Ethics: Ethical Practice Yields Professional and Personal Satisfaction

By W. Thomas Riddle, DVM

A veterinarian’s public image is affected by multiple factors, including knowledge, competence, caring, availability and certainly ethics. Merriam-Webster defines ethics simply as “rules of behavior based on ideas about what is good and bad.” The AAEP Ethical and Professional Guidelines states in its Standards of Profession: “Professional ethics embodies the behaviors of honesty, integrity and kindness while obeying rules and regulations set forth with mutual respect for opinion and preservation of dignity in interpersonal relationships. The conduct should be in a manner that will enhance the worthiness of the profession.”