Focusing on narrative medicine

In an age of advancing communication methods are we becoming better at communicating or are there just multiple means that we now have to master? Have these new communication means actually made communication more impersonal? The pandemic has taught us that good clinical outcomes are not necessarily reliant on being in a consulting room with a client facing us, but can be through many other, often remote means. Having less client contact has pleased some, but has it had a negative impact on the public's view of veterinary professionals and has it impacted on our wellbeing?

The way in which we communicate is very important, not just in terms of the content but the way in which the communication is conducted. Narrative medicine is making large in-roads into veterinary practice, it is something that is not new, and that we have been doing for years, but its importance is not widely recognised. The restrictions of the pandemic have made veterinary medicine more impersonal. That connection with the pet owner has diminished and with many practices not being able to undertake more preventative medicine consultations this has caused a reduction in opportunities to connect with the owner, patient and their combined story.