It's closing time at ABC Animal Clinic. You're counting the change in the cash drawer when you notice your co-worker, Jenny,
hanging around the food display. Without blinking, she grabs a few bags of dental treats and stuffs them in her purse. You're
pretty sure she didn't pay. What should you do?
When you work at a practice, you likely face tough ethical situations every day. Perhaps you disagree with your practice's
euthanasia policy or you witness a pet owner handling his rottweiler more roughly than necessary. How should you respond?
Ask three people and you might get three different answers. Ethics are often a very personal—and potentially inflammatory—issue.
Here are some guidelines you can use to make thoughtful, ethical decisions in every situation.
1. Choose the right practice
Does your practice have written ethical protocols, and do the practice owners share these with the team? If your team shares
the same ideals, you'll face fewer conflicts later. Does it really matter if you don't agree? Absolutely, says Bernard Rollin,
Ph.D., a bioethicist and professor of philosophy, biomedical sciences, and animal sciences, and a University Distinguished
Professor at Colorado State University. If doctors and team members don't have practice guidelines, they're forced to rely
on their personal principles, which may not match the ideals of the people they work with. The good news: You're in a great
position to establish ethical protocols and procedures and help create guidelines for appropriate conduct for your practice.
"It's your responsibility to find a practice with similar ethical principles," says Sheila Grosdidier, RVT, a Firstline Editorial Advisory Board member and a consultant with VMC Inc. in Evergreen, Colo. "When you start on the same page, you eliminate
many of the inevitable conflicts that compromise patient care." So talk it out, and get specific. You probably all agree it's
bad to hit an animal, but what's the appropriate level of restraint for an aggressive dog?
It's also a good idea to review the ethical standards established in your employee handbook. If you don't have an employee
handbook, you may need to create one. "Practices need to lay out their expectations of team members," says Karen Felsted,
CPA, MS, DVM, CVPM, a consultant with Gatto McFerson CPAs in Santa Monica, Calif. "And an employee handbook is one tool a
practice can use for communicating these expectations." The handbook should outline policies for attendance, vacation time,
travel, performance evaluation, continuing education, and promotions. Many employee handbooks also address certain conduct
and care principles, such as employees' behavior during company time, non-discrimination, and sexual harassment.
For example, your employee handbook might outline a policy that team members who purchase products from the practice must
ask another employee to ring up the sale. Then, if you notice Jenny's planning to take home some dental treats, you can ask,
"Can I ring that up for you?" If she says no, you can gently remind her about your practice's policy and offer again to ring
up her purchase.
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