Equine veterinarians often experience moral conflicts when they don’t have the ability to respond to an emergency call. “Veterinarians have an ethical duty to relieve suffering in emergency situations,” said Barbara Crabbe, DVM, during a presentation at the 2024 AAEP Convention in Orlando, Florida, “but no veterinarian can be expected to respond to every emergency, every time.”
Duty to Provide Care
Ethical principles can help veterinarians determine the appropriate course of action in emergency situations. Because practitioners have formal education and specialized training, they operate under a social contract known as Duty to Provide Care, Crabbe explained. Essentially, society grants the profession the right to self-governance in exchange for meeting certain obligations, such as caring for animals in need. If the veterinary profession fails to live up to this social contract, there is a real risk of legislation being enacted requiring veterinarians to provide emergency care in all situations. If a veterinarian declines to provide emergency care, they usually have a good reason, but they still often suffer from moral distress. They can relieve this distress to some extent by using ethical principles, which might decrease burnout and career dissatisfaction.
Utilitarianism
Utilitarianism is the principle of providing the most benefit to the greatest number. Because excessive emergency care is a primary factor leading equine veterinarians to leave equine practice altogether, more damage will be done if there are no practitioners left to serve horses, Crabbe stated. Creating boundaries to limit availability is ethical within this context.
Beneficence and Nonmaleficence
Balancing beneficence and nonmaleficence is the ethical principle of doing good versus doing no harm. When a non-life-threatening injury is present and no handler is available to assist the veterinarian, it is easy to see the potential for harm to the doctor outweighs the “good” provided by immediately treating the wound. By evaluating the positives and negatives in each emergency situation, a doctor can determine the most ethical decision.
Casuistry
Casuistry involves applying case-based reasoning to a situation. For example, a veterinarian in a fully stocked truck accompanied by an assistant has an ethical duty to care for a horse in the roadway that’s been hit by a car if they are near the area. Conversely, a veterinarian who is not on call has no ethical duty to help a client who simply doesn’t want to call the doctor who is on call.
Final Thoughts
By using ethical approaches to minimize moral distress, Crabbe said equine veterinarians are more likely to remain in equine practice. The equine veterinary industry should develop strategies to make emergency care more accessible, she concluded.
Related Reading
- The Business of Practice: Emergency-Only Practice Model
- Business Briefs: Important Equine Veterinary Industry Statistics
- Business Briefs: Managing Practice PTO and Emergency Coverage During Holidays
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