Charlotte McCarroll

Dr Charlotte McCarroll


Senior Lecturer in Veterinary Preclinical Sciences and Education
BVMS (Hons) MSc (VetSci) PhD FHEA MRCVS
9.00 - 5.30 Monday - Friday

About

University roles and responsibilities

  • Programme Lead Years 1-2 of BVMSci Programme
  • Section Head of Veterinary Sciences

    My qualifications

    BVMS (Hons)
    University of Glasgow Veterinary School
    MSc (Vet Sci)
    University of Glasgow Veterinary School
    2013
    PhD in cardiac physiology
    University of Glasgow Institute of Cardiovascular and Medical Sciences
    2021
    Fellowship of Higher Education Academy
    University of Surrey Institute of Education

    Publications

    Olivia S. S. Summers, Rebecca Medcalf, Katherine A Hubbard, Charlotte S. McCarroll (2023)A cross-sectional study examining perceptions of discriminatory behaviors experienced and witnessed by veterinary students undertaking clinical extra-mural studies, In: Frontiers in veterinary science10pp. 940836-940836 Frontiers Media Sa

    IntroductionRecent research showed that 29% of respondents in a survey of veterinary professionals reported experiencing self-described discrimination in their workplaces. Senior colleagues and clients were responsible for discriminatory behaviors. As part of their training, veterinary students are expected to undertake extra-mural study (EMS) within these same workplaces and are likely to be vulnerable to discrimination from senior colleagues and clients. This study's objectives were to identify and characterize the pattern of perceived discriminatory behaviors (i.e., belief of being treated unfairly) that veterinary students encounter while seeing practice and explore students' attitudes toward discrimination. MethodsStudents at British and Irish veterinary schools who undertook some clinical EMS completed a survey of closed and open questions as part of a cross-sectional study. Demographic data and experiences of discrimination with details of incidents and reporting were collected, alongside respondent attitudes. Quantitative data were analyzed using Pearson's chi-squared analysis to analyse respondents' characteristics and their experiences of discriminatory behaviors and subsequent reporting. Qualitative content analysis was used for open-question data. ResultsOf the 403 respondents, 36.0% had perceived behavior they believed was discriminatory. The most frequent form of discrimination was based on gender (38.0%), followed by ethnicity (15.7%). There were significant associations between respondents' experience of discriminatory behaviors and the following characteristics: age (p = 0.0096), disability (p < 0.00001), race/ethnicity (p < 0.0001), gender/sex (p = 0.018), and LGBTQ+ status (p = 0.001). Supervising veterinarians were the most commonly reported perpetrators of discriminatory behaviors (39.3%) compared with clients (36.4%). Only 13.9% of respondents who experienced discrimination reported the event(s). Respondents with a disability were the least likely to agree with the statement that professional bodies are doing enough to tackle discrimination (p < 0.0001). Most respondents agreed that sexism is still an issue (74.4%), but men were more likely to disagree (p = 0.004). Most respondents felt that ethnic diversity needed to be increased (96.3%). DiscussionDiscriminatory behavior is a problem for students seeing practice, especially those with one or more protected characteristics (as defined by the UK Equality Act 2010). Improved education would need to include perspectives from minority groups to help remove discriminatory behavior from veterinary practice.

    Additional publications