Herd health and production management visits on Canadian dairy cattle farms: Structure, goals, and topics discussed.

Regular veterinary visits to improve herd health and production management (HHPM) are important management components on many dairy cattle farms. These visits provide opportunities for constructive conversations between veterinarians and farmers and for shifting management from a reactionary approach to proactively optimizing health and welfare. However, little is known about the structure of HHPM farm visits and to what extent veterinarians provide assistance beyond purely technical services. Therefore, our aims in this cross-sectional study were to describe HHPM farm visit structure, determine which dairy-specific topics were discussed, and assess whether the focus of the visits aligned with farmers' priorities. Veterinary practitioners (n = 14) were recruited to record audio and video of regularly scheduled HHPM farm visits (n = 70) using an action camera attached to their chest or head. A questionnaire was distributed to farmers containing closed- and open-ended questions to assess their goals and perceptions related to farm management and HHPM farm visits. Descriptive statistics and negative binomial and Poisson regression models were used to study dairy-specific topics initiated by the farmer or veterinarian during various activities. A mean of 51% of the visit duration was dedicated to transrectal pregnancy and fertility diagnostics, and a considerable amount of time (30%) was spent on visit preparation, transitions between tasks, and leaving. A total of 488 discussions were initiated by either the veterinarian (55%) or the farmer (45%). Mean length of discussions was 2 min, and only 17% of the HHPM visit duration was spent discussing dairy-specific topics. Veterinarians initiated 62% of their discussions about herd issues, whereas farmer-initiated discussions revolved around herd health in 39% of the discussions. Discussion topics most frequently raised by participants included fertility, udder health, calf health and management, and transition diseases. Consistently, farmers' answers to a rank question regarding their main HHPM farm visit goals indicated that their priorities were to have transrectal pregnancy and fertility diagnostics performed and to improve herd fertility and general herd health. Answers to an open-ended question revealed that additional aims of many farmers were to receive information, have questions answered, and identify and discuss problems. A farmer's belief that HHPM farm visits were "absolutely" tailored toward his or her goals was positively associated with number of discussions during the visit and their conviction that they "always" voiced their wishes and needs to the veterinarian. Opportunities to broaden the focus of HHPM farm visits and improve communication between farmers and veterinarians should be identified and veterinarians should be trained accordingly, which would increase veterinarians' ability to add value during HHPM farm visits.

Use of an online gaming tool, the Veterinary DialogueTrainer, for teaching clinical communication skills to bovine veterinary practitioners.

Effective clinical communication is essential for bovine veterinary practitioners to establish and maintain positive client relationships. When applied properly in herd health consultancy, it increases client satisfaction and adherence to veterinary advice, and improves patient health and welfare. Although communication skills are often taught by providing feedback on simulated conversations, this has limitations, including time constraints, subjective assessments, and cost. The Veterinary DialogueTrainer (VDT) is an online serious game platform using 'digital role-play' with avatars, recently developed to enhance and assess learning outcomes, improve use of learned skills, and increase cost-effectiveness of communication training. The objective was to evaluate its suitability and applicability. Finnish (n = 24) and Swedish (n = 21) bovine veterinarians participated in communication training using VDT for training and assessment. Participants completed the provided scenario at least twice. After playing a bovine health communication simulation, participants received their scores and feedback on selected conversation options. VDT scores measured multiple aspects of communication on a 0-100% scale, based on motivational interviewing methodology and Calgary-Cambridge guidelines. Mean (±SD) number of attempts participants played the scenario was 4.1 (±2.6, Finland) and 3.9 (±1.3, Sweden), with highest total score reached after a mean of 3.5 (±2.1, Finland) and 3.1 (±1.1, Sweden) attempts. On the first attempt, 39 participants (87%) scored <50% of the highest possible score, whereas most (n = 34, 76%) achieved a higher score on the second attempt. Mean total score increased from 15 (±14) to 77% (±33) for Finish participants and from 40 (±22.0) to 87% (±19.4) for Swedish participants. The majority (n = 33, 73%) of participants reached a score >80% after 4.0 (±1.6, Finland) or 2.8 (±1.0, Sweden) attempts. Net Promoter Score of the training was +89 (Finland), +88 (Finland) and + 83 (Sweden) on a scale from -100 to +100, indicating that most participants were very likely to recommend the training to other veterinarians. Use of VDT increased communication skills scores but whether it will improve communication skills in practice requires further study. We concluded there is a likely benefit of using the VDT in teaching and monitoring veterinary communication competencies and preparing for offline role-plays and real-life conversations in veterinary practice.