5.3 Communication Style—Relationship Centered

Relationship-centered communication has become the more predominant and preferred method of communication by clients and veterinarians in recent years. This communication style focuses on animal care being a joint venture between the veterinarian and the client. Decisions are made by combining biomedical knowledge from the veterinarian with the lifestyle and social factors of the client.

This approach can help create lasting working relationships with O/A clients. O/A clients often indicate veterinary collaboration and communication as a factor of significant importance in their decision to work with a veterinarian (Steneroden, 2021). Moreover, they request that their veterinarians respect the knowledge of O/A farmers regarding O/A practices and treatments.

Scenario – Part 2

Now let’s revisit the Farmer Jane scenario

A relationship-centered approach to the previously described scenario would consider not just vibrio’s medical facts and requirements on a sheep farm but would also seek to incorporate some of the “why’s” and “how’s” involved in managing animal care. For example, why does Farmer Jane specifically ask about the placenta? Or what are the reasons Farmer Jane does not routinely vaccinate? Some issues are more complex than can be explained in this chapter, but but veterinarians can’t be sure of the underlying concerns unless they ask when it comes to client decisions. They cannot assume their motives or reasons. Communication in a relationship-centered approach with Farmer Jane might sound like this:

 

Jane, your sheep have been diagnosed with vibrio.  Vibrio is a disease that can cause abortions, stillbirths, and weak kids, among other things. Some things to fix this may include separating the sick animals, removing all tissues, cleaning the areas thoroughly, and vaccinating your herd.  In addition, vibrio is a disease that humans can get from animals or handling animal tissues that have vibrio. Some of the items I described can help prevent you from getting the disease. However, you should also speak with your doctor for more information on vibrio in humans.

Oh, that’s a lot to take in. Was there something I did that caused this?

Vibrio is a contagious disease that can come from a few sources, and we can look into what may have been the initial source on your farm. Routine vaccination helps lessen and control diseases like this. Can you share your thoughts on vaccinating your sheep and your past decisions to vaccinate or not?

Okay, looking into that would be helpful. I feel awful my animals are sick. I don’t have a strong stance on vaccinating, I just live so far out here, and I’ve never had this problem before, so I figured I didn’t need to.

No one wants their animals to be sick, and I hear your concern. We will do our best to get them healthy again. And I understand you do live a way out and being separate from other herds certainly helps keep diseases out. Unfortunately, there are still opportunities for disease to enter a farm, such as through interactions with wildlife, or they can be brought onto a farm on clothing or equipment. We can discuss more options to decrease these chances, but some are out of our control or nearly impossible to control. That is one of the reasons why I find vaccines can help prevent and control diseases. If vaccinating your sheep is something you want to do, we can create a vaccine plan together that fits your farm.

Okay, that makes sense to me. And I can’t let my ewes eat their placenta? That seems unnatural.

Vibrio infects reproductive tissues, so the placenta is likely contaminated and could cause the disease to spread if they or other animals come into contact with it. To prevent more animals from getting sick, placentas should be removed and disposed of them properly. However, may I ask why you think removing the placenta is unnatural?

Well, I don’t want any more of my animals getting sick, but the placenta has so many nutrients, and I don’t want to deprive my animals of receiving those. Besides, that is natural for them to do after giving birth. So, I feel like that would be cruel or unnatural to interfere with.

Thank you for sharing that. I hear your worry about being unnatural. I don’t want to tell you to do anything that you feel would be cruel, unnatural, or not right, but I want to work with you to help get your animals healthy. Unfortunately, these placentas are very likely to cause other animals to get sick. Let’s continue thinking through some options that are less risky but just as rewarding.

The veterinarian is still medically correct in this second version of the scenario.  However, approaching the conversation in a relationship-centered way prompted Jane to express her feelings and concerns more. In this situation, the veterinarian took the time to learn why Jane was not vaccinating her flock and her concerns about the placenta. As a result, the veterinarian may work with Jane to make some changes to improve her animals’ health. This style helps provide client empowerment, which can positively affect Jane’s likelihood to follow the vet’s recommendation and thus positively affect the animal’s involvement. In addition, Jane may be more likely to feel that this veterinarian can help her and her farm. Using a relationship-centered style is not about coercion, manipulation, or persuasion—but about working together—the goal might be a change of perspective for both the client and veterinarian, not a change of values.

Relationship-centered communication encourages collaboration and fosters a group approach toward resolving issues. Moreover, collaborative communication has positively changed client knowledge and initial beliefs about medications, client satisfaction with medication, and client use of prescribed/recommended medications (Shaw et al., 2004). This style is important and helpful in working with O/A clients or groups with various beliefs or goals to improve understanding and increase satisfaction for all parties.  It is more likely to result in positive change and positive feelings associated with the interaction. There is no one-size-fits-all, and no one should expect the veterinarian to have all the answers. However, it is in the veterinarian’s best interest to work with all differences in opinions and beliefs. Clients learn from veterinarians, and veterinarians learn from clients. A team approach through relationship-centered communication fosters using the knowledge and skills of both parties. Staying open-minded in this process is good for personal and professional development and business, as this can be attractive to new clients and helpful in maintaining a good reputation.

Situational needs for different styles

There is no one-size-fits-all style that applies to every conversation. Effective communication depends on situational needs and should consider social factors and influences. Extenuating circumstances may influence which communication style is most effective in each situation.

Relationship-centered communication is the preferred communication style for veterinarian-client interactions. Under some circumstances, such as natural disasters, foreign animal diseases, animal health emergencies, or urgent animal welfare situations, time may not allow for the usual back-and-forth conversations of relationship-centered communication, and more direct action may be necessary.

Brief descriptions of risk communication and conflict resolution follow. Specific communication practices under emergency/disaster situations are beyond the scope of this chapter. However, engaging and working with those involved is part of the process, even in high-risk emergencies.