Part 2:
Leading causes of suicidal ideation in veterinarians
1. Difficult Client Interactions
- Accusations of not caring and “only being in it for the money”
- Getting the blame for not being able to save a pet when owners delay care and refuse diagnostics
2. Online Personal Attacks
- Scathing, one-sided reviews about cost of treatment, wait times, accusing vets of taking advantage of pet owners, and worse
- Social media hate campaigns against individual vets, inciting mass public attacks and even death threats
3. Compassion Fatigue
- Dealing with the suffering and distress of pets and pet owners on a daily basis
- Traumatic stress is passed onto the vet—it’s called “Secondary Traumatic Stress Disorder” and symptoms mimic PTSD
4. Depression & Anxiety
- Perceiving the inability to save all patients as a personal failure
- Fear of angering clients and receiving negative online reviews
5. Crippling Student Debt
- The average veterinary student debt is $183,000—with 20% over $200,000, and some as high as $500,000
- Veterinarians don’t qualify for student loan forgiveness programs
6. COVID-19 Pandemic
- Pet ownership increased 70% during the 2020 lockdowns, causing a surge in demand for veterinary services and staffing shortages
- Protocols to keep everyone safe increase staff workload, and therefore wait times, angering clients
- Staff is stretched thin and morale at an all-time low due to stress, exhaustion, frequent abuse from clients, and increased rates of euthanasia
7. Overwork & Burnout
- Animals don’t get sick on a schedule and the shortage of vets means working overtime
- Emergencies often mean skipping meals and staying hours past closing, creating poor work-life balance
8. Access to Euthanasia Drugs
- A large part of veterinary work is ending suffering via euthanasia
- In moments of distress, access to life-ending drugs makes it easier for vets to take their own lives
