Deontology has been derived from 'deon', deontos’ means requirement, obligation in Greek. Deontology in Veterinary Medicine described as set of rules that veterinarians are obliged to comply with and implement during their professional practices.
Deontology, took place in the curricula of the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine under the name of the 'science of morality' course In the early 1880s. Veterinary History and Deontology lessons were included in the veterinary curriculum as compulsory subjects in 1944 and the Department of Veterinary History and Deontology was separately established in 1950 in Ankara University Veterinary Faculty. Veterinary Medical History and Ethics course was adopted in 1995 as a compulsory subject in Uludag University Veterinary Faculty which was the fourth established veterinary faculty in Turkey, In May of 2004, depending on the section of Veterinary Medicine Basic Sciences' Department of Veterinary Medical History and Ethics has been established.
This Department has offered introduction and history of veterinary medicine, animal welfare, veterinary legislation and professional ethics and deontology as compulsory courses. In courses of the introduction and history of veterinary medicine, it is aimed to provide information on the transformation that the veterinary profession has undergone from ancient times to date in the world and in Turkey, to enable the orientation of students to the profession. In animal welfare course, it is aimed to provide sufficiency and necessary knowledge about animal welfare and to enlarge the veterinary canditates' vision on duties and responsibilities of veterinarians about animal welfare subject. Courses on legislation are mainly focussed on the legislative and administrative state of play of the veterinary profession in Turkey, and the duties, authorities and responsibilities of the veterinarian towards patients, animal owners, colleagues and the public in general. On the other hand, ethics courses cover both theoretical lessons and case studies, and aim at up skilling candidate veterinarians with the capability of distinguishing between good-bad, right-wrong, fair-unfair, and correctly applying the ethical decision making process.
