Dissertation Diaries – The Age of Veterinary Malpractice

For those of you who don’t know me, my name is Sasha. I am a third-year law student studying at Solent University. Most third years will choose to do a dissertation as it allows you to write about something you really enjoy. I chose to do a dissertation as I wanted to explore my previous career choice. Before coming to do law, I wanted to be a vet. For various reasons, this didn’t work out, but I still enjoyed my 10 weeks of work experience at various animal establishments from veterinary practices to farms to reptile rescues. This series will be all about my dissertation and how I am planning it and writing it. I promise I will include everything and not just my successes!

I came up with the idea after a group presentation about the regulatory bodies of the veterinary profession. This reignited my passion for animals and managed to combine this with my love for law. Cliché, I know! The most interesting idea that combines veterinary with law is veterinary negligence. I took this idea to the dissertation module leader and he agreed that this was a unique idea, but he was worried about the lack of information available and suggested I do more research before settling on this as an idea. After a brief amount of research, I found an amazing lady who, in 2017, did her PhD on veterinary negligence. What a lifesaver! I took the PhD back to the module leader and he agreed that this would be enough to start with but that more research would be needed.

When the time came in March to submit ideas about our dissertations and choose our tutors, I confirmed my idea and tutor choice straight away. My tutor has no background in veterinary medicine, medical law or tort law, but she does guide the students whose idea’s no one else feels confident to take on. This resulted in her taking on students from previous years who looked at animal rights and related topics.

Over the summer I did a bit more research but couldn’t find anything that would help me, and I began to feel deflated and worried that I may need to choose something else to write about.

When September rolled around, I emailed my tutor for the first time, giving her ideas about where I wanted to take my dissertation and what I wanted to talk about. I started along the lines of making a guide for vets and related professionals as to their legal obligations in terms of animals, employees and the business itself. However, this was a VERY broad area to cover and my tutor suggested trying to narrow it down by researching what the main issues within the veterinary profession are. I spent hours trawling through three years of disciplinary cases on the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons website and marking down the issues. I emerged with three main issues: clinical negligence, consent or lack of and administrative issues. These were to form the basis of my dissertation.

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By Sasha Brady (@lawbabyx)

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