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What Veterinarians Know That Doctors Don 't Dr. Natterson Horowitz

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Barbara Natterson-Horowitz gave a TEDMED speech in September of 2014 entitled What Veterinarians Know That Doctors Don’t. Dr. Natterson-Horowitz is a professor of Medicine at UCLA Medical School in the Division of Cardiology. Additionally, she is an advocate of zoobiquity, or the connection of animal and human health. Her speech describes how a phone call introduced her to the world of veterinary medicine and, consequently, led her to promote the concept of physicians and veterinarians working together to further their understanding of medicine and health. In the speech, she provides examples of various instances where human doctors applied animal doctor knowledge to human patients and where animal doctors had the answers human doctors had …show more content…

In confirming her knowledge, Dr. Natterson-Horowitz proves her intellectual quality, thus establishing one aspect of her ethos. The second aspect of ethos, the moral quality, is harder to determine, as the audience cannot necessarily differentiate between facts and falsehoods. However, speakers can support their claims by providing concrete evidence. Dr. Natterson-Horowitz begins her speech with anecdotes about her involvement in the surgeries of various animals. As she speaks, she presents images of herself during the surgeries, thus supplying the audience with tangible proof that she did not simply fabricate the stories in order to further her speech. Due to her evidence, the audience knows that, in this instance, they can trust that the doctor did not lie to them. In establishing her honesty early on, Dr. Natterson-Horowitz creates a foundation for trust. Then, she builds upon this basis by providing the audience with information that is either common knowledge or easily referable. For example, the doctor references many afflictions that the general population has a basic understanding of, such as self-harm, postpartum depression, and breast cancer. Because many people have a fundamental grasp of these disorders, they are able to consolidate their knowledge with the information that Dr. Natterson-Horowitz offers. Another instance of trust building can be found when she cites cardiologists’

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