Family Animal Veterinarians’ Perception of Their Euthanasia Related Roles and Challenges: An Interview Study

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Abstract

Introduction. For companion animal veterinarians, euthanasia can be a complex situation with many concurrent needs to handle, including interactions with a grieving family. Nevertheless, and despite a specialization option as family animal veterinarian, the Danish vet study curriculum covers euthanasia sparsely, and mainly its technical aspects. Thus, other professional aspects of euthanasia in family animal practice may need more attention. As a contribution to this, we explored vets’ perceptions of their roles and challenges related to euthanasia of family animals.
Methodology. In-depth semi-structured interviews with four Danish vets were conducted by author NV. Analyses followed Braun & Clarke’s (2006) six steps of thematic analysis and took a hermeneutical-phenomenological approach to interpretation.
Main Findings. Four major themes were identified; (1) performing euthanasia well (comprised of planning the event and supporting the animal's family), (2) emotional displays (comprised of perceived needs and emotions of present family members, and emotions evoked in the veterinarian themselves), (3) conflicting roles (comprised of running a business versus being the animal’s advocate), and (4) working with people as well as pets (including challenges with breaking bad news to the animal's family). From the themes, three perceived roles could be identified, of which two might sometimes be in conflict.
Principal Conclusions and Implications for the Field. Euthanasia of family animals often requires more from the veterinarians than their medical expertise. The veterinarians were found to balance three roles: being an advocate for the animal, providing support for the animal's family, and running a business. We suggest curriculum development to address all three roles and their interactions. Relevant next steps are to explore family needs related to euthanasia, and to use findings for developing training programs that combine veterinary and psychological knowledge.
Translated title of the contributionFamiliedyrlægers oplevelse af deres roller og udfordringer i forbindelse med aflivninger: Et interviewstudie
Original languageEnglish
Publication date16 Jun 2023
Publication statusPublished - 16 Jun 2023
Event32. International Society for Anthrozoology Conference (ISAZ 2023) - University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom
Duration: 15 Jun 202318 Jun 2023
Conference number: 32
https://www.isaz2023.com/

Conference

Conference32. International Society for Anthrozoology Conference (ISAZ 2023)
Number32
LocationUniversity of Edinburgh
Country/TerritoryUnited Kingdom
CityEdinburgh
Period15/06/202318/06/2023
Internet address

Keywords

  • companion animals
  • pets
  • euthanasia
  • veterinary medicine
  • psychology

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