There are fewer and fewer veterans and suicides among them continue.

veterinary profession This is perhaps one of the most professional that exist. This is also one of the most frequently asked questions if we ask a group of children what they want to be when they grow up. However, once in the profession, despite the fact that the vocation still exists and they continue to be animal lovers, many veterinarians feel tired, hopeless or anxious. It is one of the professions with the most cases burn out and, in fact, of those who have more suicide rate.

According to a study published in 2019 suicide rate from 2003 to 2014 male doctors was 1.6 times higher than among the general population. And in women it is 2.4 times higher. As for technicians, they committed suicide 5 times more often and 2.3 times more often if they were women.

All of this happens for a variety of reasons, ranging from low salary to an excessive amount Additional hourspassing through skirmishes with animal guardianswho often expect that there will be no fees for certain services or that results when getting your pet to the veterinarian will be immediate.

Moreover, in this profession Vocation is a double-edged swordbecause it is often used as an excuse for them to work at ridiculous prices for the real value of their work. IN hypertext we talked to four veterinarianswho shared with us their vision of all this. And it is clear that much remains to be changed. Because if not, as these professionals have long been warning, there will be fewer and fewer veterinarians.

insufficient wages

dormouse (name changed) knows what it means to be a veterinarian as a businesswoman and employee. For a while she owned a clinic with a partner, but is currently working for someone else in the mountains of Madrid.

tells us that Milerista and he doesn’t even have an A on his payroll. “This is a common practice,” he adds. “Overtime that you don’t get paid for, gasoline for home visits that you don’t pay for either… For a few years (not many), we have a regulation agreement, but broken in many places“.

In fact, this is what also tells us Lucywho took the opposite step. He went from working for someone else to opening his own clinic to try and improve his financial situation. He explains that he currently earns a little more, but in general not well paid job. And, like Sonya, he knows that sometimes the agreement is not kept. “It won’t happen in all cases, but I know many fellow veterinarians who charge much less than the convention set for us.”

Karla (not his real name) also runs his own clinic and claims that the job pays poorly, neither as an owner nor as an employee. Relatively JuliaYes, she admits that in the clinic where she works as an employee, they are paid much more than the arrangement. However, Doesn’t look like a high paying job in general, especially considering the pressure they are under.

24/7 veterinarian: work to the point of exhaustion

Like healthcare professionals who care for people, veterinarians emergency services. This is logical, because the animal can get sick at any time. However, this often leads to exhausting work that is not only low-paid. They also end up passing psychological account.

Julia, for example, works 40 hours a week and is on call one week out of three. “Maybe you don’t need to care about anything or you need to go three nights in a row“. The latter would mean three days in a row without proper sleep, with all the ensuing consequences at the level physical and mental.

Carla tells us something similar. Their position in this respect has improved. However, the guardsmen continue to be a heavy burden, although more distant in time. “There was a moment when I was on duty 365 days a year“, remember. “Currently, a group of clinics meet in rotation, and I have to have an appointment every 3 months. emergency care 4 clinics“.

In Sonya’s case, the question of the guards is more common, but it’s a big problem, because. does not have stimulated guards per se. However, it must be “available when needed”. Again, this is a big workload as an employee, which Lucia also sees as an owner. And the thing is, as she tells us, she tries to be available when she can, as “it’s very difficult for her to switch off.”

This vocation of a veterinarian requires them to work many hours. Even see the need to do so. And this, in the end, has consequences.

Many psychological consequences

Four veterinarians interviewed for this article admitted to us that they have psychological problems due to their profession.

Carla, for example, now both psychological and psychiatric treatment. Julia also saw occasional psychologists for six years to deal with her anxiety, and she depression. Lucia tells us that her anxiety Very often it also happens that he cannot switch off from work when a difficult case is presented to him. As for Sonya, she knows many colleagues are depressed. She does nothing about anxiety, but suffers from it often, so she tries to find ways to switch off by spending time for her. All of them feel severe pressure, in which the mentors of their patients often play an important role.

In general, they all suffer from what is known as burn out. In other words, the stress at work leads them to physical, mental and emotional exhaustion, which can even lead to, firstly, a loss of interest in their tasks, and in some cases, subsequent depression.

veterinarian vs. guardian, complex relationship

Veterinarians love animals, that’s for sure. But it’s still a profession for which you need to pay. This is understood by many of the caregivers (as pet owners are called) of his patients. However, others they make it very difficult. For Carla, for example, this is one of the main reasons burn out suffering.

He points out that collisions usually occur due to Prices which they do not want to accept, requires during availability or protests against having to pay for emergencies after hours. And all this gave rise to great fatigue.

“I am very tired on a mental level. Tired of constant discussions of irresponsible mentors who want us to take responsibility, resorting to a hackneyed calling and thinking that we are an NGO, not a business that costs a lot of money to promote. In addition, I am more concerned about animals than some caregivers, and I have to convince them to apply the necessary treatments. Discuss why we have such prices if the same products are cheaper on the Internet. This is because they forget about our VAT and that we work with official channels with fixed prices. Tired of everyone thinking that they know a lot about veterinary medicine because they consulted with Google and that the opinion of a park neighbor prevails over the opinion of a qualified specialist.

Carla, veterinarian

Also, it adds to the problem that many people post malicious reviews on the Internet that can sink business.

Julia’s perception is exactly the same. “The clashes are both over the price of the consultation and they want you not to charge for the consultation if you do tests or for you to look at it in the store for a second that it doesn’t cost you anything. ‘, he explains. “There is also conflict over the price or the need for tests and even treatment.” It’s because tutors are looking for express diagnosticswithout testing.

Economic issue, main problem

Sonya tells us that she usually gets along well with caregivers, but economic question Yes, it’s annoying at times. In fact, he tells us the same thing as Julia. “There is this limitation that often prevents you from doing all the tests needed to make a diagnosis, because people want quick decisions, if possible, the day before yesterday.” That said, he says he sometimes feels unable to do all the tests that would be needed.

Finally, Lucia usually gets along well with mentors. However, she acknowledges the same issues as her fellow professionals. “There are many people who does not appreciate the work of a veterinarian and he thinks we should always be available for free if we really love animals,” he says. “Vets love animals, but it’s our profession and we’re entitled to pay like any other.”

Also, remember that They invest heavily in education. and that it is not cheap to set up a clinic with all the necessary equipment.

The reason we ran out of vets

Finally, we asked four veterinarians if they would do the same again if they could come back. Most agree that no, even if something painful.

Carla, for example, points out that she would have studied something else, but she is sad to think so because she is passionate about her profession. Julia also tells us something similar. “I would change without hesitationI don’t know which direction it will go, but in veterinary medicine it’s almost certainly not,” he admits. “A veterinarian at a small animal clinic, of course not.”

His response is similar to that of Sonya, who is also changing course. “In my case, for as long as I can remember, I wanted to be a veterinarian,” she recalls. “I think I would choose her again, but look at it differently. Maybe a small animal clinic won’t work. I would have done something else or otherwise. With animals, of course, in direct contact. I don’t have a job right now.”

Finally, Lucia is somewhat more optimistic, but understands all the people who want to change their profession.

“I always wanted to be a clinical veterinarian. I have been very aware of this since childhood, and the truth is that I cannot imagine anything else, but I perfectly understand all my colleagues who leave the clinic and go to other areas of the profession. Emotional exhaustion is very high and takes its toll.”

Lucia, veterinarian

In short, the veterinary profession professional, yeah. But calling does not feed or pay bills. So is the love for animals. Just as when we have a child we assume that we will invest a lot of money in it, we should do the same when we adopt a pet. They deserve the best care, and the people who care for them deserve a decent life. This way they can continue to love and look after our animals.