Last night, while browsing Twitter, I came across the following tweet by a veterinarian I follow and decided to create a new infographic on 4 things that are not your vet’s fault.
Tired of feeling overwhelmed by the caseload, of bad prognoses, of so many sick pets but not enough staff to address them. This week I just felt such overwhelming apathy and I know it’s because I’m getting burnt out. Compassion fatigue is a very real thing. #SOS #vetmed
— The Real Dr. Doolittle (@lil_kdoo11) June 30, 2023
If you spend a few minutes on #VetTwitter, you will see that this is happening everywhere—vets all over the world are burning out.
Last night, I was chatting with the new owners of the stable where we board our pony. They moved to the area a year ago and still can’t find a vet able to take them on. These are super nice people who love their pets and bought the place so they could take in more fosters and rescue mustangs headed for slaughter.
Yet, they can’t find a vet, which means their pets are at higher risk of developing illnesses that will be harder to treat later—making vets’ jobs harder. They’ve been on a months-long waitlist to get their dumpster kittens spayed, which means the kittens are at risk of producing unwanted litters, which will in turn worsen the vet-shortage problem.
The vet shortage is causing an endless cycle that can only be solved by doubling or tripling (maybe even quadrupling) the vet workforce. But training up that workforce is at least an 8-year process of training vet students.
In the meantime, we can’t help reduce our vets’ workload, we can help make their jobs much, much easier simply by practicing basic human decency. I get that pet owners are scared and frustrated, but it doesn’t help anyone when we lash out at the few people who can help us. The vet shortage is being made worse by veterinarians and vet support staff being driven to the brink of suicide and leaving the profession for their own sakes.
Yes, they may still have to work overtime without breaks.
Yes, they will still have compassion fatigue.
BUT, they don’t have to suffer the emotional distress, anxiety, and stress brought on by pet owners who somehow think it’s OK to verbally (and sometimes physically) abuse their vets because they’re angry about wait times and costs of treatment.
I made this infographic of just 4 things (there are no doubt more, but I wanted to highlight those relevant to The Real Doctor Doolittle‘s tweet) that are not your vet’s fault.
4 things that are not your vet’s fault infographic
It’s not your vet’s fault…
That we all got lockdown pets
It’s wonderful that so many pets found loving homes during the pandemic. But the sudden spike in pet ownership almost doubled the workload of a profession that takes 8+ years to train for. They really are booked up for a month, so we pet parents need to be vigilant about our pets’ health and make our appointments as soon as we notice changes.
That treatment is expensive
Anyone who’s been to a human doctor knows that hospitals and medical care are expensive. Veterinary hospitals, equipment, medicines, and training are no different. In many cases, your vet isn’t even the boss and the one setting prices.
That you don’t have money
We all fall on hard times and having a sick or injured pet is the worst part of being a pet parent. But when we decided to bring home a new pet, we also decided to be financially responsible for them.
That they don’t have x-ray vision
Bloodwork wasn’t invented by vets. They were invented for humans being treated by humans. Just as a doctor can’t diagnose you for kidney disease, diabetes, cancer, etc. by just looking at you, neither can a vet who isn’t even the same species as your pet.
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