe the influences on veterinarians’ career decision-making. Opportunities, professional networks, and non-work factors also played a key role in shaping cohort members’ career trajectories. The findings of this research provide insight into the career patterns and decision-making of New Zealand veterinarians which will be useful for future workforce planning, and in developing initiatives to enhance veterinarians’ career fulfilment and retention within clinical practice and the New Zealand veterinary profession.
The use of horses for undergraduate practical teaching : animal welfare and teaching implications : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Veterinary Sciences at Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand
(Massey University, 2021) Guinnefollau, Lauréline
Teaching horses are used at Massey University, New Zealand during practical classes for equine and veterinary science students to develop, improve and refine their skills. The purpose of this thesis was to investigate the management and use for teaching of these horses and to assess the potential impact of the teaching-related activities on the horses’ behaviour and welfare. The knowledge and competency of students in the veterinary programme at entry level and later in their programme were studied using a questionnaire to provide information on the level of competency of students at entry to the qualification and later after exposure to horses during teaching. The results confirmed previous findings about these students’ background (i.e. mostly urban upbringing, mostly female). Confidence around horses and experience with horses were limited for most students entering the veterinary programme. First-year students had greater difficulty in interpreting a horse’s behaviour, less understanding of equine learning mechanisms and poorer self-assessed equine handling skills compared to 4th-year students. The students’ correct interpretation of equine behaviour was associated with a history of pet ownership, the presence of horses on the students’ family property while growing up and the year of study (i.e. students’ advancement in the programme). The use of the horses kept at Massey University for teaching was studied retrospectively over a calendar year. There were seven different types of equine practical teaching classes but each of the three teaching herds was used only for a specific subset of practical class types. A relatively low frequency of teaching-related activities was reported, although there was some variation in the type and number of student interactions and frequency of use of individual herds and horses. The behavioural activities, i.e. time budgets and herd dynamics, of the teaching horses at pasture were explored at the beginning, during and at the end of a semester of practical teaching. The horses’ time budgets were similar to that of free-ranging populations with a majority of feeding and resting behaviours. Social interactions were mostly submissive, and of mild intensity when agonistic. In addition, hierarchies were relatively linear and stable across time, and a high behavioural synchronisation was reported between pairs of nearest neighbours. The teaching horses’ perception of humans was investigated at the beginning, during and at the end of a semester of practical teaching, through a human-approach test. Horses’ positive responses to human approach and contact were associated with a slow pace, straight arms and gaze directed at the horse’s shoulder. Horses were significantly less likely to accept human contact if they had been used for teaching more often in the weeks prior to the test. The behavioural and physiological responses of the horses were evaluated during three types of practical teaching classes (i.e. animal handling, medical rectal- and mare reproductive rectal examinations). Heart rates during practical teaching classes were consistent and in the range of a resting horse. Horses spent most of the time eating hay but ate less during an interaction with students in the mare reproductive rectal examination class compared to being in stocks with no interaction. No change in behaviour was reported in medical rectal examination classes. The results reported in this thesis provide significant insight about the use for teaching of horses in equine and veterinary science degree programmes. The findings suggest that the teaching horses experienced limited physical, physiological and behavioural stress due to their use for practical teaching classes. Therefore, there may be an opportunity to increase the horses’ use for teaching to enhance equine and veterinary students’ learning outcomes. Additional work, however, is required to identify other equine welfare indicators that could be applied during equine practical teaching classes to further evaluate the impact of the student-horse interaction. In order to optimise the horses’ use for teaching, more research is also warranted to identify the most efficient practice to teach students safe and appropriate equine handling skills and to improve their confidence around horses.
Multiple veterinary stakeholders' perspectives on important professionalism attributes for career success in veterinary clinical practice : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Veterinary Science at Massey University, Manawatū, New Zealand
(Massey University, 2020) Gordon, Stuart John Galt
There is an increasing body of literature on professionalism in the health sciences. Most research has, however, elicited the opinions of single groups of experts and tried to use these to generalise across the profession. The aim of the thesis was, therefore, to gain a broad understanding of professionalism by appraising the voices of many tiers of veterinary stakeholders involved in veterinary clinical practice. Through a mixed methods approach using card-sort analysis, online questionnaires, focus groups, critical incident reporting and analysis of client complaints, information was collected from first year and final year Massey University veterinary students, clinical veterinary practitioners and veterinary clients. An online questionnaire was also used to gather the final year veterinary students’ opinions on veterinary professionalism pedagogy. The iterative sampling method ensured that a wide range of perceptions were represented. These multiple perspectives, along with the existing knowledge contained within the literature on veterinary and medical professionalism, provide the basis upon which to develop a theoretical framework on professionalism in the veterinary context. The synthesis of data into a framework was undertaken primarily through a grounded theory approach. The research also provides support for the importance of including professionalism in veterinary curricula. Three overarching themes emerged from the analysis of the veterinary stakeholders’ opinions, namely: ‘committing to best practice’, ‘building the veterinarian-client relationship’ and ‘client expectations’. The framework of veterinary professionalism that has evolved from scrutiny of these themes revolves around the principles of ‘veterinary care’. Career success and satisfaction for practising clinical veterinarians hinges on three crucial domains of veterinary care: ‘patient-centred care’, ‘relationship-centred care’, and ‘self-care’. The focus of patient-centred care is the animal, while the foci of relationship-centred care are the client and veterinary colleagues. The self-care domain focuses on the practising veterinarian as a person. Professionalism, therefore, fundamentally revolves around veterinarians’ accountability to a social contract with patients, clients and colleagues as well as to themselves. Analysis of veterinary student opinions on the teaching of professionalism revealed constructive viewpoints and recommendations. Students recommended that the veterinary professionalism course be embedded across the whole primary veterinary teaching programme, including in the early years of study. It was further suggested that role-playing and reflective practice should be used throughout the programme to support the development of professionalism. The need to assess professionalism adequately and appropriately was also highlighted, as was the need to include rewards for displays of good professional behaviour. The potential for the hidden curriculum and negative clinical role models to undermine the teaching of professionalism was also addressed. Additionally, students recommended that the veterinary professionalism curriculum should prepare graduates for the job market by accommodating the requirements of veterinary employers. This research represents the first time that the opinions of multiple veterinary stakeholders on the attributes of professionalism important for career success have been solicited in one series of research studies. Furthermore, this study has used novel methodologies to determine the opinions of stakeholders. For the first time, a card-sort analysis has been used to solicit veterinary students’ opinions and the critical incident technique has been used to determine the perspectives of practising veterinarians. Analysing client complaints lodged with the Veterinary Council of New Zealand also represents an original method of determining those attributes of professionalism that will promote veterinary career success and satisfaction. By seeking the perspectives of multiple veterinary stakeholders, the body of knowledge about professionalism has been extended. Furthermore, the neoteric framework of veterinary professionalism, developed in the study, could help to form the basis for constructing a robust curriculum prescribing the teaching and assessment of veterinary professionalism. It may also be used by veterinarians as a guide in the practice of veterinary medicine and in their relationships with patients, clients, colleagues and society.
An investigation into the effectiveness of collagenase for the percutaneous discolysis of thoracolumbar intervertebral discs in the dog : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Veterinary Science at Massey University
(Massey University, 1993) Bray, Jonathan Peter
This investigation compared the effectiveness of chemonucleolysis with 500 units of collagenase, to lateral fenestration of the thoracolumbar intervertebral discs of the non-chondrodystrophoid dog. Effectiveness was based on the amount of nuclear material removed from the disc and the associated modifications to intervertebral disc structure, as determined by histological examination. The object was to determine whether the percutaneous injection of collagenase enzyme could be an alternative to fenestration as a prophylaxis against herniation of a degenerate intervertebral disc. Eight one year old, non-chondrodystrophoid mongrel dogs were used in the experiment. Apart from two dogs which remained untreated, the remaining six dogs were from two litters which had been sired by the same animal. Two of these dogs had six intervertebral discs (T10/11 to L2/3) injected with 500 units of collagnease VIIs delivered percutaneously. Another two dogs had their equivalent discs surgically fenestrated by the lateral approach as described by Flo and Brinker. The remaining two dogs were subjected to a placebo injection of physiological saline. The animals were examined clinically, neurologically and radiologically before treatment and at regular intervals following treatment. Six months following treatment, the dogs were euthanased. The results showed that collagenase caused almost complete removal of normal nuclear material from within the disc. The centre of the disc was replaced by a variable combination of fibrocartilage and hyaline cartilage, which appeared to develop from the collapsed inner lamellae of the annulus fibrosus. Complications were recorded in only one dog, who suffered a transient hind limb paralysis in the two days immediately following injection. A massive dorsal extrusion of nuclear material was observed in one disc at post-mortem in this dog and was believed to be the cause of the paralysis. The dog recovered without treatment and remained normal on clinical, neurological and radiological examination six months after injection. The annulus fibrosus, dorsal and ventral longitudinal ligaments remained intact in all other dogs. Fenestration was found to cause a variable disruption to the normal architecture of the nucleus pulposus. In most discs, cellular aggregations from the normal nucleus pulposus were undergoing a transformation to fibrocartilage. These cell groups were separated by an increased amount of amorphous matrix material which stained moderately with alcian blue. In the remaining discs (3/12), an increased fibrosus of the nucleus pulposus was seen, but no other disruption to the normal architecture was recorded. No complications occurred in these dogs. The injection of the discs with physiological saline caused remarkably similar histological effects to the disc as did fenestration. The investigators concluded that collagenase appeared to be an attractive alternative to fenestration for the prophylaxis of intervertebral disc herniation, on the basis of its completeness of removal of nuclear tissue, and its simplicity, cheapness, non-invasiveness and the lack of medium and short term complications. Since intervertebral disc protrusions occur more commonly in chondrodystrophoid breeds of dog, the effect of collagenase should be studied in degenerate disc of these breeds before it can be recommended for clinical use.
Comparative study of subclinical fascioliasis in sheep and goats : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Philosophy in Veterinary Science at Massey University
(Massey University, 1991) Mengesha, Kinfe Melak
The literature on the identification of Fasciola spp. and their intermediate hosts, the general life cycle of Fasciola and aspects of the epidemiology, clinical signs, diagnosis and treatment of infections is reviewed. Two experiments were carried out. The first involved 18 weeks observations on 5 adult male goats each infected with 150 metacercartae of F.hepatica and 5 uninfected controls. The second involved groups of 10 sheep and 10 goats each infected with 200 metacercariae with 5 uninfected controls of each species. In both experiments, faecal, haematological, biochemical and pathological examinations were conducted. The animals were also weighed regularly. In the first experiment, although only 15-35 flukes were established, measurable and, in many cases, statistically significant changes in a variety of parameters were observed. A depression in packed cell volumes relative to controls of approximately 20% occurred. Though haemoglobin, mean corpuscular volume and mean corpuscular haemoglobin concentration levels remained within the normal ranges, erythrocyte levels in the infected group were significantly lower than in the controls and there was a tendency for the anaemia to become macrocytic. This suggests that goats may be particularly susceptible to the effects of blood loss associated with Fasciola infections though further work is needed to confirm this. A marked peripheral eosinophilia and elevation in fibrinogen levels were observed in infected animals. Albumin levels decreased, globulin levels increased and the A/G ratio decreased significantly relative to the control group but all levels remained within the normal ranges. In infected animals, gamma glutamyl transferase (GGT) and glutamyl dehydrogenase (GD) levels rose to beyond the limits of the normal ranges although aspartate aminotransferase (AST) levels, which were also significantly elevated, did not. The results indicate that serum GD and GGT are particularly sensitive indicators of damage to the liver parenchyma and bile ducts caused by F.hepatica in goats and that GD is more sensitive than AST. Serum bile acids were estimated but no significant change was detected. The ratio between faecal egg counts and the numbers of adult flukes present at necropsy was consistently lower than described for sheep with a mean of approximately 13epg/fluke (range 9-23) at the final sampling and 18epg/fluke (range 11-29) in the previous week when the egg counts were highest. This is potentially of considerable diagnostic importance and needs further investigation. In the second experiment, the number of flukes established was extremely low in both species (mean 0.85% & 2.95% in the sheep and goats respectively) although more goats than sheep became infected. Pre-existing liver pathology in the sheep was a further complication. Consequently, little information of value was generated by the infection of goats and no data that could be used for comparative purposes were obtained from the sheep infection. However, combination of the data from the 13 infected goats from both experiments yielded some useful information in relation to serum enzyme levels. Correlations between the numbers of flukes recovered at necropsy and peak levels of serum enzymes and various haematological parameters in individual animals were examined though only those relating to enzyme levels were statistically significant. The correlation coefficients between peak enzyme levels and fluke numbers indicated that the relationship was strongest with GGT and weakest with AST. However, regression analysis showed that there was no predictive value in the relationship with any of the enzymes because of extremely wide confidence intervals for predicted fluke numbers.

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