SVME ONLINE ETHICS COURSE
John B. McCarthy, DVM, MBA,
Jose Peralta, DVM, Ph.D.,
Diane Levitan, VMD, ACVIM, Alice Villalobos, DVM, DPNAP
CLASS ONE
BASIC ETHICS AND VETERINARY MEDICINE
John B. McCarthy, DVM, MBA, et al
THE VETERINARIAN’S OATH
Upon graduation, new veterinarians are asked to take the Veterinarian’s Oath. Many students
are “introduced” to the Oath in their ethics class or classes before graduation. It which was
originally adopted by the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) in 1959,
amended and re-adopted in 1999 and re-affirmed by the AVMA in 2004. In the following, the
underlined words were added by the AVMA Executive Board in November 2010.
The Oath states the following:
Being admitted to the profession of veterinary medicine,
I solemnly swear to use my scientific knowledge and skills for the benefit of society
through the protection of animal health and welfare, the prevention and relief of animal
suffering, the conservation of animal resources, the promotion of public health, and the
advancement of medical knowledge.
I will practice my profession conscientiously, with dignity, and in keeping with the
principles of veterinary ethics,
I accept as a lifelong obligation the continual improvement of my professional
knowledge and competence.
A major direction and premise of the Oath, given to the new veterinarian, is to practice my
profession…. in keeping with the principles of veterinary ethics. The document “The AVMA
Principles of Veterinary Medical Ethics” published by the AVMA, is meant to be a helpful
guideline, however, to fully understand what the oath implies we should consider some ethical
principles and definitions of ethics.
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DEFINITIONS
ETHICS according to Webster's International Dictionary, Unabridged is:
 The discipline dealing with what is good and bad or right and wrong or with moral duty
and obligation.
 a. A group of moral principles or set of values
b. A particular theory or system of moral values
c. The principles of conduct governing an individual or a profession.
ETHICS according to Albert Schweitzer
Nobel Peace Prize recipient and philosopher Albert Schweitzer’s definition of ethics is widely
accepted. He stated,
"In a general sense, ethics is the name we give to our concern for good behavior.
We feel an obligation to consider not only our own personal well-being, but also
that of others and of human society as a whole."
ETHICS 1 AND ETHICS 2 according to Dr. Bernard Rollin
In a guest editorial in the November/December 2000 Journal of the American Animal Hospital
Association, Vol 36 pgs 477 to 479, Dr. Bernard Rollin wrote the following descriptions of
ethics:
 Ethics1 is the beliefs about right and wrong, good and bad, justice and injustice we all
hold socially, personally and professionally. We are taught Ethics1 by parents, teachers,
peers, society literature etc.
 Ethics2, on the other hand, is the philosophical examination, critique, justification of
ethics1
COMMON ETHICAL PRINCIPLES
THE GOLDEN RULE - Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.
THE PROFESSIONAL ETHIC - You should only do that which can be explained before a
committee of your peers such as a review by an area ethics committee or a board of
directors.
A UTILITARIAN PRINCIPLE - The greatest good for the greatest number. As expressed by
Jeremy Bentham – British Philosopher 1748-1832 –
There are a number of other acceptable definitions of Utilitarian Principle
THE DISCLOSURE RULE - Ask yourself: if the full glare of examination by associates,
friends, and even family were to focus on your decision, would you remain comfortable
with it? - IBM’s Business Conduct Guidelines
ANIMAL ETHICS AND VETERINARY ETHICS
To understand the meaning of Ethics in veterinary medicine we must consider Animal Ethics
and Veterinary Ethics. Jerrold Tannenbaum in his book, Veterinary Ethics Animal Welfare,
Client Relations, Competition and Collegiality, considers the following concepts with relation
to these two subjects:
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ANIMAL ETHICS - The field of ethics that concerns the moral obligations that people
have regarding animals. For the purposes of this discussion, animal ethics will mean the
well being and care of all animals by all people and will be considered in a future class
under the subject of Animal Welfare
VETERINARY ETHICS – The field of ethics as it relates to veterinarians and others
directly involved in the provision of veterinary care. It will be this definition and these
individuals who this class, and much of this course, will be most directly addressed to.
THE FOUR BRANCHES OF VETERINARY ETHICS
Tannenbaum in his book, Veterinary Ethics, Animal Welfare, Client Relations, Competition
and Collegiality further defines Veterinary Ethics as having “Four Branches”. He describes
these as follows:
1. Descriptive – Values or standards of a profession – What is acceptable behavior as
determined by your peers? An example would be The Veterinarians Oath. The Oath is
a document of official ethics with defined terms. Descriptive veterinary ethics is the
study of the actual values and ethical attitudes of members of the profession and those
training to become veterinarians.
2. Official – Values formally adopted by organizations composed of members of that
profession. An example is the AVMA Principles of Veterinary Medical Ethics, which
will be discussed in a future class.
3. Administrative – Rules and regulations of governmental bodies that regulate
veterinary medicine. An example would be the requirement to be licensed to practice
or to be registered with the proper governmental agency in order to prescribe and use
controlled drugs. Not all rules and regulations of governmental bodies are ethical in
nature. Some are technical in nature. Only standards of governmental bodies that
articulate and enforce ethical rules for veterinarians would be classified as standards of
administrative veterinary ethics. Provisions in practice acts or regulations of licensing
boards that prohibit false, deceptive, or misleading advertising, or that prohibit fraud in
the practice of veterinary medicine are examples. These and other examples of
Administrative Ethics will also be discussed in later classes.
4. Normative – Tannenbaum describes normative ethics as the activity of looking for
correct norms for veterinary professional behavior and attitudes. For the purpose of
this class, the author will consider normative ethics as the branch of veterinary ethics
whereby the individual seeks correct answers to ethical questions. An example is the
individual’s willingness to agree or not to agree to euthanize a healthy animal for the
convenience of the owner. Another example would be whether or not a veterinarian
should encourage lengthy, expensive radiation or chemotherapy for an aged animal or
whether or not the veterinarian is obliged to suggest palliative, end of life care for
animals with terminal conditions. Normative ethics will be an ongoing subject as we
proceed in this course
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ETHICS OR THE LAW?
There is often a fine line between violations of ethical codes or violations of the law. For
example:
 Violations of “Official” values, codes or principles as determined by members of a
profession, such as the AVMA would generally not be enforced by a court of law and
could bring penalties such as dismissal from the Association. This would rarely cause
the individual so penalized to lose their right to practice veterinary medicine or to work
in a veterinary practice. .
 Violations of “Administrative” rules and regulations determined by governmental
bodies would be enforced by a regulatory body or by a court and could result in the loss
of licensure or other criminal punishment causing the individual to be forced to cease
practice. This would include loss or suspension of licensure for being found guilty of
repeated drug abuse, drunk driving arrests or other criminal or misdemeanors charges.
ETHICAL CONFLICTS
There are many instances facing our society and our personal lives where a given situation may
be considered unethical but legal and vice versa. Perhaps the most common conflicts facing
the new veterinarian or veterinary practice employee will be between their “Normative” ethics
and the applied standards of the society in which they find themselves. For example the
“AVMA Principles of Veterinary Ethics”, an example of “Official” Ethics, states simply
Humane euthanasia of animals is an ethical veterinary procedure. The “AVMA Animal
Welfare Position Statements”, another example of “Official” ethics, states The AVMA is not
opposed to the euthanasia of unwanted animals, when appropriate, by properly trained
personnel, using acceptable humane methods. There are many veterinarians or others
employed in a veterinary practice who would not necessarily agree with these statements. How
and when should these conflicts be addressed?
Another conflict occurs when society or an individual appears to have higher regard for some
species of animals than for others, i.e. places different moral relevance on different animal
species. For example, there is often a difference in public opinion over the use of mice versus
dogs in a laboratory setting. Another example would be society or an individual accepting
consumption of beef and lamb at the dinner table versus consuming horse meat. A vivid
example is branding of cattle. Using a hot-iron brand to identify cattle is legal and
commonplace and would not result in an animal cruelty charges, however, intentionally
burning a companion animal’s skin for any reason is regarded as animal cruelty and would
never be accepted today.
Adherence to one’s normative standards will be a personal matter between an individual’s
conscience, their clients, their patients and their employers. Newly employed veterinarians or
other employees should not expect their employer, or even the practice’s clients, to hold to the
same standards as they do. For example, when working in a veterinary practice where
euthanasia of “unwanted animals” is an accepted procedure, the new employee will be
expected by their employer to comply with the animal’s owner’s request to either do so or
assist in the procedure. Therefore, during the pre-employment interview period, the
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prospective employee should bring forth their normative ethical standards and be sure that the
employer will accept them. If your normative ethical standards are not negotiable, you should
not accept a position in a veterinary practice that does not share your view. You should not
expect the practice to change for you.
Some examples of other ethical issues and questions that should be addressed by a prospective
employee before a position is accepted:

Are cosmetic surgeries such as ear cropping, ear trimming, tail docking and dew claw
removal routinely done?

Are procedures such as declawing cats or debarking dogs performed when asked for?

Are individual surgery packs used for all surgeries?

Are animals routinely hospitalized overnight without nursing supervision?

Are animals given chemical restraint for radiographs to lessen human exposure?
NEXT CLASS
Our next class will give examples of many situations commonly found in today’s veterinary
medicine that have ethical questions and consequences involved in them.
References:
Tannenbaum, Jerold - Veterinary Ethics Animal Welfare, Client Relations, Competition and
Collegiality – Second Edition (Mosby Year Book Inc. 1995)
Rollin, Bernard E, - An Introduction to Veterinary Medical Ethics, Theory and Cases, Second
Edition (Blackwell Publishing 2006)
STUDY SUBJECTS

The Veterinarians Oath – Where does it come from? What was the 2010 revision? Who
must take the oath? When does a veterinary student take the Veterinarians Oath?

Definitions – Ethics1 and Ethics 2, Ethics, Animal Ethics, Veterinary Ethics

Four Branches of Veterinary Ethics – What are they? - Examples of Each?
Consequences of violations

Ethical conflicts – How can they influence your choice of a position?
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