Veterinary ethics is a coordination of ethical principles that apply morals, values and judgements to the practice of veterinary profession. Veterinary ethics cover its practical application in veterinary practices as well as on its history, philosophy, theology, and sociology. Veterinary ethics combine veterinary professional ethics and the focus of animal ethics. It can be inferred as a critical manifestation on the provision of veterinary services in hold of the profession’s responsibilities to animal kind and mankind. Many ethical issues arise in (...) a business unit in veterinary practice. Whenever such issues arise, it may lead to dilemmas, then proper and well-thought out ethical decision is to be made. Ethical decision making process in a business unit in veterinary practice is the use of ethical theories, principles, and rules by veterinary professionals and paraprofessionals in resolving ethical dilemmas in the veterinary practice. In order to resolve ethical dilemmas, being aware of and revelation to ethical theories is essential. Thoughtfulness of animal welfare and ethical issues is an essential component of a good ethical veterinary practice. This article reviews and discusses the ethics and major steps engaged in the ethical decision-making process in a business unit in veterinary practice. Strong commitment to the role, organization’s commitment to ethics and staff support could lower the levels of moral stress while facing ethical dilemma in a veterinary practice. Though using the ethical frameworks portrayed may not change the actual decisions finally reached by veterinary professionals, a good knowledge of ethical issues is imperative for client communication, better job satisfaction and preserving a positive public outline for both the individual and the veterinary practice. (shrink)

This paper presents an experience in developing professional ethics by an approach that integrates knowledge, teaching methodologies and assessment coherently. It has been implemented for students in both the Software Engineering and Computer Engineering degree programs of the Technical University of Madrid, in which professional ethics is studied as a part of a required course. Our contribution of this paper is a model for formative assessment that clarifies the learning goals, enhances the results, simplifies the scoring and can be replicated (...) in other contexts. A quasi-experimental study that involves many of the students of the required course has been developed. To test the effectiveness of the teaching process, the analysis of ethical dilemmas and the use of deontological codes have been integrated, and a scoring rubric has been designed. Currently, this model is also being used to develop skills related to social responsibility and sustainability for undergraduate and postgraduate students of diverse academic context. (shrink)