Compassion Fatigue in the Veterinary Industry

What happens when those who are supposed to take care of us (humans and animals) become so emotionally overwhelmed that it affects their own personal well-being? This is a not-so-uncommon scenario referred to as compassion fatigue, and the long and short of it is that caring too much hurts. 

Compassion fatigue most affects those in service and healthcare industries, and is well known to be prevalent in the veterinary profession and in all staff members. Godspeed Animal Care is passionate about delivering the very best to our patients and their families, and we hope that you will help us care about ourselves the same way. 

The Science of Compassion Fatigue

Compassion fatigue occurs when a medical caregiver suffers emotional and physical trauma vicariously through their patients. For instance, that neglected dog we treated earlier in the day, the cancer patient we had to help say goodbye to, and the owners wrestling with a dog with severe allergies that they can’t afford to treat all weigh on us. And unlike our clients who are typically grappling with one difficult thing at a time, we often deal with multiple sources of stress, moral decisions, pain, and sadness each day.

Our ability to empathize with our patients eventually wears on our own mental health, diminishing feeling and caring over time. This external stress can lead to a decline in the caregiver’s health, including:

• Sadness
• Decreased ability to enjoy things that were once enjoyable
• Difficulty concentrating
• Physical and mental exhaustion
• Self-isolation
• Chronic physical ailments
• Nightmares
• Lack of self care
• Substance abuse

Suicide in the veterinary profession is also alarmingly high, with male veterinarians being 2.1 times and female veterinarians being 3.5 times more likely to die by suicide than the general population. While this is likely multifactorial, addressing things like compassion fatigue can be very beneficial in lowering this statistic.

Helping Overcome

Every member of the veterinary team is at risk for compassion fatigue. Not every individual is equally affected, though, due to internal variances in personality and external factors such as case load, work environment, and past experiences.

Those in the veterinary world are exposed to death up to five times more than human doctors and often discuss and perform euthanasia on a daily basis. That combined with other factors such as client expectations, balancing patient care and cost, and high caseload can cause some major emotional stress. 

So what can we do? Veterinarians and veterinary staff who are suffering from compassion fatigue are called upon to:

• Assess mental and physical health often
• Seek work/personal life balance
• Engage in activities outside of work
• Get a healthy amount of sleep
• Eat right and exercise
• Rely on teammates for emotional support
• Seek help early

While the burden to care for ourselves falls squarely on our shoulders, it does help to have clients who are supportive and concerned about our needs as well. Please remember that we are human beings as well. We need to eat lunch, attend family and social functions, and sometimes to be granted a little patience and grace. 

Your words of thanks and understanding are very valuable to us as we battle through a stressful profession. We are in veterinary medicine because we love to help you and your pets. Your actions can make a big difference in warding off compassion fatigue so that we can continue to care deeply. Thank you for your support.  

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