Brister i veterinär intygsskrivning : en granskning av ärenden i Veterinära Ansvarsnämnden 2000 - 2007

Abstract: After having reviewed the cases in the Veterinary Disciplinary Board of Sweden regarding certificates year 2000 to October 2007 I have found that these cases more often than in all other cases result in disciplinary action. The punishment is to a greater extent the more serious form, i.e. warning. When I examined the reasons for imposing the punishments and the material that constituted the foundations of the reports, I came to the conclusion that the statistics above do not depend on a general lack of knowledge in the Swedish veterinary profession. A possible cause is that the demands set upon the veterinarian are exceptional and that the responsibility board has a physical object to examine (the certificate) and regulations that describe how the certificates are supposed to be formulated. The fact that the knowledge about how to write veterinary certificates does not generally seem to be lacking does not exclude that lessons can be learned by examining the mistakes made by others. Yet another errand in the responsibility board can then probably be avoided. This study can be used as a shortcut to the archives of the Veterinary Disciplinary Board, and it concludes with a summary of the experience gained, directed towards the practicing veterinarian.