A Survey of Injuries That Occurred in Veterinary Teaching Hospitals during 2017.

This is a research study on the frequency and severity of injuries experienced by students and staff in veterinary teaching hospitals in multiple countries. The focus is on injuries from various sources, including incidents involving various animals and hand-held instruments. The research highlights a notable difference in injury risk among different roles within the hospitals and identifies deficiencies in injury record-keeping systems.

Overview of the Research

The study aimed to understand the frequency and level of injuries to staff and students in Veterinary Teaching Hospitals (VTHs). The researchers used incident reports from 2017 from VTHs in Europe, USA, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. The injuries were divided into four levels of severity and were categorized based on cause.

Data Collection

Surveys were sent to all the accredited colleges of veterinary medicine by the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) Council on Education (COE) or the Australasian Veterinary Boards Council. The rate of response was variable, with a 100% response rate from Australia and New Zealand, 40% from the United States, 25% from Canada, 100% from Mexico, and 33% from the United Kingdom. No responses were received from AVMA-COE accredited schools in the European Union.

Results

The research found that:

• The average number of incidents was highest for cases involving horses (0.4 per 1,000 cases).
• Following horses, incidents related to food animals and other animals were tied at 0.1 incidents per 1,000 cases.
• The injury rates were lowest for incidents related to small animals (0.074 per 1,000 cases).
• In the context of VTHs, veterinary students and veterinarians were more prone to injuries from hand-held instruments such as scalpels and needles.
• Non-veterinary staff experienced a comparatively higher risk of injuries from small animals than students or veterinarians.

Challenges and Directions for Future Studies

One issue the research identified was the non-uniform recording and reporting of incidents, which often lacked detail. Some institutions had record management systems that were difficult to evaluate, making it challenging to proactively manage health and safety, a requirement of the accreditation bodies. Future research and measures must address these challenges to improve the safety standards in VTHs.