Rebecca Maher, North Carolina State University College of Veterinary Medicine
Tara Harrison, North Carolina State University College of Veterinary Medicine
The veterinary profession has well documented concerns regarding the wellbeing of its members, including burn-out, empathy fatigue, and suicidal ideation. Although other studies evaluated wellbeing parameters in the profession as a whole, veterinarians working with non-domestic species face unique challenges. In 2021, an online survey was sent to professional veterinary organizations representing veterinarians working with non-domestic species utilizing questions modeled on previous wellbeing studies. There were 147 participants with 42.5% working in zoos as associate/staff-level veterinarians and the remainder representing a wide breadth of other positions. A high percentage (22%) of respondents scored having psychological distress according to the Kessler Psychological Distress scale, higher than in the 2018 Veterinary Wellbeing Survey (MAHVWS; 5.3%). Non-domestic veterinarians documented higher burnout scores (3.95) than MAHVWS participants (3.10) or physicians (2.24) according to the 7-point Mayo Clinic Physician Burnout and Wellbeing Scale. Interestingly, 62-82% of respondents indicated satisfaction with their lives on several questions. Work-life balance was rated the most stressful aspect at work (83%) and 85% reported some degree of empathy fatigue. Nearly 70% of respondents said the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic impacted their stress at work, with work-life balance the most commonly impacted (70%). When asked if they would recommend their career, 38% would recommend, 32% would not recommend and 30% were unsure. These findings have implications for the development and implementation of resources provided by professional veterinary organizations working within this community.
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