Date on Honors Thesis

Fall 11-19-2025

Major

Pre-Veterinary Medicine

Minor

Chemistry

Examining Committee Member

Dr. Tara Joiner, Advisor

Examining Committee Member

Dr. Brittany Kirby, Committee Member

Examining Committee Member

Ms. Erin Smith, Committee Member

Abstract/Description

Unlike human physicians, veterinarians are unable to directly communicate with their patients and must utilize client-veterinarian interactions to achieve the desired level of patient care. Communication, client education, and trust have been previously identified as important aspects of veterinary clinical interaction, and this study aimed to assess how these variables influence client compliance, treatment plan adherence, and perceived patient outcomes in veterinary medicine. This study utilized an electronic survey to collect data from 68 participants in regard to research questions centered around client-veterinarian interactions and how they play a role in client perception and overall patient care. Screening questions and a series of Likert-scale items were used to collect participant responses, and the data was analyzed by calculating percentage, median, frequency, and Spearman’s rank correlation. Results indicated a strong, positive correlation between effective veterinarian-client communication and treatment plan adherence (⍴ = .62, p < .001), clear client education and client compliance (⍴ = .62, p < .001), level of trust in veterinarian and treatment plan adherence (⍴ = .72, p < .001), and a very strong, positive correlation between meaningful client-veterinarian interaction and perceived patient care outcomes (⍴ = .86, p < .001). These findings emphasize the importance of understanding the nature of the client-veterinarian relationship and how it affects client perception, which is directly related to patient care. The results also provide a basis for veterinarians when considering how to improve client interactions and therefore improve patient care.

Download

Share

COinS