Medicine, Value, and Knowledge in the Veterinary Clinic: Questions for and From Medical Anthropology and the Medical Humanities

Abstract

The welcome development of the veterinary humanities, and veterinary anthropology specifically, raises the question of its potential relationship with the now well-established field(s) of the medical humanities, and of medical anthropology. Although there are national variations, the term “medical humanities” generally refers to either the tapping of the humanities to improve medical education by developing, through engagement with the humanities like literature and visual art, skills in empathy, visualization and expressivity, or alternatively, it refers to the application of humanities approaches of cultural critique to the presumptions, practices and institutions of the human medical world to denaturalize the ideologies of knowledge that contemporary human medicine professions depend upon. This article reflects on the potential impact that the development of a veterinary medical humanities could have on the field of (human) medical humanities and vice versa. Could such a development force a re-conception of notions of agency, of consent, and of the position of “patient” when the (human based) medical humanities is expanded to include both human and veterinary medicine? What would the potential usefulness, or limitations, both in conceptual and in applied terms, be of constructing a multi-species notion of “medical humanities?” What can such a comparative approach offer to veterinary medicine, in practice and in terms of the curricula of veterinary training? To reflect on these questions, this article draws on my multiple years of fieldwork in veterinary clinics and classrooms to first lay out the constituent components of the formal practice of contemporary veterinary medicine (at least in the U.S.) in terms of the roles that species specificity and relations to humans play in the delivery of care, and then seeks to center the animal in these practices to ask questions about consent, resistance, veterinary obligation, and the role of finance in comparison with human medicine. These similarities and differences will form the basis for a consideration of the effects of enlarging the medical humanities to encompass more than one species.

Veterinary anthropology: Samples from an emerging field

“…However, the process evoked above that we coined “veterinarization of society” stands in striking contrast to the self-perception of veterinary specialists as described by Desmond [( 57 ) in this Research Topic]. She demonstrates how American veterinarians feel marginalized, undervalued, and powerless, in constant comparison with human medicine doctors.…”

Ethics of using artificial intelligence (AI) in veterinary medicine

“…For example, many would accept that veterinarians have responsibilities to promote patient wellbeing and avoid harming them and to respect the autonomy of clients. However, there are ethically-relevant differences with human medicine that can affect those principles' application (Desmond 2022). For example, human medical practice is mostly funded by large public or private insurance schemes, whereas veterinary medicine is mainly paid for 'out of pocket' by private individuals, who sometimes struggle to afford medical attention for their unwell animals (Springer et al 2022).…”

“…Veterinary medicine has enjoyed comparatively less discussion-and agreement-about the right ethical principles to follow and how they should be interpreted (Beauchamp and Childress 2001;Desmond 2022). (There is also disagreement about what constitutes wellbeing for animals (Coghlan and Parker 2023).…”

The Sun Also Rises: Tracing the evolution of humanistic values in anatomy pedagogy and research, including cadaveric acquisition practices

“…With an increasing emphasis on the One Health preview of diseases (Bhattacharjee et al, 2022), veterinary anatomy education and research have started integrating humanistic values (Desmond, 2022).…”

“…With an increasing emphasis on the One Health preview of diseases (Bhattacharjee et al, 2022 ), veterinary anatomy education and research have started integrating humanistic values (Desmond, 2022 ). Maybe it is fair to state that with time, society has started realising the value of life, in all its speciation, which ultimately leads to building a robust ecosystem where humanity thrives.…”