Martin Cake

Background
Global shortage of healthcare and veterinary professionals warrants seeking new ways of improving employee retention. Emotional intelligence (EI) helps individuals manage their emotions and behaviours, and it is reasonable to expect that EI might have an impact on the work environment, as well as the turnover of medical and veterinary staff.

Methods
A scoping review of the literature was performed by searching four electronic databases in both the veterinary and healthcare sectors. Publications were reviewed against eligibility criteria.

Results
The search showed a lack of studies investigating this topic in the veterinary literature. In the healthcare literature, 781 publications were identified; 20 met the inclusion criteria and were included in the final review. The results showed that high EI can amplify positive behaviours and minimise negative behaviours in teams.

Limitations
Scoping reviews are at risk for selection bias if not all available data are identified. However, given the paucity of veterinary research and the similarities between the veterinary and healthcare industries, a scoping review of healthcare literature was considered an effective approach to identify key concepts relating to EI and its impact on the behaviours between team members that would be useful for reflection within the veterinary industry.

Conclusions
A lack of original research studies on this topic in veterinary literature was identified. The findings from healthcare should guide future research in the veterinary field. Studies investigating the impact of EI on the behaviours and affect on veterinary teams could contribute to create practical solutions to enhance employee retention.

Introduction
The veterinary profession is marked by significant mental health challenges, including stress and burnout, particularly among early-career veterinarians. Positive psychology highlights the importance of meaningful work as a pathway to enhance well-being (e.g., increasing resilience through a sense of purpose). Despite this, there is limited understanding of how early-career veterinarians perceive and experience meaningful work during the transition from student to practitioner.

Methods
This study aimed to: (1) explore early-career veterinarians’ perceptions of meaningful work, and (2) investigate the intricacies of meaningful work experienced by early-career veterinarians during the transition period. A qualitative, phenomenological approach was utilized, involving semi-structured interviews with 21 early-career veterinarians from Canadian veterinary colleges. Data were analyzed using template analysis to identify themes in the data.

Results
The analysis identified five key themes: the obscure concept of meaningful work, meaning found through connection, making a difference, the ability to be creative and problem-solve, and the evolving nature of meaning. Participants initially found meaningful work difficult to define, reflecting its subjective nature. Connections with animals and humans, such as clients and colleagues, emerged as crucial sources of meaning. Making tangible differences for animals, caretakers, and the community was seen as central to their work. The ability to creatively solve problems provided intellectual satisfaction and enhanced their sense of purpose. Participants noted that their understanding of meaningful work evolved with experience, highlighting the interplay between professional growth and personal fulfillment.

Discussion
In conclusion, early-career veterinarians derived meaningful work from a combination of deep connections, impactful contributions, and creative problem-solving, which evolved over time. These insights can inform strategies to improve well-being within the profession by fostering supportive environments that encourage reflective practices, personal growth, and pathways to meaning and purpose.

Veterinarians undergo several years of rigorous education in order to qualify in their chosen profession. As they enter clinical practice, or work within other areas of the profession, they embark upon a career-long journey of learning, whether that be 'formal' or 'informal' education and training, in order to develop themselves professionally and remain up to date. However, the vast majority of published educational literature within the veterinary sector relates to undergraduate programs. Research and scholarship relating to veterinary education and training
is extremely sparse in comparison. This is somewhat different to what is seen in other health professions, including medical education, where a significant proportion of the literature focuses on education and training beyond graduation, from early career training and residencies through to continuing education. The advantages of publishing high-quality scholarship and research in any field are well known. Sharing more evidence and best practice in post-graduation education and training will inform international advances in this area. Although the specific educational challenges facing the profession at different career stages are distinct, evidence-informed approaches to educational interventions-whether that be supporting graduates' transition into the workplace, specialty training, or continuing education-have the potential to have a positive impact on many levels, from improved patient outcomes and client satisfaction, to enhancing veterinarians' job satisfaction and retention in the workplace. This article discusses the gaps in evidence in veterinary education and training
, identifying some of the current challenges that could be addressed through a greater focus in this area, and their importance. In relation to graduate transition into the workplace, further work is needed to understand the optimal design and effectiveness of support programs, including coaching and mentoring for graduates. For formal post-graduate education leading to a more advanced level of practice, there is a need to better understand which approaches to teaching and assessment promote high-quality, consistent, learning experiences and outcomes. Further evidence regarding how continuing education is identified and undertaken by learners, and the corresponding impact on practice, would be valuable, and a greater understanding into feasible yet robust licensure assessments and mechanisms for revalidation are needed.

Screw fixation failures remain clinically challenging especially hip fracture fixation in osteoporotic bone. Prior studies have shown that expandable orthopaedic screw devices can improve biomechanical fixation in bone, but concerns over their removability remains. A novel expandable screw implant has been developed that optimizes both implant fixation and removability. The present study investigated the implant removability in an animal model.

A specially manufactured expandable screw implant was surgically implanted in 5 sheep for 4 months. The distal femur were extracted with the implants in-situ after euthanasia. The bone samples were scanned using micro-CT and the retraction torque of the expandable screw wings were measured to assess ease of removability.

Analysis of the micro-CT images verified that bone had not grown inside the expandable screw mechanism and all expandable screw samples were removed without complication. The mean peak torque to fully retract the screws ready for removal was 0.86 Nm (0.59-1.30 Nm) and the mean peak removal torque for the retracted screws was 7.98 Nm (1.70-15.40 Nm).

This large animal study result shows the feasibility of an expandable screw concept with a novel gapless design, to improve screw fixation strength mechanically, without compromising on the implant removability.

Curriculum leaders (individuals with responsibility for an institution's veterinary curriculum), are student-oriented, want to make a difference, and prioritize teaching and pedagogy in their work. However, as they work to enhance curriculum development, they experience tensions in their role. This study built on previous quantitative findings, and aimed to explore further how curriculum leaders respond to tensions, and how their identity is constructed and supported in a way that means they can thrive in their role. Using self-determination theory and narrative identity as conceptual frameworks, nine curriculum leaders were interviewed about their experiences. Narrative inquiry methodology enabled in-depth interpretations to be drawn about identity influences and participants' responses to conflict and dissonance. Curriculum leader identity was defined as being student-centered, change-oriented, valuing both clinical (particularly general practice), and pedagogical expertise while engaging in hard work and service to achieve pedagogical goals. Participants were skilled in leading change and had developed skills and personal attributes for this. Leading change involved experiences of conflict and tension that were personally meaningful, evoking feelings of identity dissonance that were characterised by either emotional resilience or disaffection and frustration. This response depended on social identity influences, including opportunities to network with like-minded peers, recognition of achievements from influential others, institutional advocacy for change, and support for advanced pedagogical training.

Curriculum leaders (individuals with responsibility for an institution's veterinary curriculum) play a vital role in driving local curriculum priorities, development, and accreditation. This study aimed to describe the career paths of curriculum leaders, and identify what motivates them, the barriers they face, and the knowledge, skills, and attributes they perceive as essential for the role. Self-determination theory was used to identify tensions experienced within the role. An international online survey targeted at those identifying as curriculum leaders was completed by 45 participants. 91% of participants held a doctoral level qualification and/or clinical Boards; 82% had additional training in leadership; 38% had additional formal training in education. Motivators included a desire to make a difference, personal satisfaction with teaching and working with students, and social influences. Participants experienced barriers relating to self-development and achievement of their curriculum goals; participants described essential knowledge (of the profession, educational theory, and wider higher education context) and skills (leading teams, change management, and communication). Attributes considered important related both to self (open-minded, patient, resilient, able to see the big picture as well as detail) and relationships with others (approachable, listener, respectful and respected, supportive, credible). Tensions arose in participants' need for autonomy (experiencing barriers to achieving their goals), in their social relatedness (achieving curriculum goals while working with colleagues with conflicting priorities), and in perceptions of necessary competence (a need, but lack of opportunity, for advanced training in educational theory). The findings may help institutions more effectively support and train current and future curriculum leaders.

Polydactyly is a congenital malformation resulting from an autosomal dominant mutation manifesting as supernumerary digits of the hands or feet. It is most commonly reported in humans and domestic mammals, though there have also been isolated examples across a range of wild vertebrate species. Here we report a case of extremely unusual bilateral preaxial polydactyly on the pectoral limbs of a male western grey kangaroo (Macropus fuliginosus) from the South West region of Western Australia, in which two supernumerary digits were present on each manus. A supernumerary digit I on each manus was rudimentary in morphology without extrinsic muscular connections. However, supernumerary digit II present on each manus had fully developed extrinsic and intrinsic muscular connections, suggesting that these digits possessed normal function in flexion and extension. An alternative hypothesis is that the two supernumerary digits are both representatives of the most radial digit I, though this would then require the true digit I to have taken on the appearance of digit II by acquiring an additional phalanx and modified muscular attachments. The carpal bones exhibited a number of subtle differences in morphology when compared to normal pentadactyl individuals. The presence of a distal, rather than proximal, epiphysis on the first metacarpal was unexpected but further investigation suggested that this characteristic is perhaps more variable (in this species at least) than has been previously recognized. This case provides an unusual example to be considered within the broader context of limb development.

Background In the veterinary profession, employability has been defined as ‘a set of personal and professional capabilities that enable a veterinarian to gain employment, contribute meaningfully to the profession, and develop a career pathway that achieves satisfaction and success’. This study was part of a multinational collaborative research project aiming to define the capabilities most important for employability in the veterinary context (www.VetSet2Go.edu.au). Methods The project gathered empirical evidence from multiple stakeholders including employees, employers, clients, team members, academics and professional bodies. These perspectives needed to be brought together as a cohesive body of evidence. We used a modified Delphi process, whereby a panel of experts were asked to reach consensus on the capabilities most important for veterinary employability, after considering the evidence from the sub-projects. Results The Delphi panel reached rapid consensus upon 21 of an initial 47 capabilities, including effective communication with clients and colleagues, teamwork, technical knowledge and skills, resilience and well-being, adaptability, emotional intelligence, workflow management and empathy and compassion. Conclusion Of note for veterinary educators are those attitudinal items identified by this Delphi process as important to employability but potentially underemphasised in existing competency frameworks, such as accepts responsibility, keen to learn, diligence (high standard of care) and self-awareness.

The conceptual complexity of employability remains a barrier for its integration into discipline-based curricula. In the health professions, a particular challenge lies in integrating employability with the dominant paradigms of competency and professionalism. In this study, we explore these contextual challenges, and present the rationale and conceptual basis for a potential re-framing of employability within the context of this discipline group. We propose a novel definition and a conceptual model of employability better aligned to the needs of health professions. While employability has proven difficult to define broadly, it is framed around the expectations of both the employer and employee, thus may be viewed as a mutual transaction of expectations, which is most sustainable when all are optimally satisfied. Given that most work contexts involve multiple stakeholders, employability is defined here from an individual’s perspective as their capacity to sustainably satisfy the optimal balance of all stakeholder demands and expectations in a work context, including their own. We draw upon a scan of the literature and evidence from one health profession, veterinary science (including re-analysis of comments from a stakeholder survey), to inform a conceptual model of employability for these contexts. We propose employability is only partly comprised of skills and knowledge (human capital), and more of psychological capital spanning approaches to work, approaches to self, and approaches to others. The expectations underpinning employability are partly oriented to the work itself, and partly to the human interactions supporting it; partly to efficacy and partly to sustainability. These principles establish a matrix of five domains: effective practice, productive relationships, professional commitment, and psychological resources, plus a central element of reflective identity representing the fundamental growth process of self-awareness and identity formation. By this conception, employability is complementary to, but readily integrated with, outcomes frameworks such as competency and professionalism.