‘Care about my animal, know your stuff and take me seriously’: United Kingdom and Australian clients’ views on the capabilities most important in their veterinarians

Abstract

Success in veterinary practice requires careful balancing of stakeholder needs. The aim of this study was to investigate the current expectations and needs of veterinary clients across a range of practice types. Interviews and focus groups were undertaken with veterinary clients to identify the capabilities of veterinarians that result in the best client experience, generating a 'Veterinary Capability Framework'. This comprised six main capabilities each containing 4-10 behavioural indicators: client relationships; professionalism; communication skills; decision-making and problem solving; commitment to animal welfare; and commitment to quality and the profession. An online survey was then conducted to validate the importance of these capabilities, which was completed by 1446 mostly UK and Australian clients. The data have allowed us to develop a 'Client Hierarchy of Needs' which emphasises the fundamental importance of commitment to animal welfare and veterinary capabilities to the client experience. This study is part of the VetSet2Go project, a collaborative international project to define the capabilities most important for employability and success in the veterinary profession today.

“Patients’ interests first, but … ”–Austrian Veterinarians’ Attitudes to Moral Challenges in Modern Small Animal Practice

“…Empirical findings also confirm that veterinary clients support the notion that it is the role of the veterinarian to advocate in the patient’s best interests. Thus, Hughes and colleagues found in their study of British and Australian clients that animal owners consider a commitment to the patient’s welfare and quality of life to be the most important goal that veterinarians should pursue [32]. However, a question arises about the extent to which professionals can adhere to such normative demands under everyday clinical circumstances [33,34].…”

What do clients want in a veterinarian?

“…The authors point out that client needs and wants may vary according to the type of animal owned, the reason for the visit (routine healthcare versus emergency, for example) and difering opinions about what constitutes animal welfare. 1 In conclusion, the study found that veterinary clients valued veterinarians who displayed Farm animal-owning clients prioritised commitment to quality and the profession while small animal-owning clients prioritised commitment to animal welfare commitment to animal welfare and a high standard of veterinary care; were compassionate, open, honest and able to provide clear explanations; and inspired conidence in their skills and knowledge while balancing competence, professionalism and humanity. Taking inspiration from Maslow's hierarchy of needs, 19 Hughes and others created a hierarchy of client needs (their Fig 2).…”

“…These were: Hughes and others list four to 10 speciic behavioural indictors beside each capability (see their Table 1). 1 It may be useful for veterinary schools to consider this list, alongside the RCVS Day One competences, 12 when designing curricula.…”

“…One of the key themes emerging from the interviews conducted by Hughes and others was concern about veterinarians being motivated by money. 1 As the authors rightly point out, appropriate charging is critical for sustainable and high-quality patient care and client support. To some end, this concern is addressed by educating clients appropriately about the costs of veterinary care.…”

“…In a study, summarised on p 534 of this week's Vet Record , Hughes and others have asked small animal, farm animal and equine clients around the world exactly that 1 . The short answer is that, as the title of their paper suggests, clients want veterinarians who are committed to animal welfare, demonstrate sound clinical knowledge and take the client – and their own professional duties – seriously.…”