End-of-life communication in veterinary medicine: delivering bad news and euthanasia decision making.
Given the expectations of clients and the resultant impact of end-of-life conversations on pet owners and the veterinary team, compassionate end-of-life communication is considered to be an ethical obligation, a core clinical skill, and integral to the success of a veterinary team. End-of-life communication is related to significant clinical outcomes, including enduring veterinarian-client-patient relationships and veterinarian and client satisfaction. Effective techniques for end-of-life communication can be taught and are a series of learned skills. The purpose of this article is to present best practices for delivering bad news and euthanasia decision-making discussions. In this article, the SPIKES six-step model (setting, perception, invitation, knowledge, empathize, and summarize) currently employed in medical curricula is utilized to structure end-of-life conversations in veterinary medicine.
Shaw
Jane R
JR
Argus Institute, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523, USA. jane.shaw@colostate.edu
Lagoni
Laurel
L
D000818:Animals; D003142:Communication; D003657:Decision Making; D004645:Empathy; D037901:Euthanasia, Animal; D006117:Grief; D001841:Human-Animal Bond; D006801:Humans; D010819:Physician's Role; D018634:Veterinarians / Q000523:psychology*; D014730:Veterinary Medicine / Q000379:methods*