College Connection | Winter 2025
Cultivating cultural humility in veterinary practice
College Connection | Winter 2025
A SHARED LEARNING JOURNEY
Cultivating cultural humility in veterinary practice
The veterinary profession is built on care, connection, and trust. In our increasingly diverse community, cultural humility is key to providing safe and effective care. By encouraging a lifelong self-reflective approach towards acknowledging differences, being aware of our biases and seeking understanding, cultural humility can strengthen client trust, improve communication, and build more inclusive workplaces. This can lead to better client adherence, enhance collaboration among teams, and ultimately achieve better patient outcomes.
At the College, our commitment to Inclusion, Diversity, Equity and Accessibility( IDEA) is central to serving the public interest. We strive to listen, learn and regulate in ways that respect the diversity of the public and the profession. The College’ s IDEA Action Plan focuses on: fostering IDEA learning for Council, committees, and staff; advancing engagement and datadriven initiatives; strengthening policies and practices through an equity and inclusion lens; and promoting diversity in representation. In recent years, the Quality Assurance Committee has worked to embed cultural humility in veterinary practice. This includes adopting a definition of cultural humility to ensure a shared understanding across the profession and integrating the concept into actionable guidance for veterinary professionals.
The College recently updated the Code of Ethics and Guidance on Professionalism for Veterinarians – to respect diversity, deliver culturally responsive and safe care, and foster a collaborative and inclusive work environment. Our podcast and articles offer ideas for you to apply cultural humility in your practice settings and navigate cultural considerations.
Practising with cultural humility is an important aspect of veterinary professionalism. It encourages professionals to consider cultural, social, and economic factors that may influence client decisions and patient outcomes.
Reflecting on conscious and unconscious biases can shape how you engage with clients and colleagues, as well as how you make decisions, supporting a more compassionate approach. Open communication supports inclusive and accessible care, potentially reducing barriers to accessing veterinary care.
Cultural humility is relevant to all members of a veterinary team. The AVMA’ s Journey for Teams has resources to support teams in building shared understanding and applying practical strategies. In practice, this can mean asking open-ended questions, listening attentively to client’ s concerns without making assumptions, explaining care options in clear and inclusive ways, being open to feedback, actively seeking team members’ perspectives, or adapting clinic processes to meet the needs of diverse clients.
As we deepen our understanding of those we serve, we are building stronger relationships and strengthening confidence in veterinary practice. We also recognize the meaningful steps you are taking to foster inclusive care and the College will continue to provide tools and guidance. A simple, impactful next step is to pause, reflect and approach interactions with openness, reinforcing the profession’ s commitment to a collaborative approach.
For other recent articles on cultural humility, see College Connection issues published in Spring, Summer and Fall 2025.
Stay informed!
Thank you for reading College Connection! All veterinary team members can sign up for communications about the College of Veterinary Professionals of Ontario at:
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