7 Tips for Addressing Veterinary Burnout

Veterinary professionals are dedicated, compassionate individuals who work hard to build their careers. But what happens when the career you love doesn’t love you back?

Compassion fatigue and burnout are common side effects of caregiving careers like veterinary medicine. Unfortunately, situations involving poor patient outcomes, unhappy clients, and unrealistic expectations can lead to serious mental health issues. In fact, the Merck Animal Health 2023 Veterinary Wellbeing Study found that most veterinarians experience some degree of burnout.¹ 

Wedgewood helps break down barriers to care by improving compliance and easing the frustration of owners struggling to administer medications—supporting complex case management in ways that directly reduce stress and burnout in veterinary teams. By understanding more about veterinary burnout and how to prevent this serious issue, you can be better prepared to safeguard yourself and your veterinary team’s mental health.

According to an article from the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA), the World Health Organization defines burnout as “a syndrome resulting from chronic workplace stress that has not been successfully managed.”² Burnout in veterinary healthcare workers is characterized by:

• Feelings of physical or emotional exhaustion

• Feelings of negativity or cynicism about one’s job

• Decreased professional efficacy

Burnout is closely related to compassion fatigue, which is physical and emotional exhaustion that is sometimes experienced by veterinary caregivers.

Compassion fatigue and burnout can stem from a number of workplace stressors. Causes of burnout may include:

• An overwhelming workload

• Lack of support from management

• Unfair treatment

• Unrealistic expectations from management, coworkers, or pet owners

• Poor case outcomes

• High educational debt

Recognizing signs of burnout in yourself and your colleagues is a critical step in the process of safeguarding your veterinary well-being. Signs to watch for include:

• Lack of energy or motivation

• Irritability and impatience with coworkers or pet owners

• Inability to focus on work

• Feelings of dread

• Cynicism or negativity toward work

• Disillusionment

• Changes in sleeping habits

• Physical symptoms (e.g., headaches, stomach aches)

Preventing veterinary burnout should be an ongoing process. Despite increasing knowledge and awareness about veterinary mental health issues, negative feelings can sneak up on you. Here are seven tactics you can use if you experience feelings of burnout.

1. Set healthy boundaries

Issues such as long working hours, staying late on a regular basis, and taking calls on your time off can compromise your work-life balance and eat into your personal life. Setting boundaries can be an important way to limit work-related stress while safeguarding your professional quality of life. Veterinary professionals should stand up for their wellness and mental health by limiting work to their scheduled hours and enjoying their time away from work.

2. Adopt tools to manage your workload

A number of tools exist to make veterinary medicine easier and more efficient for veterinary staff. For example, PIMS integrations with other platforms, such as Blue Rabbit, Wedgewood’s online pharmacy and home delivery platform, can boost efficiency and save time, which can ease stress on busy veterinary teams. Explore tools available to the veterinary profession that can make day-to-day work easier for you and your team members.

3. Create a healthy work environment

A supportive, emotionally healthy veterinary practice culture is vital to preventing burnout. Team members must feel safe and supported to flourish. Practice owners and practice management should perform periodic check-ins with veterinary team members to see how they are doing and ensure they feel happy and supported in their work. If issues such as team shortages, inefficiencies, or a toxic work culture are preventing team members from enjoying job satisfaction, they should be addressed right away. If veterinarians, veterinary technicians, or other support staff notice these issues or symptoms of burnout in a team member, they should bring them to practice management’s attention immediately.

4. Confide in a trusted coworker or manager

Burnout can show up as a lack of drive, emotional exhaustion, or even chronic illness. If you recognize these signs in yourself or someone else, say something. You’re not alone. Sometimes, simply sharing your feelings about a poor patient outcome or disappointing client interaction can help you let them go. If negative feelings persist, however, you should speak with veterinary clinic leadership about resources that can help.

5. Focus on self-care

Taking care of yourself is the first step in preventing or addressing signs of burnout. When your mind and body are healthy, you are more resilient to workplace stress and less likely to experience compassion fatigue or burnout. Self-care measures that may help include:

• Eating healthy meals (and taking time during the work day to eat)

• Getting adequate sleep

• Exercising regularly

• Practicing mindfulness, yoga, or meditation to relax

• Spending time with friends and family members

• Making time for activities you enjoy

6. Take time off

You love your veterinary career, patients, and their families, but taking time away to rest and recharge is essential for preventing and managing burnout. While it can be tempting to “power through” and skip your vacation, using that time to do something that brings you happiness can make a real difference. Whether you travel or stay home, spend time with family or yourself, or simply relax, time away can help you remember why you love veterinary medicine and return refreshed and reinvigorated.

7. Seek professional help

If you notice symptoms of burnout that don’t improve with the above suggestions, it’s time to reach out for help. Talking to a professional can help you sort through your feelings and work out a path forward that preserves your mental health. If you feel safe speaking with your practice leadership, they may be able to offer resources that can help. If not, search online for organizations, such as Not One More Vet, that offer resources and direction for veterinarians, veterinary technicians, and other support staff in the veterinary industry experiencing burnout.

Addressing veterinary burnout and taking proactive measures to prevent mental health issues can help veterinary team members enjoy long, fulfilling careers in the field they love. Partner groups such as Wedgewood and Blue Rabbit are here to support veterinary teams. If you would like to learn more about what that could mean for your team, please connect with us.