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Discussing the Treatment Plan

Explanation and planning

This is the stage of the consultation where you need to weave everything together – the history, the client’s ideas, concerns and expectations, your physical exam findings – and discuss the best way forward for the pet.

Communication key skills: giving information

There is often a lot of information that you need to get across to the client before you can reach a shared decision. Did you know that patients only remember around half of the information given to them in a consultation?[1]. And the more information given to a patient in the consult, the less they will be able to recall. So how can you make sure the information you are giving to your clients is understood and remembered?

Assess the client’s starting point. Are they a first-time pet owner or have they had pets for many years? Are they a medical professional? Do they have any personal experiences of their pet’s problem? For example, if the client is living with diabetes and you have newly diagnosed their cat with diabetes, chances are they will understand more than most about the importance of controlling blood sugars.
Prioritize and organize the information. Use signposting to help guide your client follow your explanation.
Use straightforward language and avoid jargon. If you need to use medical language, make sure to explain terms to make sure everybody understands.
Give information in small chunks and then check that the client is still following your explanation. This is called chunking and checking, and it gives the client an opportunity to ask questions. However, you need to be careful how you ask! “Do you understand?” is likely to be answered with a “Yes” regardless of whether they do. A better way to frame the question would be “Do you have some questions for me? Or something you would like me to go over in more detail?”
Use visual aids to help with your explanation. This could be as simple as using a pen and paper or having ready-made handouts for diseases you see commonly.
Relate your explanation to the client’s ideas, concerns expectations. This demonstrates that you have been listening carefully and have considered their perspective.
Summarize. Give the client a short summary of the key points.
Find out how the client is feeling about what you have told them. This will help you in the decision-making process.

Communication key skills: shared decision-making

Now that you know (or maybe don’t know yet) what’s going on with an animal, you need to come up with a plan of action.

You will likely have a recommended course of action based on your experience and knowledge as a veterinary professional, and you should, of course, make recommendations based on this. However, there are usually several possible options available in any situation and what could be considered the “best option” will depend on both pet and client factors[2]. The time you have spent exploring the client’s perspective and getting to know the pet will help you to explore a range of sensible options with your client.

[1] Jansen, J., Butow, P.N., van Weert, J.C., van Dulmen, S., Devine, R.J., Heeren, T.J., Bensing, J.M. and Tattersall, M.H., 2008. Does age really matter? Recall of information presented to newly referred patients with cancer. Journal of clinical oncology, 26(33), pp.5450-5457.

Explanation and planning

Communication key skills: giving information

Communication key skills: shared decision-making

[1] Jansen, J., Butow, P.N., van Weert, J.C., van Dulmen, S., Devine, R.J., Heeren, T.J., Bensing, J.M. and Tattersall, M.H., 2008. Does age really matter? Recall of information presented to newly referred patients with cancer. Journal of clinical oncology, 26(33), pp.5450-5457.

[2] Skipper, A., Gray, C., Serlin, R., O’Neill, D., Elwood, C. and Davidson, J., 2021. ‘Gold standard care’ is an

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