BY: SAMANTHA BARTLETT, DVM

This year, Merck Animal Health published the results of their Wellbeing Study for veterinary professionals. This study concluded that there is no mental health crisis in the veterinary profession, but there is a significant lack of wellbeing among veterinary professionals.

The Merck study also found that younger veterinary professionals, under the age of 35, were more likely to experience psychological distress than their older counterparts. Also of interest, only 41% of the veterinarians surveyed would recommend the profession to others. In contrast, only 24% of veterinarians aged 34 and under would do so. The Merck study also showed that student debt load was a big factor with 64% of veterinarians citing that as a critical factor affecting wellbeing.

These findings raise concerns for the future of the profession. If student debt is crippling the wellbeing of young veterinarians and they are not recommending the profession to potential future veterinarians, a decline in vet school applicants may be next.

In mid-April, the AVMA, AAVMC and Zoetis hosted the 2018 Veterinary Wellbeing Summit in Illinois. The goal of this summit was to bring together experts to address wellbeing strategies and tips for veterinary professionals. The 3-day summit addressed topics on wellbeing including how to correlate staff wellbeing with the culture of your practice, boundary setting, and how to implement tips for personal health and wellbeing for your home and business life.

Along with efforts like the summit in April, the AVMA has put together a page of resources to help with wellbeing and mental health. The Wellbeing and Peer Assistance page has resources to help deal with financial stress, compassion fatigue and a listing of wellbeing programs by state. The Wellbeing and Peer Assistance page can be found at www.avma.org/ProfessionalDevelopment/PeerAndWellness/.