Being a good vet (Part 2)
Updated:
MAY 25, 2022
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This part will cover the art of communication, especially when dealing with pet owners, because nothing is more frustrating than a lack of compliance when treating an animal.
Key points
- Skills in client communication have an impact on compliance and therefore on the benefit of your consultation.
- As a young vet you can sometimes challenge the status quo, especially in the area of ethics.
Basic rules in client communication
Being a good vet from a medical point of view is the one thing that we should have learned at vet school, being a good communicator is something that we have to learn along the way. Unless we have a good mentor, communication skills are usually developed by a trial-and-error process during daily practice. Good communication is essential to build trust, to place and sell veterinary services and products, and to create value in the eyes of the client. Establishing good client communication is actually quite easy if you follow some basic rules! (Table 1).
| Do's | Don'ts |
|---|---|
| Greet client and pet warmly | Mumble a greeting and call them with a hand signal |
| Smile | Appear grim or distracted |
| Make and maintain eye contact | Look everywhere but the client |
| Ask what you can do for the client & listen | Start your examination of the patient |
| Speak clearly and accentuated | Mumble something incomprehensible |
| Explain what you are doing during the examination | Do a “robotic” exam without comments |
| Explain in normal phrases and translate medical terms | Speak in highly technical terms like a scientist |
| Explain that you can´t hear them when using the stethoscope | Ignore the client and what they are trying to tell you |
| Summarise your findings, get feedback and discuss options with the client | Just go on to treat the animal, leaving no room for explanations and feedback |
| Hand out a written report | Leave the client memorise everything you have said |
| Say a warm "thank you" for the client's visit | Just say a short goodbye |
Rule n°1 – A client is just a client
Always be conscious of your role as a veterinary scientist and be aware that your clients are depending on you to translate your medical language into normal, everyday words for them to understand and follow. You may have the impression that clients are able to grasp the content of your explanations just because they don´t question you, but that assumption can be risky because sometimes they are just too stressed or too overwhelmed to ask. To facilitate understanding, modify your language so that it connects with the general public, learn to translate technical terms and become “bilingual” (Figure 5). You should check their understanding by getting feedback whenever you have explained something or made an offer to your clients. Simply ask “How does that sound for you?” and give your customers some time to answer. They will tell you what more they want to know and need from you.
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How to reference this publication (Harvard system)?
(2022) “Being a good vet (Part 2)”, Veterinary Practice Management Articles - Veterinary Focus. Available at: https://www.ivis.org/library/veterinary-focus/veterinary-practice-management-articles/being-a-good-vet-part-2 (Accessed: 25 March 2023).
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