Many people consider working in veterinary medicine a dream job, but veterinary professionals face vast challenges such as staff shortages, compassion fatigue, burnout, and significant student debt. Our Family Pet Care team explains the issues that may be affecting your veterinary professionals’ mental wellbeing and how you can help.

Staff shortages affect veterinary professionals

Filling open veterinary staff positions before COVID-19 was difficult, and in this post-pandemic era, most veterinary clinics continue to experience staffing shortages. In addition, veterinary patient volume has increased during the past few years. Therefore, veterinarians and veterinary technicians work incredibly long hours to ensure as many pets as possible receive the care they need. Working long hours and weekends hampers a veterinary professional’s ability to practice a healthy work-life balance and prevents them from taking care of their own mental health.

Burnout affects veterinary professionals

Most veterinary professionals enter the field because they are passionate about caring for animals. In some cases, this passion leads them to push themselves to a state of physical and emotional exhaustion in an attempt to provide care, which can quickly lead to burnout. Veterinary professionals are at high risk for burnout because individuals who enter the profession typically have perfectionist personality traits that lead to working long hours, having poor sleep patterns, and in some cases, lacking supportive relationships in the home environment. Merck Animal Health and the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) note in their 2022 Veterinarian Wellbeing Study that 30.5% of veterinarians and 49.6% of veterinary staff reported experiencing burnout. The condition can lead to frustration, anger, energy depletion, reduced professional efficacy, and job negativity. 

Compassion fatigue affects veterinary professionals

Compassion fatigue involves emotional and physical exhaustion, leading to an inability to empathize or feel compassion. This typically occurs after consistent exposure to stress associated with caring for pets in distress. Veterinary professionals deal with illness and death daily and struggle with issues such as delivering bad news to clients, witnessing animal cruelty, seeing clients struggle with finances when making pet care decisions, and euthanizing pets. In addition, research shows that veterinarians face ethical dilemmas three to five times per week, and moral stress is a large compassion fatigue contributor. This insidious condition causes psychological and physical problems, including depression, apathy, mental and physical exhaustion, chronic physical ailments, and recurring nightmares. 

Significant student debt affects veterinary professionals

According to the AVMA, outstanding student loan debt is growing 4.5 times as quickly as new veterinary school graduates’ incomes. The average veterinary school debt is about $150,000, with some students having debt loads of more than $400,000, and loan forgiveness options are extremely limited in the veterinary field. This places a hefty burden on veterinarians and causes many to worry significantly. How can a veterinarian buy a house or buy in to a practice when they have so much student debt looming over their head?

Pet owners can provide support

Mental health is an important issue, and each individual is responsible for seeking their own help and practicing self-care to prevent serious psychological issues. However, as a pet owner, you can help support your veterinary professional team by considering the following:

  • Invest in pet insurance — One of the most difficult situations for veterinary medicine practitioners is seeing a pet owner forced to choose their pet’s euthanasia because they can’t afford the care costs. By investing in pet insurance, you help ensure your finances won’t be an issue if your pet needs life-saving treatment.
  • Schedule wellness examinations — By scheduling your pet’s annual and biannual wellness examinations, you help our team detect your furry pal’s serious health conditions in the early stages, before they cause significant distress. 
  • Practice preventive care — Ensure your pet remains up-to-date on their vaccines and receives year-round flea, tick, and heartworm prevention to protect them from serious, life-threatening conditions.
  • Follow instructions — Follow all instructions concerning your furry pal’s medications and recommended recheck visits to ensure your sick pet recovers as quickly as possible.
  • Be understanding — Our team tries our best to schedule your pet’s appointment at a time that is convenient for you, but we can’t always accommodate your requests. In these cases, please understand that we are doing our best and will see your pet as soon as we possibly can. 
  • Practice kindness — When visiting our practice, please show kindness to our veterinarians and staff, realizing that a technician who didn’t smile quite as brightly as usual may have just had to assist with the euthanasia of someone’s beloved pet.
  • Speak to us in person — If you are displeased with our service, please speak to us in person about the issue before posting a hurtful, negative comment online.
  • Say thank you — Expressing your gratitude when you are pleased with your pet’s care is one of the most helpful ways you can support our veterinary team.
  • Provide pet pictures — Our team loves a good success story, and we enjoy seeing your happy pet after they recover from an illness or injury. We always appreciate cute pet pictures anytime you want to share.

Our team is here for your pet anytime they need care, and we appreciate your support and understanding. Schedule your pet’s wellness examination with our Family Pet Care team, and remember to practice patience and kindness as you speak with our staff.