Episode 19: Dr. Robin Downing studies (and teaches) clinical bioethics

“Just because we can do something to -- or for -- an animal,” asks Robin Downing, DVM, MS, DAAPM, DACVSMR, CVPP, CCRP, “does that mean we should?”

A practicing veterinarian, teacher and business owner, Robin’s interest in pain, animals and caring for living things has translated in the past few years into study of how the field of human bioethics could shape, and be shaped by, the in-the-trenches concerns and situations that practicing veterinarians face every day. She’s now pursuing a PhD in the subject.

Robin has started translating human clinical bioethics’ four principles – respect for autonomy, nonmaleficence, beneficence and justice – into a world where the patients can’t speak and where the concerns, feelings and resources of pet owners are standard parts of every care conversation. (Robin explains the translation here.)

How do nonspeaking animal patients help us make medical decisions for them? How do we balance “benefits and burdens” to decide whether a medical treatment isn't harmful? And is the medical treatment fair, recommended for any patient in that situation?

If you’re concerned about animals, people and life in general, and fascinated by the places where modern medicine asks us to make more complicated questions about how and why we treat patients of all species, you’ve got to listen to this.

My favorite part about this conversation? I argue that patients and pet owners aren’t ready to deal with death and dying in themselves and their pets. She agrees a bit, but also pushes against me in arguing that, given the right information at the right time in the right way – thanks to better communication – people know what the right decision is for them, their family and their pets. She’s about communication and empowerment, and that’s inspiring.

“Many of the situations wherein there is a derailed set of decisions on behalf of the patient … it really is a failure of communication,” she says.

 

WANT TO KNOW MORE?

> I get Robin to talk about death early by name-dropping my favorite smartphone app this month.

> Dive deep into the four principles of clinical bioethics here. Read more about her here.

> Robin name-drops a book showcasing the need for better bioethical thinking in hospitals to remedy the “paternalistic perspective” of physicians in Strangers at the Bedside by Dr. David Rothman.

> Dr. Michael Blackwell, behind the Program for Pet Health Equity at the University of Tennessee, is fighting for better veterinary care for underserved communities. He’s interviewed for this video from Vet Candy.

> Wait, what’s IACUC? An Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee makes sure animal testing in labs and universities is above board.