A single survey instrument reliably measures safety culture across 117 US primary and specialty care veterinary clinics.

A validated 27-statement safety culture survey reliably assesses veterinary workplace safety across diverse US clinic settings.

This prospective cross-sectional study validated an adapted 27-statement version of the Nottingham Veterinary Safety Culture Survey (NVSCS) across 117 US private practice veterinary hospitals operated by VCA, including primary care, specialty care, and hybrid settings. A total of 702 veterinary care workers responded between October and November 2023, comprising veterinary technicians/assistants (65.7%), other support staff (21.4%), and veterinarians (13.0%). Confirmatory and exploratory factor analyses demonstrated adequate psychometric performance, supporting the instrument's validity in the US private practice context. Notably, significant differences in safety culture perceptions were identified between leadership and nonleadership roles (75.86% of statements), and between veterinarians and both veterinary technicians/assistants (33.3% of statements) and support staff (29.6% of statements). These findings suggest that role and hierarchy substantially influence how safety culture is perceived within veterinary organizations. The adapted NVSCS demonstrated consistent psychometric properties across both primary and specialty care environments, confirming its broad applicability. The authors emphasize that validated safety culture tools are essential for benchmarking, monitoring intervention effectiveness, and driving improvements in both patient and worker safety. This study provides a foundation for standardized safety culture assessment in US veterinary practice, highlighting the need for targeted strategies to address perception gaps between clinical leadership and frontline staff.

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