Recognizing & Addressing Burnout in Veterinarians

Burnout is extremely common in the veterinary profession and the latest Merck Animal Health Veterinary Wellbeing Study found that veterinarians were more likely to experience burnout than physicians despite fewer hours worked. Why is burnout occurring at such high rates in the veterinary profession, and what should we do about it?

This article will discuss recognizing and addressing burnout in the veterinary workplace.

What is burnout in veterinarians?

Burnout is a psychological syndrome occurring as a response to prolonged exposure to interpersonal stressors at work. Most cases of burnout within the veterinary profession likely occur due to high levels of prolonged stress in the veterinary workplace. Veterinarians have significantly higher levels of stress than the general population so it does not come as a surprise that veterinarians would have high rates of burnout.

What are the symptoms of burnout in veterinarians?

Burnout symptoms occur on a range and may be mild or severe. There are three main components of burnout that are described by burnout researchers.

1. Exhaustion

Exhaustion is one of the most common symptoms of burnout. Those who are experiencing burnout may feel tired even when they are getting plenty of rest. You may notice that you don’t have the energy to do things that you were normally able to do. This exhaustion can even be in the form of emotional exhaustion. When I was at the height of burnout in my veterinary career, I remember telling others that I felt mentally, physically, and emotionally exhausted.

2. Cynicism

Feeling cynical about your work as a veterinarian is another sign that you may be experiencing burnout. You may feel detached from your work or feel as if you care less about your patients and their outcomes. You may notice that you are thinking negative and cynical thoughts about your clients or your team.

3. Lack of accomplishment

The final symptom of burnout is feeling like you are lacking in accomplishment or professional achievement. Veterinarians that are experiencing burnout may feel like they aren’t able to do anything right. Vets with burnout often feel like they are ineffective at helping the patients that they are treating. They may feel like their work is pointless.

How can veterinarians assess if they are feeling symptoms of burnout?

The best way to assess your burnout is to use a free tool such as the ProQOL self-assessment that is offered through the AVMA. This tool can help give you an objective measure of your burnout levels, and I often take this assessment every 6 to 12 months to gauge my burnout levels and monitor for trends.

Addressing Veterinary Burnout

There are several techniques that may help decrease your symptoms of burnout.

Seek Professional Help

First and foremost, if you are feeling symptoms of burnout or if you feel as if your symptoms are affecting your daily life, it may be beneficial to seek help from a mental health professional. Veterinary social workers often have experience working with veterinarians and know the unique stressors that veterinarians experience. 

Seek Mentorship & Grow Your Professional Skills

Talking about your stressful experiences as a veterinarian with others who are going through similar circumstances can help you feel like you are not alone. Good veterinary mentorship can be extremely helpful in supporting you as a veterinarian. In addition, honing your professional skills may help you be better prepared for managing stress and conflict at work. 

There are many benefits of having a vet mentor! MentorVet participants showed significantly lower measures of the exhaustion component of burnout after the program compared to veterinarians who did not participate in the program. MentorVet participants said this was likely a result of the support network generated by the program and the training they had received in professional skills.

Work Less

One of the most obvious ways to address your burnout is to take some time off from your job or work less. Unfortunately, most veterinarians do not have the luxury of taking the time off that they need to rest and recharge. If you are not able to take a vacation or cut back on your work hours, consider taking short breaks throughout the day to give yourself some time to rest.

A lunch break can be a great time to rest and recharge, so do your best to take your lunch break. You may even use this time to leave the clinic and do something enjoyable such as visiting a park or go for a walk.

Ramp Up Your Self-Care

When you start to notice symptoms of burnout, turn up the dial on your self-care. Take care of your basic needs including sleep, exercise, and good nutrition. Consider starting relaxation techniques such as meditation, yoga, mindfulness, or square breathing. There has been ample research on many of these techniques showing their beneficial effects.

Try using apps to help you stay accountable. I enjoy using the Headspace app for mindfulness meditation or RunKeeper to track my fitness goals.

Set Boundaries!

Boundaries are key to maintaining happiness within the veterinary profession. Learning to say no if you are feeling overwhelmed is key to decreasing your risk of experiencing burnout. For example, if your receptionist keeps booking appointments over your lunch break, set a boundary. Discuss with them that that time is important for your mental health, and you will not be accepting any more lunchtime appointments.

Advocate for a Healthy Workplace

Some workplace stressors veterinarians experience may be due to toxic work environments and unhealthy working conditions. It is important that we work towards creating systemic changes within the profession to support and promote employee well-being and a healthy work culture. I encourage all veterinary practice owners to take the AVMA Workplace Wellbeing Certificate Program. 

Begin to implement team-building and community building at your practice. This could be something as simple as weekly ethics rounds to discuss difficult cases with your colleagues or a morning emotional check-in to see how everyone is feeling at the start of the day.

Conclusions

Burnout is extremely common within the veterinary profession. If you notice that you are starting to have feelings of exhaustion, cynicism, or lack of accomplishment, you may be experiencing burnout. When you begin to notice these feelings arising, remember to ramp up your self-care and set boundaries so you are able to have time to practice your self-care. Finally, don’t be afraid to ask for help and support if you are experiencing feelings of burnout.