Although most owners are happy to see any vet at a veterinary practice, occasionally there may be a request for a vet of a specific gender. Some owners will claim that their pet is more comfortable around women or scared of men due to a previous experience. When making an appointment for expression of anal glands or requesting assistance with lambing, the owner may specify that they would like a female vet as they would prefer someone with smaller hands.
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If the pet owner is female, it makes sense that the pet will feel more comfortable around females. Therefore they may be less worried or anxious when seeing a female vet. This especially can be the case with horses, as the majority of horse owners and riders are women. Some people with pets that have been rehomed claim that the pet is scared of men and believe this to be due to being mistreated in a previous home… However, it could be that the pet wasn’t socialised well as a youngster. And therefore they are not familiar with men, particularly if they have a hat, a beard, or glasses.
In some cases, an owner will request to see a male vet rather than a ‘young female vet’
This could be because they have been a client of the practice for a long time and feel that they have a good relationship with one of the older male partners. However, sometimes this can be due to a lack of trust in the knowledge and experience of a female vet. “Client sexism” has been found to be prevalent across veterinary practices; with owners demanding to be seen by a male vet or insisting on a second opinion from a man. Unfortunately, when this happens, senior male vets have rarely challenged these attitudes. This may partly be due to being oblivious to the problem. But it can also be out of fear of upsetting the client.
Does it matter if the vet is male or female though?
To be able to practice as a vet, a veterinary degree must be obtained. In the United Kingdom, the vet must be a member of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons. Acquiring a veterinary degree involves rigorous studying towards practical and knowledge-based exams. As well as communication skills sessions that must be passed before being able to graduate. Male and female vets have exactly the same training as each other. Therefore gender should not matter when it comes to the ability to examine, diagnose and treat your pet.
However, with regards to the communication around the treatment of a patient, this may be affected by gender. A study by Roter et.al (2002) looking at male and female doctors found that a more patient-centered communication style was used by female doctors which increased patient engagement and lead to a better doctor-patient relationship. Of course, this can’t necessarily be generalised to be a positive attribute for all female doctors with negative connotations towards all male doctors, as there will be some overlap in the communication behaviours of male and female doctors. However, it raises an interesting point and may influence how much information the owner provides about the pet. Therefore influencing the diagnosis and the discussion about treatment options.
In large animal practice, female vets have been met with comments from farmers about the disparity in size or physical strength compared to their male counterparts. However, this work often requires technique, rather than strength and usually teamwork is required rather than pure strength and brute force.
With three out of four veterinary graduates being women now, the industry is becoming female-dominated and any sexist attitudes towards male and female vets cannot be continued.
References:
BMJ Editorial (2019). Female vets face ‘outright discrimination’
Roter, D., Hall, J. and Aoki, Y., 2002. Physician Gender Effects in Medical Communication. JAMA, 288(6), p.756.
Discussion