Join us in conversation with Alison Skipper and Ruth Serlin for this week’s podcast with our hosts Danny Chambers and Robyn Lowe as we tackle the holistic meaning of contextualisedcare in veterinary practice. Contextualised care goes beyond financial considerations, it is about meeting people where they are, replacing judgement with empathy, curiosity and an open mindset for a more rewarding outcome for us all.

Alison’s PhD in breed-related disease led her to co-found Veterinary Humanities UK, through which she met Ruth, a charity vet and educator with an interest in veterinary humanities and communication.

In this podcast, we discuss some of the explicit and implicit factors of contextualised care, and how It isn’t about just, or, at all about choosing the least costly treatment. It is about drawing on our clinical and communication skills as aveterinary professional to holistically consider all the factors, prioritise them and select the correct treatment for that patient in that space and time. We discuss how you as a veterinary professional, the owner/ caregiver and the patient(s)all bring a unique bias or angle to the situation, making self-reflection on what we bring to a scenario key.

We debate the ethics of a gold standard is best message, and how this may put increased pressures and expectations on veterinary professionals. We consider how failureto provide gold standard treatment to a patient can elicit mental health challenges to vets and feelings of moral distress, and how the idea of contextualised care can potentially mitigate this.