Plus-Hex CLINICAL
Figure 2 . Stacked bar chart showing the percentage of respondents who selected each answer for the nine Likert-scale statements ( shown on page 37 ) about barriers to RVN confidence in rabbit anaesthesia . Data are from 284 RVNs practising in the UK in 2019 . Note : the order of the Likert statements on page 37 and examined in Figure 2 differs from the order in the original questionnaire ( Appendix 1 , page 45 ); the statements are displayed in ascending order of the percentage of respondents strongly agreeing or agreeing with each statement , for ease of data visualisation .
Barriers to confidence in rabbit anaesthesia
In the Likert-scale statements , the RVNs had the most agreement in their responses for statements 1 and 9 ( Figure 2 ). Responses to each statement were compared against confidence in rabbit anaesthesia scores to identify which area had the most effect on the respondents ' confidence . Overall , the most negative response was to statement 1 , ‘ I had a lot of education about rabbit anaesthesia when training to be a veterinary nurse ’, where 17.61 % of RVNs disagreed and 53.17 % strongly disagreed . The few who did agree with statement 1 had higher median confidence scores in rabbit anaesthesia ( 8 ), and this association was significant ( p = 0.017 ).
There was little difference in the responses to statement 1 between those who had trained in HE and those in VT , with 31.3 % ( 93 ) disagreeing or strongly disagreeing from HE and 35.7 % ( 102 ) from VT . This association was not significant ( p = 0.439 ). RVNs who had been qualified for the shortest time strongly agreed with statement 1 most frequently ( 3.9 %, n = 11 ) and also strongly disagreed most frequently ( 8.2 %, n = 23 ), but this association was not significant ( p = 0.140 ).
Thematic analysis
In their answers to the free-text questions , numerous respondents highlighted that their confidence in rabbit anaesthesia was affected by a lack of experience
( Table 2 , page 40 ). It was suggested by 144 RVNs ( 63.2 %) that more education about rabbits and their anaesthesia during initial training would be beneficial to increase RVNs ' confidence in anaesthetising rabbits . Other common themes included the stigma and fear surrounding rabbits in the veterinary practice , and a lack of relevant CPD .
Discussion
Anaesthesia confidence
RVNs had lower confidence scores for anaesthetising rabbits ( median of 6 ) than they did for cats or dogs ( median of 9 ), providing evidence to support the hypothesis that RVNs feel less confident performing anaesthesia in rabbits than they do in cats or dogs . A potential confounding variable for this was the number of years respondents had been qualified , as their confidence increased the longer they had been qualified . Further study with multivariable analysis would be needed to evaluate the effect of this factor and whether the result currently reported could be attributed to an increase in experience due to the length of time in practice .
There was a significant association between the number of rabbits anaesthetised monthly and RVNs ' confidence in rabbit anaesthesia , in agreement with the 32.1 % of RVNs who felt they would have more confidence
Volume 39 ( 4 ) • August 2024
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