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Veterinary Practice News Editorial Blog:
Friday, October 2, 2009
AVMA: Leading the Way in Ethics
By Katherine Dobbs, RVT, CVPM, PHR
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When I decided to take the certified veterinary practice manager (CVPM) exam offered through the Veterinary Hospital Managers Association, I had to become intimately familiar with all of the resources on the recommended reading list.
One of these was the “AVMA Principles of Veterinary Medical Ethics.”
I had never read these before, even though I had been involved in veterinary medicine for more than a decade. Now I am fortunate to teach a CVPM Preparatory Review course through the Veterinary Support Personnel Network (VSPN.org), and during each class when we come to the ethics section, I ask how many people had read them before preparing for the CVPM exam. Each time, an overwhelming number of students have not read the document.
This concerns me, because it defines very important ethical standards. Undoubtedly, veterinarians are encouraged to be familiar with these ethics, but all of us in the veterinary profession have a duty to abide by them and to help our doctors and practices do the same.
All too often, we receive a decree from “above” (i.e. management) to do something, or to not do something. For many of us, it would be helpful to understand the WHY behind the decree. This is becoming even more important in managing the “Y” or “Why” Generation.
Let’s look at a quick and easy example. This particular principle involves general practice as well as referral practice.
A receptionist at a referral practice may be told to specify that the board-certified internist who specializes in internal medicine has only a “special interest” in cardiology because he is not board certified in cardiology. At a general practice, the receptionist may need to say that one of the doctors has a “special interest” in oncology, but clearly specify that the doctor is not a board-certified oncologist.
These front-line employees may have been told the “what” and even “how” of these explanations they must give to clients, but never told the “why”--and frankly, if they don’t know the “why,” there is more chance of a mistake happening.
The ethics guidelines (Professional Behavior, section II. C.) state that “It is unethical for veterinarians to identify themselves as members of an AVMA-recognized specialty organization if such certification has not been awarded.” In fact, we don’t even want to mistakenly give the appearance or allow the assumption that the veterinarian has additional credentials.
Why not? Because this may happen if the explanation isn’t made clear: A client calls the referral practice asking for a cardiologist, and is scheduled with the aforementioned internist. The client could later claim misrepresentation of the veterinarian’s credentials.
Or a client whose pet has just been diagnosed with cancer calls to schedule treatment with the general practice, believing it can provide a doctor with the most advanced knowledge in oncology treatment.
So we need to look at the “why” behind these policies, and educate our team. Start by reading and learning these AVMA ethics guidelines and spreading the word through your team.
Click here to read the “AVMA Principles of Veterinary Medical Ethics.”
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