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For the study1, which was carried out by Professor Stephen May and Dr Liz Armitage Chan, Senior Lecture in Veterinary Education (pictured right) at the Royal Veterinary College, twelve new grads were enrolled in a private social media discussion group, and their identities investigated through narrative inquiry.
The authors found that participants typically adopted one of two professional identities: the academic identity or a broader 'challenge-focused' identity.
Those who identify as academic prioritise and place greatest value on things like definitive diagnosis and best-evidence treatment.
The problem, say the authors, is that although there are opportunities for this, they are rare in general practice, where a veterinary surgeon's typical work environment more frequently involves seeing lots of clients who aren’t interested in a diagnostic work-up for unnoticed issues in their pets; who can’t afford further treatment; have pets with conditions that don’t require treatment; and themselves need emotional support.
Vets who therefore exclusively value patient diagnosis from an academic viewpoint foremost are therefore more likely to feel career dissatisfaction.
Meanwhile, the other professional identity type is one where a sense of achievement is linked to overcoming the full range of professional challenges thrown up by the work environment in which vets typically operate as well as their technical competence at their job. These vets are therefore more suited to work in all types of practice.
Liz said: "The negative impact on wellbeing of an identity emphasising diagnosis and treatment was a surprising outcome, but it is easy to see how this identity develops. So much of veterinary education is focused on this area and it has always been the focus of students’ exams: if a student is ambitious and wants to achieve top grades and high-level faculty recommendations, they will inevitably prioritise their attention in this way."
The authors say the research has important implications for veterinary and other clinical degree programmes, and has already influenced the structure of the curriculum at the RVC to ensure students are well prepared for the veterinary workplace and can make an informed choice about where they choose to work.
Liz added: "Now we recognise the detrimental effect this can have on our graduates’ wellbeing, we have implemented changes to our curriculum and exams, so students are encouraged to think more holistically about the veterinary role and identify the different ways career satisfaction can be achieved. It is important to recognise that all the graduates experienced stress as they encountered complex contextual challenges, but for those who saw these challenges as part of their identity, this stress turned into a sense of satisfaction at a challenge overcome, rather than being ongoing and debilitating."
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