VN May 2017

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E thical business , good veterinary medicine <<< 12

a difficult second opinion or just a vaccination. List, discuss and where possible, attempt to address each and every item both here and now, and also proactively. If you identify risks in the patient’s future e.g. a white puppy headed for skin cancer, or an obese elderly cat headed for arthritis or diabetes, then act now, document your advice, and be clear and concise. Clients respond not to bullying but certainly to direction and passion. Achieve all the patient’s needs where and when you can, or through the agency of another person – vet, specialist, laboratory, consultant – whatever it takes to get that animal right. You are not alone in achieving these goals for your patient. The balance between these arises from making unemotional, well- measured yet compassionate financial decisions; giving clients advice that safeguards their pets and finances (e.g. pet insurance, proactive care, annual health checks and vaccination, avoiding ineffective, unscientific or frivolous medications or surgeries); and being unapologetic for charging for what should be high-standard procedures and medications chosen for non-pecuniary reasons, free of influence by companies or other expediencies. Always do the right thing for the right reasons with the right patient and the right client for the fair, right price, and you will have nothing to fear. Acknowledgements Drs Craig Mostert BVSc, Nicky Evans BVSc(Hons) and Ms Tammy Gray BA BCompt, gave input into this article. v

learning, effort, attention to detail and compassion, you must deliver this – or being a vet is not for you. When giving that care, do what is needed, according to the training you were privileged to receive and worked so hard to absorb; and charge fairly, but completely, for what you have done. Nothing more, but nothing less. Every practice is, similarly but not equivalently, an organism with needs – cash flow, happy, effective and appropriate staff, equipment, and most importantly, a growing and happy clientele. You must be aware of its needs and every action you take to promote or safeguard its welfare, safeguards the jobs and security of its staff (including you), and the health and satisfaction of the patients and clients it serves. Money, like drugs, electricity or water, is the lifeblood of the practice and must not be ignored at your peril, or over-emphasised in your dealings with staff or clients. But it is an incessant, vital undercurrent to your ability to care for the animals in your neighbourhood. When a veterinarian is an employee, he or she must behave like a partner/owner from day 1, and every day – or there is no future for that person in that practice, and they will not ever have the skills to run their own practice, and understand the privation and suffering that goes with that. When managing a patient’s needs, take the time to LISTEN and ask about the medical facts pertaining to the patient, discarding as much of the emotional and distracting overlay from the client. Examine a patient properly and thoroughly, whether for

elsewhere) and options that would deliver an OPTIMAL OUTCOME FOR THAT PATIENT, IF IT COULD CHOOSE. It is my firm belief that every patient would choose the best treatment it could get, if that would deliver a better outcome. As an example of this, I am constantly surprised, 4 years into the Atopica/Cortavance era, that so many animals are referred – or even worse, seen as second opinions – for atopy, having only ever had oral or injectable prednisolone. Almost every one of the owners willingly takes the more expensive medication, when it is offered to them, and few go back to their vet if they were second opinions, which is sad. Conclusion Every patient is the core of your professional existence, and is a living, breathing, feeling creature with fears and an appreciation for pain and suffering no less than your own. It is your responsibility to give it the best care – either by doing so yourself, or getting other parties to help you do so (labs, specialists, colleagues in your or other practices). Every patient would want the best outcome, with the least risk of side effects, and wants to live just as you want to live. By your

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