As vets, we have wins and losses. That’s the job. And amidst challenging clients, long work hours, insurmountable debt, huge caseloads and attempts at work/life balance, it is easy to lose track of why we entered this field. We advocate for the innocent, we heal those who are deeply loved (and in that process, those… Read More
Wellness
No One Warns You About the Loneliness
Everyone tells you that you will learn more in your first year as a veterinarian than your year on the clinic floor in veterinary school. They tell you about the long hours, the mountain of debt, the anxiety and the high rate of substance abuse and suicide, but we are not warned about the loneliness…. Read More
“What Can We Do?”
I have a bad habit of checking social media first thing in the morning, which I know can really set the day off on the wrong foot. This morning, I woke up to see a post from a veterinarian friend that she had two veterinarians in her life commit suicide this week. As I read… Read More
Media’s Emotional Blackmail Is Killing Veterinarians
A previous version of this article first appeared on Medium.com. Emotional blackmail is the new term being used to characterize the pressure that clients put on veterinarians to care for their pets, to feel guilty about charging, and for making money. It has catapulted our profession into a crisis of burnout, compassion fatigue and suicide…. Read More
TISI: I’m Tired of Bullying in Veterinary Medicine
Mental health. Self-Care. Anxiety. Depression. Suicide. These are all words that have come to the forefront of veterinary medicine in recent years. It is finally a topic that is being addressed in seminars, conferences and articles. It is a real problem. I have heard many theories about why it is such a problem in our… Read More
The Growing Pains of Setting Boundaries in Veterinary Medicine
I’m sitting in the car and crying outside of my daughter’s school. I’ve just left work and made my way to her school for her annual talent show. We are doing an aerial yoga routine together that we have been practicing for 2 weeks. I know that she’s inside nervously waiting for me and I’m… Read More