Learning the Hard Way: Desensitization of Students in Colleges of Veterinary Medicine Over the Course of a Four Year Education

by Carrie Donahue

"This paper has been written as a Special Project for the 6th Term Ethics and Jurisprudence Course. The views and opinions of the author do not necessarily represent those of the School of Veterinary Medicine or of St. Georges University."

In photo: Carrie Donahue and Piglet

Veterinary students are taught a vast amount of information through the course of four years of professional school.  We are heavily trained in all aspects of veterinary medicine, from anatomy to theriogenology.  Truly interesting though, is that which we are not overtly taught—the moral and emotional development that is gained through our training, and how it shapes our attitudes towards animals in general and our future patients specifically.  In fact it was the subject of a BBC program in the year 2000, titled “Vets Learn to be Hard”.  In it, the writers stated:  “A survey at two UK veterinary schools has shown that students perceive dogs, cats and cows to have lower levels of sentience by the time they reach the end of their studies. Sentience usually refers to an animal's capacity to ‘feel’. In the case of this survey, the students were asked whether they felt dogs, cats and cows could feel the sensations of hunger and pain, and the emotions of fear and boredom.”  What has also been documented in JAVMA, 1999, is the decreased likelihood of fourth year students to provide analgesia when compared to second or third year students.

Could this desensitization, as reported, be a psychological adaptation that enables previously caring students to withstand the heavy psychological stresses that are encountered time and time again over the course of our education? Whatever the reason, research has confirmed that veterinary students, just like medical students, undergo a process of "hardening" as they progress through school. If you think about it, veterinarians are widely considered to be very compassionate individuals who become involved in veterinary medicine for “the right reasons”; a primary one being the love of animals and the desire to care for them and heal their suffering.  So how does that attribute play out when a veterinarian is called on to euthanize a healthy animal?  How does anyone get to the stage of “emotional detachment” where he or she can put animals to death on a daily basis and still retain their compassion for living and suffering animals?  For many owners who have pets that need to be put down, euthanasia is about them and their animal—very little attention is paid to the emotional impact on the veterinarian, and how he or she deals with this common situation.

Read More...