Understanding Error Culture in Veterinary Medicine: A Survey Among Veterinary Support Staff Across German-Speaking Countries

Errors are an unavoidable part of veterinary practice; however, little is known about how veterinary support staff perceive and deal with errors in their veterinary teams. This study examined perception of errors, contributing factors, and approaches to error management among veterinary support staff in German-speaking countries. A cross-sectional online survey was conducted, including 205 fully completed questionnaires. Reported errors were most often linked to tasks such as billing, team interaction, and handling and restraining animals. The most frequently reported contributing factors were time pressure, high workload, and communication problems. Most respondents reported that errors are openly spoken up about in everyday work (68%) and discussed within the team (76%). At the same time, perceptions of feeling safe to report an error varied: while 69% reported always or mostly feeling safe to speak up, 31% felt safe only sometimes, rarely or never. In addition, 16% of participants reported having deliberately not disclosed an error. According to 81% of respondents, no structured error reporting or management system was in place in their workplace. Overall, the findings show that error handling among veterinary support staff remains largely informal and individual, highlighting an important area for further research, improved reporting structures and training.