Veterinary medicine can be exceptionally difficult at times, involving making judgements about situations that are often influenced not only by clinical factors but by economics, moral standards, practice protocols, professional skill levels, the patient's behaviour and sometimes time and staffing levels. This is not a definitive list, but what the animal presents with and what we deliver in its treatment is not always clear cut. Unfortunately it is becoming quite common on social media that even professionals are not always kind about some clinical decisions that others make when reaching out for help. It is important to remember, you might not know the whole story, you might not know the pressures from owners, what the mitigating circumstance were at the time.
We do have different moral standards: would your practice be happy seeing a dog that had its ears cropped as a routine vaccination appointment? What would you do if your practice had a blanket ban on dogs with cropped ears, the owner registered with your practice online, so no one has seen the dog, and then it presented as an emergency? Under the RCVS guidelines, all animals should be offered at least analgesia. The practice's morals might be that they don't want to encourage cropped ears, but I'm sure the dog didn't give consent to the barbaric procedure, so should it be suffering at the actions of the owner? What if the owner has rescued the pet, and rehomed it later in life? How would a neighbouring practice be viewed if they then did see the dog? Were they being nice and concerned about the dog, or did they only see the dog because they just see everything for the money? Our expectations, opinions and prejudices do taint our thinking processes, even if we do not act on them. Reading this editorial you might wonder if I am writing this just to get you thinking, but I'm sure we can all recall situations that are similar.
The veterinary profession is both amazing and kind, but can also be cruel and hard at times. Some veterinary practices can be quite toxic environments — not just from line managers, clinical directors, practice owners, but from any staff member. There are lots of comments on veterinary social media forums where senior staff members, veterinary surgeons and head nurses are reporting bullying and undermining from junior staff members. Such comments can really grind people down — rumouring and gossiping is not kind, even when you are talking about someone because you are wanting to know what is going on — it might be that your concerns are well meant, there is a very fine line between concern and gossiping. What you view as concern can be viewed by others as gossiping.
We should all try to be kind and understanding, not judgemental. Care should be taken when discussing cases and clinical decisions that we are not being unkind. The Code of Professional Conduct for RVNs in the UK states that we should be professional and not be defamatory of others.
The next time you don't agree or understand the treatment regimen for an animal, have a think. Why might the clinician have come to the decision they made? Go and talk to them, you might not know the whole clinical history, but they also might have missed something. Communication is vital but keep an open mind. Our profession is amazing but pressurised and sometimes brutal. Let us make it as easy on each other as possible — we need to support each other. We have enough negativity from clients and social media, let's not allow it to come from others within the profession.