Veterinarian in Society

DELIVERING BAD NEWS 

• Sometimes veterinarians are compelled to deliver bad news to the clients. News that can be considered bad is usually loss and grief related; diagnosing a chronic or terminal illness, informing clients about their animals’ sudden or unexpected death or relating information to disease recurrence or treatment failure. Breaking bad news may confirm pre-existing suspicions for frightened or worried clients; therefore both delivering and receiving bad new s can trigger feeling of guilt and anxiety and can be unsettling both for clients and veterinarians
• Veterinary medicine has four general categories of bad news. They are
  • Unexpected death
  • Diagnosis
  • Treatment ups and down
  • Telling clients that it is time to decide about euthanasia
• No strategies or methods exist to allow vets to break bad news painlessly. They should prepare themselves to deal with shock, disbelief, anger, sadness and even hysteria because the way in which clients react to bad news is largely unpredictable.
• The delivery of a diagnosis works better, when you explain test results, radio-graphs and prognosis in a soft voice with your words spoken a bit more slowly, than usual. Well planned diagnostic presentations greatly increase clients understanding of diseases and its treatment.
• If veterinarians fail to win client trust during the delivery of bad news, effective case management is jeopardized. Therefore time should be invested in educating clients during the crucial time.
• Three methods of approach can be used when delivering bad news
  • Blunt and unfeeling way
  • Kind and sad way
  • Understanding and positive way
• The last is probably the preferred way. To convey the bad news with an understanding and positive attitude, you should deliver the message in stages because it takes time for clients to fully realize the magnitude of what they have been told.
• Like that the veterinarian should educate the clients that euthanasia has to be done only to terminate the suffering of animals who have been severely injured or who are dying from disease or illness. He should explain the procedure and field questions.
• The clients will appreciate if you offer small kindness towards them before, during and after the animal loss. These small gestures are often what clients remember the most.
• Veterinarian should
  • Explain the euthanasia procedure.
  • Structure and guide the euthanasia procedure.
  • Escort the clients away from the site.
  • Make follow up phone calls.
• At the same time many small in-sensitivities you can avoid before, during and after euthanasia. Unfortunately these small mistakes are often enough to negate the overall positive effects. Because they are images and experience that clients remember the most.
• Client dealings need to be taken up with utmost care. It should be based on the objectives of the organisation and deliver the goods that would enhance the prestige of the institution.
• Each and every member of the organisation should own the institution and have a strong ‘we’ feeling. Specific policy should be made in dealing with the client, which would provide comfort and satisfaction to the client. Care should be taken care to cater the resource poor and to satisfy their needs.
• The policy of the institution, its objective, service provided etc., should be displayed and made known to the client. This would help the organisations achieve its best with quality and efficiency. Regular monitoring and evaluation of the service provided will be of use to make suitable changes to match the clients need. These little effort will go a long way in developing an organisation.