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III. C. Veterinarians’ responsibilities to the profession:
1. Veterinarians have a responsibility to maintain the integrity and dignity of the
profession and be worthy of the trust and respect of colleagues, clients, other health
professionals, and the general public.
2. Veterinarians should be honest, fair, courteous, considerate, and compassionate.
Veterinarians should present a professional appearance and follow acceptable
professional procedures using current professional and scientific knowledge.
3. Veterinarians should not slander, or injure the professional standing or reputation of
other veterinarians in a false or misleading manner. However, veterinarians should
report to the appropriate authority any unprofessional conduct by colleagues.
4. Veterinarians should view, evaluate, and treat all persons in any professional activity
or circumstance in which they may be involved, solely as individuals on the basis of
their own personal abilities, qualifications, and other relevant characteristics.
As health professionals seeking to advance animal and public health, veterinarians
should strive to confront and reject all forms of prejudice and discrimination that may
lead to impediments to access of quality animal and public health care for
clients/patients or lack of educational, training, and employment opportunities for
veterinary colleagues/students and other member of the animal health care team.
These forms of prejudice and discrimination include, but are not limited to, race;
ethnicity; physical and mental abilities; gender; sexual orientation; gender identify;
parental status; religious beliefs; political beliefs; geographic, socioeconomic, and
educational background; and any other characteristic protected under applicable
federal or provincial law.
5. Veterinarians who are impaired or whose performance is adversely affected by
physical or mental health conditions must not act in the capacity of a veterinarian
and should seek assistance from qualified organizations or individuals. Colleagues of
impaired veterinarians should encourage those individuals to seek assistance and to
overcome their impairment.
6. A veterinarian having supervisory authority over another veterinarian should make
reasonable efforts to ensure that the other veterinarian conforms to accepted
standards of conduct and practice.
7. If there is evidence that the actions of a former attending veterinarian have clearly
and significantly endangered the health or safety of a patient, the current attending
veterinarian has a responsibility to take action.
8. Veterinarians should strive to improve their veterinary knowledge and skills, and
they are encouraged to collaborate with other professionals in the quest for
knowledge and professional development.