What is it about?
This article is a write-up of a conference workshop entitled Discrimination and Client Communication that was part of the recent Courageous Conversations Conference hosted by the University of Surrey School of Veterinary Medicine. This was the UK's first veterinary diversity and inclusion conference. The workshop started with a presentation of recent research conducted looking at experiences of discrimination faced by students seeing clinical practice. This presentation served as a catalyst to discuss what the profession can do to reduce discriminatory behaviour and comments experienced and witnessed in the profession from both our colleagues and the clients.
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Why is it important?
The veterinary profession is a less than welcoming profession if you are from any demographic that isn't a straight, white, middle-class, able-bodied man. This was confirmed in research conducted by the British Veterinary Association and published in their report on discrimination within the veterinary profession. Within that research students were included. We conducted a separate project at the University of Surrey examining the discrimination that students experienced or witnessed while seeing clinical practice to get a detailed picture. Results were similar to the BVA survey. Discriminatory behaviour or comments were coming from both our colleagues and members of the public. People who are discriminated against do not feel welcome, are undervalued, and suffer from increased stress and anxiety and will be more likely to leave the profession. It is important that the profession recognises the problem of discrimination and takes action to address the problem to improve working conditions, reduce stress, and move toward a true meritocracy where you do have the best person for the job, not just the best straight, white, able-bodied man for the job.
Perspectives
It is dismaying to read of the experiences students seeing practice commonly face. Despite more women than ever within our profession, women are still told they shouldn't be farm vets or that they are just going to have children and leave the profession so don't deserve the same pay as men, or that they don't have the experience to lead. It is dismaying to read that students from different ethnic backgrounds are facing xenophobia and racism when seeing practice from both colleagues and the public. When the public are responsible, vets are doing little to nothing to support or protect those students. It is dismaying to read that LGBTQ+ students are still encountering humiliating jokes based around sexuality or gender identity. It is dismaying to read that students with any kind of chronic health condition physical or mental are encountering unnecessary barriers or belittling attitudes from colleagues and the public. As well as a significant proportion of the profession perpetrating discriminatory behaviour, there is still a larger proportion of our profession that don't recognise discrimination as a problem. Until we understand that there is a problem and recognise our members including students are facing issues, how can we hope to address the problem of discrimination
Charlotte McCarroll
University of Surrey
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Discrimination and client communication: how can the profession do better?, Companion Animal, September 2020, Mark Allen Group,
DOI: 10.12968/coan.2020.0081.
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