How do Australian veterinarians perceive professional conduct in their profession?

Professional skills required for meeting standards of veterinary professional conduct demanded by the public, colleagues and the community are recognised as being equally important to the technical skills required of a veterinarian. To reflect current standards in the profession, this project describes how Australian veterinarians perceive aspects of veterinary professional conduct.

Using an anonymous survey, opinions of Australian veterinarians were sought on perceptions of importance of professional conduct criteria derived from the eight standards listed in the Australian Veterinary Association's Code of Professional Conduct. Participants rated the importance of 15 statements on a six-point Likert scale. Univariable analysis of 98 completed responses was conducted where impacts of age, gender, career stage and the industry on the dependent variable (response to each statement) were evaluated using ordinary logistic regression analysis in R studio where odd ratios (ORs) were determined, and significance was at P < 0.05.

The statement revealing the highest mean score with respect to perceived importance was 'that veterinarians hold the health, welfare and respectful treatment of animals as a key concern'. Results indicated high levels of consensus with nine of 15 statements revealing no significant differences based on age, gender, career stage, and for all statements no significant difference based on nature of work. Six statements demonstrating significant differences were based on either gender, age or career stage.

This study provides insights into how Australian veterinarians perceive professional conduct. Results provide an aid for future study development and contribute to the discussion of veterinary professionalism.