31/10/2025
A slightly different post for this evening, mainly for my fellow professionals, but one I feel is becoming rapidly important❗
I see 'absolute terminology' used so frequently in all shapes and sizes, even outside of the veterinary world. It might not seem like a big deal, but using these 'fixed' statements surrounding our animals, especially regarding their health, can be damaging. The topic almost doesn't matter- we need to be very VERY careful with how we share information and knowledge.
Using inflammatory statements full of absolute terminology, especially for 'clickbait' may be causing more harm than intended.
Using these terms may narrow ours, our clients and our peers' mindsets and may even lead us to not fulfil best patient outcomes or may even cause harm. What might seem like a harmless statement...
"This condition is always caused by this"
"Your animal is absolutely pain free"
"This is definitely not linked to that"
"This will always affect that"
..Could lead to certain conditions not being considered as differential diagnoses, certain signs of pain being ignored, certain treatment options discounted. I could go on and on!
As a community and as a profession, we need to open our vocabulary, open our thinking, be supportive with our communication and "Do No Harm".
"At best this is a miscommunication, and at worst this is misinformation".
