Client experiences with veterinary professionals: a narrative inquiry study.

Aims: To use a narrative inquiry approach to explore animal owner experiences and feelings during engagement with veterinary services with the goal of understanding what a "good experience" looks and feels like from a client perspective.

Methods: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 30 animal owners, primarily companion animal owners of New Zealand European ethnicity, via video call or telephone. Interviews were transcribed and analysed using inductive thematic analysis.

Results: The participants narrated both positive and negative experiences with veterinary professionals, the impacts of those experiences and subsequent actions by the client. Four main themes emerged. The first identified features of the practice, beyond the standard provision of veterinary services, that had attracted participants, e.g. specific services offered. The next theme concerned the overall experience for the participants, where clients felt welcomed and cared for at all stages of the interaction. The third theme focused on building and maintaining quality relationships. We found that the principles of relationship-centred care apply and that when these factors were absent, conflict appeared more likely. The fourth theme considered factors that impacted the client-veterinary professional relationship. Our findings suggest that clients were more forgiving of poor outcomes if there was a good match and a strong existing relationship between the veterinary clinic and the client, and if the poor outcome was managed well by the veterinary practice. Managing poor outcomes well was strongly aligned with having honesty and integrity.

Conclusions: The narratives provided insights into client experiences and what is important to them when seeking animal healthcare in terms of the features that a specific veterinary practice offered them and the connections with the personnel at the veterinary practice. Relationship-centred care was key but required a good client fit to the practice to begin with.

Clinical relevance: The themes outlined in this article offer a framework for veterinary practices to assess their current performance against client priorities. By identifying areas for improvement, practices can develop plans to enhance both client satisfaction, and staff and overall practice well-being.