You’d never know it by looking at us, but veterinarians are four times more likely to commit suicide than the average person—that’s according to a study conducted last year in the UK and reported on in DVM Newsmagazine this month..
British researchers were stumped when they reached this conclusion and are currently undertaking a new study to determine what factors might be at play in such dire news.
I’d read about this about a year back and was impressed by the extremely high rates of suicide in my profession. Sure, I personally knew at least three vets who committed suicide. I know of at least five other such tragedies through friends. And yet the numbers still shock me.
I mean, why??
We’ve got the best job in the world…mostly, anyway. I complain a lot but it’s far better than sitting at a desk rifling papers and hanging on the telephone, right? Apart from this, I can’t think of many other jobs I’d consider. Chef? Maybe. Goat farmer? OK, I’ll take that one but I’d never live off that one in a million years…not in Miami, anyway.
The British researchers were similarly confounded, leading to a variety of hypotheses on the subject:
1-Vets are more comfortable with the concept of euthanasia, desensitized as we are by the frequent application of this procedure.
2-Vets have high stress jobs due to compassion fatigue, long work hours and economic stress.
3-Vets are pleasers. We have personalities predisposed to making our clients happy, thus adding to our stress levels when we can’t meet their demands.
4-Vets are sensitive…very sensitive. Perhaps not all of us, but many of us have personality types predisposed to depression. I like to think we care more deeply than the average person about how those who can’t speak for themselves deserve to be treated.
5-Vets have planned long and hard for their careers. We’ve invested our identities in this profession and suffer disillusionment very acutely once the realization of our dissatisfaction hits us.
6-Vets have access to drugs…hard drugs...lethal drugs.
These six risk factors are only our best guesses. And to my sensibilities they seem mostly right. But it’s still shocking.
When I was kid I could think of nothing that would make me so happy as being a vet. As an adult I still feel the same way. Nonetheless, I can understand the disillusionment, the stress, the money thing, the compassion fatigue, the sensitivity…even the depression. But I can’t fathom the killing myself thing.
I can only hope that studies like this will help other vets reach the same conclusion.
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Apparently, a vet in a nearby town committed suicide---though not reported as such and very, very young.
They say that dentists have a high suicide rate too. And why would that be? After the comment I made on the other today's blog. I can only think of cynical reasons to prompt suicide.
Such as lack of compassion and guilt, huge ego without income to match , and the "biggie"---drugs, drugs, and substance abuse.
Maybe a lot of suicides are really accidental overdoses of the "pink juice".
Such a loss, a profession that one works hard to achieve and should be so proud and respected.
Barbara A. Albright/New Hampshire May 21st, 2008 07:33:00 PM
I guess this comes under the heading of "high stress job" but the depressing reality of having to kill animals - sometimes quite healthy or at least salvageable animals - on a daily or almost daily basis must take its toll too.
Alison May 21st, 2008 11:55:00 PM
I suspect vets also commit suicide at high rates for the same reason other medical personnel and cops do: you have to clean up society's messes. You have to know things the average person gets to be blissfully ignorant of--like what human beings are capable of doing to creatures they profess to love.
Laurel May 22nd, 2008 08:05:00 AM
I actually got asked this question on my interview for vet school (UK)! I think what I added to the list was that it is, in a way a rather lonely job, particularly for one-vet practices (more common in the UK than the US?) and large animal vets driving around-yes you talk to the clients but there's not much team work with colleagues on a day-to-day basis, so you've got to make sometimes terrible decisions on your own, something that hospital doctors for instance rarely do, it's usually a medical team.
Also high achievers in general are more prone to depression, and to get into vet school you've got to be a high achiever, and the interviews don't always take out those who are not emotionally up to the job.
Have there been similar results from looking at US vets, by the way? Our papers often come to conclusions based on US studies (and I'm sure it occurs vice versa) but I'm not always sure that we can be so easily compared, maybe for this issue though.
Sian May 22nd, 2008 08:55:00 AM
As a veterinarian, I think a significant part of the problem seems to be the disproportionately high expectations society places on us (and we, therefore, place from ourselves). Society does not allow us to simply act as clinicians. If we want to practice medicine alone, we are labeled "bad vets, with no bedside manner, who only care about the money". Everyone wants us to wear all the hats, and be the grief councellor, the financier, the problem solver, the best friend, the caring James Harriot, and -- oh, by the way-- also to practice medicine and fix the sick patient. I am constantly amazed at the general public's inability to see this. They expect so much from us, at a devastating price for our psyche. Just reading the comments section on this blog highlights how people value our profession not for the medicine, but for our emotional investment. Very unfair, especialy considering the venom that is spit at us when we begin to try to at least make it worth our while and actualy make some money. Every MD, attorney, accountant, architect, banker, etc that I know gets a pass for not commiting their entire soul to their jobs, and yet no one questions the money they are allowed to make. This is in very stark contrast to the expectation that veterinarians commint themselves wholeheartedly, and yet do it for a pittance. Why does anyone question the high suicide rate?
Marc May 22nd, 2008 09:31:00 AM
I also wonder whether the financial stress of owning and running a small business, on top of everything else, is a factor. Another factor that most other professionals don't have to deal with, as they mainly go and work for other people.
Sian May 22nd, 2008 10:19:00 AM
The public thinks we have it made. Kinda like the way I felt (until now) about Curt Cobain and other celebrites that have committed suicide. I always wondered how bad it could be and most folks would trade places with them (and us) anytime. Like Patty, I love my job and have learned to mitigate some of the negatives. Another major source of stress I see in the profession is having to make decisions daily in the "grey area" and dealing with an uncomfortable level of uncertainty.
Hobson May 22nd, 2008 11:18:00 AM
I just see a collision between customers and clinicians that requires greater preparation than the love of science or animals.
Vets ought to hang out with funeral directors. My mother runs a professional association for funeral directors and this topic has spurred a recommendation to invite vets to the annual dealing with grief conference where those who touch death (social workers, first responders, clinicians, funeral directors) are given a context for tools and interaction...
Hanging out in the Internet boom with another style of geek, I continually smile at the, albeit practiced, awkwardness of the vets and vet staff I make note of. (biased as I am).
BUT. With individuals withdrawing in general (shopping at BestBuy is an investment in distractions from people time), Grief counseling is falling to the laps of vets (not just death but the reasons for these even more non-peopled interactions) and away from social groups which have filled the gap.
(And just to make you think: a fresh grad from Seminary had no class in grief or funerals and received his on the job training during his first funeral. If a Seminary sends ministers into the world without the tools to lead and counsel at a funeral, then what school would?)
Funeral directors are old hands at this. Hang with them.
Jason Schroeder May 22nd, 2008 01:02:00 PM
It was enlightening for me to learn that compassion fatigue is related to post-traumatic stress disorder. PTSD occurs after living through stressful events, while compassion fatigue occurs after witnessing traumatic events. We as a society are becoming more aware of the profound effects of PTSD, but compassion fatigue sounds kind of like its squishy fuzzy pink cousin that you get when you care too much. In reality, it can affect how you relate to people, yourself, society, even animals. Scary stuff.
Megan May 23rd, 2008 07:47:00 AM
Megan: Do they teach that in vet school now? I'd like to think that's where you picked that up. Vet schools NEED to be informing students about life-coping mechanisms and what they can expect in their careers.
Dr. Patty Khuly May 25th, 2008 08:50:00 AM
*Gulps* Teachers seem to have risk factors 2-5, and I'm one. I wonder what our suicide rate is. And what about say, MDs, police, and firemen? Seems to me like many of the most crucial service/rescue -type jobs have similar risk factors.
zandperl May 26th, 2008 12:43:00 PM
Dr. Kuhly: We are learning about it in vet school, although I think my school may be one of the first judging by the surprised reactions I get from other students. We are lucky to have a social worker on staff in the teaching hospital who works with students, faculty, and pet owners- she's quite an invaluable resource. I think vet students will be hearing more as programs modeled after Washington State's Veterinary Leadership Experience become more popular, too. Our VLE-type program (Gopher Leadership Experience, or GOLE) introduced us to the problems of alcoholism, drug abuse, and depression in vet med during our orientation, before we'd even started school!
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They expect so much from us, at a devastating price for our psyche. Just reading the comments section on this blog highlights how people value our profession not for the medicine, but for our emotional investment. Very unfair, especialy considering the venom that is spit at us when we begin to try to at least make it worth our while and actualy make some money. Every MD, attorney, accountant, architect, banker, etc that I know gets a pass for not commiting their entire soul to their jobs, and yet no one questions the money they are allowed to make. This is in very stark contrast to the expectation that veterinarians commint themselves wholeheartedly, and yet do it for a pittance.
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