Performing euthanasia services in animal shelters is a necessary function, yet one that can take a heavy toll on shelter staff. The aims of this exploratory study were to understand animal shelter management's perspective on staff reactions to euthanasia, to identify support programs and policies, and to understand the challenges and barriers to offering such services. A convenience sample of 54 shelter managers in the United States was surveyed using structured questionnaires. As expected, euthanasia was a common practice in shelters, averaging 869 dogs and cats annually per shelter. In response to performing euthanasia, sadness (83.3%), crying (68.5%), anger (57.4%), and depression (57.4%) were the most commonly reported staff reactions. Most shelter managers (74.0%) agreed that euthanasia contributed to burnout in staff, yet far fewer (26.0%) felt that euthanasia led to turnover. Shelter managers indicated that support programs were important for staff who perform euthanasia services. The most commonly offered support programs were training and education (offered in 48.1% of shelters), staff rotation (38.9%), informal peer support (38.9%), and breaks after euthanasia (35.1%). The vast majority of managers (74.0%) identified funding as the primary barrier to offering support programs. These findings confirm that performing euthanasia can have serious and problematic ramifications for shelter staff and shelter operations. While support programs are offered, they do not appear to be widespread or universal, primarily due to funding issues.

Recent studies of veterinary practice have suggested a correlation between well-developed communication skills and job satisfaction, career retention, customer satisfaction, decreased lawsuits, and financial remuneration for veterinarians. Veterinary educators are under growing pressure to teach functional communication skills to veterinary students; however, the methods employed have not been well evaluated. In this study we have evaluated veterinary student's attitudes to learning communication skills by participating in role play. The study indicates that experiential learning modalities such as role play are perceived as effective by students, despite reluctance to participate and some discomfort surrounding participation.

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Quality service for students has been identified as an important theme of higher education. In pursuing the aim of service quality, educational providers have long recognized that perceptions of service transcend the area of quality teaching and encompass the students' overall experience within the university. This article investigates the types of services that would be most beneficial to students, from the perspective of both current students and recent alumni. A cross-sectional survey of all students was conducted using an online survey. A separate survey was also conducted of alumni from the last five graduating classes. From these surveys, 94.0% of student respondents and 91.9% of alumni respondents strongly agreed with the statement "It is important for the OSU CVM (Ohio State University College of Veterinary Medicine) to provide on-site comprehensive student services." Both groups ranked job postings for post-graduation employment, fourth-year off-site rotation opportunities, and financial planning/budgeting among their top ranked preferred services. In addition, requests for continued or enhanced interviewing/communication skills training; individual mental, emotional, and spiritual counseling; and individual and group tutoring were predominant themes identified from the qualitative data as well as the Likert-scale questions. The findings from the study sheds light on the need for comprehensive services for veterinary students beyond those services traditionally provided in an academic setting, such as tutoring and course advising.

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