Renee, why should we have to be diplomatic when being treated poorly. Just coz they are a vet does mean that they should treat their customers badly, same with doctors, dentists and any other professional. Surely everyone has the right to be treated with respect (obviously bearing in mind that I wasn't there and maybe Paul might have been NASTY ).

 

Yes professionals should treat their clients/patients professionally as should the client treat their medico or vet professionally too. If the client is not being professional or respectful then I don't see how it is fair to complain. You must give respect in order to gain it.

 

Totally agree 100% If you're going to behave like a goose, then you can't expect to be treated like a swan!

Renee, why should we have to be diplomatic when being treated poorly. Just coz they are a vet does mean that they should treat their customers badly, same with doctors, dentists and any other professional. Surely everyone has the right to be treated with respect (obviously bearing in mind that I wasn't there and maybe Paul might have been NASTY ).

 

Yes professionals should treat their clients/patients professionally as should the client treat their medico or vet professionally too. If the client is not being professional or respectful then I don't see how it is fair to complain. You must give respect in order to gain it.

 

Totally agree 100% If you're going to behave like a goose, then you can't expect to be treated like a swan!

 

 

True however, many a time I've been treated like an inconvenience rather than a valued customer. It seems all too common for professionals to treat their customers poorly - maybe the rest of us just aren't high enough up on the food chain for them to consider anything other than a cash cow (and an annoyingly demanding one at that). I've finally found a skilled vet for my dogs, sheep and horses who will actually answer my questions and properly explain their recommendations without making it blatantly obvious that I'm too dumb and too annoying to waste their time on!

Renee, why should we have to be diplomatic when being treated poorly. Just coz they are a vet does mean that they should treat their customers badly, same with doctors, dentists and any other professional. Surely everyone has the right to be treated with respect (obviously bearing in mind that I wasn't there and maybe Paul might have been NASTY ).

 

Yes professionals should treat their clients/patients professionally as should the client treat their medico or vet professionally too. If the client is not being professional or respectful then I don't see how it is fair to complain. You must give respect in order to gain it.

 

Totally agree 100% If you're going to behave like a goose, then you can't expect to be treated like a swan!

 

 

True however, many a time I've been treated like an inconvenience rather than a valued customer. It seems all too common for professionals to treat their customers poorly - maybe the rest of us just aren't high enough up on the food chain for them to consider anything other than a cash cow (and an annoyingly demanding one at that). I've finally found a skilled vet for my dogs, sheep and horses who will actually answer my questions and properly explain their recommendations without making it blatantly obvious that I'm too dumb and too annoying to waste their time on!

 

Everyone is different... and people being treated poorly happens accross the board, from customer service to high paying professionals. It's been happening for years and although it's not okay... it wont change. Some people are nice, some people are not... and regarless of their profession, they will be how they choose to be. It's up to us as paying customers to decide who to give our business to. If you don't like the service, go elsewhere... If I'm not treated as I expect to be, I will take my business elsewhere... even if it costs a little more. It's our choice...

I'm not trying to defend all vets because like in every profession there are good ones and bad ones. Interestingly, my class has recently had tutorials on communication so I wanted to share some of what I've been taught.

 

In your first consult, there are two impressions you (a vet) has to be aware of. You have to gauge from this complete stranger in the fifteen minutes you have together: how you should speak, and know that when you speak they will be judging you for it. However subconscious it may be. So it's about judging a person, knowing they will judge you by how you judge them!

 

Of course in this situation we want the animal's health to come first. So I personally think talking down is much better than talking technical (at least talking down is actually communicating; an owner that doesn't understand may not treat the animal the best way in a medical sense). Not that I think it's a good thing to go either way. A good vet should be one that can listen and communicate on that perfect level, and has to tailor it for each individual.

 

Honestly, I've often seen an owner's eyes just glaze over when the vet's talking. They keep nodding and agreeing, because sometimes it's a little hard to tell someone they don't understand something (not true for everyone I know, but it's something I find, and it seems to increase the higher up on the medical/scientific 'ladder' they are). Once you've nodded that one time even when you didn't completely understand it, it's difficult to ask someone to go back five minutes to explain that thing they didn't understand. Maybe it's because of, as you say, they think the vet might judge them as "too dumb". How do I know this happens? Because sometimes the owner will ask the student quietly about something when the vet's out of the room. It's a very frustrating thing for both owner and vet when there is a communication break down.

 

Last week I started a consult with a medical professional. He spoke like a medico so I did as well. He was so sure it couldn't be a certain disease. He nodded and made noises of affirmation when I spoke. However, the actual vet took over my consult, and she explaied beautifully how he was incorrect. She tailored her speech to suit a medical person that had shown he didn't understand animal physiology as much. She didn't think he was "dumb" - of course not, and he even had the degree to prove he wasn't, but she had to change how she spoke because she knew his understanding was not on the same level as ours.

 

Getting to that perfect balance of speech is the key to a good vet. As they say over and over in my communication tutes, you can be the best doctor in the world and do awesome microsurgery no one else has ever dared to do, but it means nothing if you can't communicate well with your client. It's another skill we have to think about and learn, alongside the theoretical and practical skills. One of the things we're currently learning is how to talk like a layperson again. It might perhaps sound a bit arrogant, but we've just spent five years learning scientific and medical terminology, where we have words for exact processes, and then try to translate it back into plain English again.

 

Most vets try to speak as if to a layperson because let's face it: there are a huge range of people we see with differing experience, knowledge and ability to learn. I guess for those vets who aren't good at achieving the perfect level of communication, talking down happens quite a bit, because as I said they prefer that than to talk tehcnical (and then the animal doesn't get treated properly). I'm sorry to say that many a client has walked out of the consult having no idea what the disease is even called because it was long and technical. And another thing I've learnt: there is a general assumption that when a medical person has no idea what they're talking about, they hide it with big long words.

 

We've also been learning about active listening and how to subtly pick up cues from the owner on whether or not the communication is working. It involves asking questions and rephrasing to gauge the level of understanding. I guess some people are better at doing this than others.

 

Like others have said, it's a two way communication that cycles itself. What is given often reflects what is given back.

Edited May 29, 200916 yr by Chrysocome

Paul, how did your visit to the new vet go?

Is your little mate okay?

Edited June 11, 200916 yr by Boris' Slave

Not good. It cost $266 and they tried antibiotics. It didn't work and I can't afford to keep going back for more tests until they find out what's wrong. I'm trying Triple C on her now.

I hope the Triple C does the trick.