Burnout, fatigue, dissatisfaction and high suicide rates. Despite recent gloomy reports about the mental wellbeing of veterinarians, a new study shows veterinarians are generally more satisfied with their careers when compared to the general U.S. population, with 77% expressing extreme or moderate satisfaction.
“We’re getting a glimpse that the reality of veterinary medicine is actually more positive than the perception,” says Emily Byers Taylor, a technical services veterinarian at Merck Animal Health. “That’s so encouraging to see.”
Merck Animal Health recently completed its 4th biennial Veterinary Wellbeing Survey in the U.S. shedding light on burnout, wellbeing and mental health in the veterinary profession. Among the 4,634 veterinary respondents to the Veterinary Wellbeing Survey, only 2% identified as food animal veterinarians. To gain insights into this specific cohort, the company analyzed and compared them to their veterinary peers.
What Makes Food Animal Veterinarians Different?
The food animal veterinarian profile differs from that of general veterinarians. Not only do they have a higher proportion of males and are more likely to live in rural areas, particularly in the Midwest, but they also include a larger representation of both Baby Boomers and Generation Z.
Of particular note, Taylor says food animal veterinarians also exhibited lower burnout rates, improved wellbeing and experienced less mental health distress compared to other veterinarians.
On average, food animal vets worked 25% more hours (50 hours) compared to companion animal vets, despite earning a comparatively lower income. However, they managed to find similar amounts of leisure time as other veterinarians. They were more likely to socialize with friends and engage in volunteer activities than other practice types, the survey showed.
“Work schedules are improving,” Taylor says. “We are starting to see improvements, which is fantastic. Fewer veterinarians worked extended hours in 2023 compared with other years. In the most recent study, the percentage of veterinarians working on evenings, weekends and holidays went down, so that followed the overall trend for hours being worked.”
Food animal veterinarians reported higher levels of career satisfaction (83% extremely or moderately satisfied) compared to other practice types such as companion and equine practices. The most likely reason for leaving the profession now is actually retirement, she adds. The majority of veterinarians are staying in the veterinary field through retirement. Less than 2.5% of veterinarians under the age of 55 are likely to leave the profession within the next two years.
“We see that job satisfaction improves with age, and more than 50% of the veterinarians over 45 are either very or extremely satisfied with their jobs. We see the least satisfaction in our youngest veterinarians in that first decade of practice,” she points out.
Food animal vets tend to volunteer more than other veterinarians, the study showed.
“To me, that speaks to our sense of community and our sense of responsibility to where we live, work and serve,” Taylor says.
In addition, Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs) have seen an increase in adoption since previous surveys, but food animal veterinarians are less likely to have access to EAPs and mental health coverage compared to their companion animal counterparts.
“We do have some areas still where we can improve, like expanding access to employee assistance programs and mental health care insurance options that provide mental health care. I think when we look at that compared to the rest of the veterinary community, we’ve still got some room to grow,” she notes. “But overall, I am proud to see the resilience and sense of pride in our profession.”
Work That Matters
When evaluating personality types, food animal veterinarians scored lower on the neuroticism scale. This is interesting because the neuroticism scale is an important predictor and measure of resiliency based on personality type, Taylor says.
“The lower your score on the neuroticism scale, the more likely an individual is able to respond well to stress, handle stress, handle emotional situations, and that significantly impacts wellbeing and mental health,” she explains. “When we look at food animal vets versus other types of veterinarians, food animal vets score lower on the neuroticism scale compared to any other veterinary practice type in the general population.”
That could be why in 2023, food animal veterinarians seem to be more satisfied and seem to take more pride in their work. Their personality type indicates they are individuals who tend to handle stress and emotions a little bit better, Taylor adds.
Merck Animal Health’s study also emphasizes the importance of having a healthy stress-coping mechanism, as those who reported having one experienced lower burnout and improved wellbeing, Taylor says.
Food animal veterinarians were more likely to have healthy methods for dealing with stress compared to the overall veterinary population.
“When things are tough and we’re stressed or not satisfied, I think we need to remember that we food animal veterinarians do good work. As a profession, we’re proud of that,” Taylor says. “So even on the hard days, our jobs can still be very good.”
For Taylor, being a part of a company and profession that finds value in understanding the mental health and wellbeing of its employees is very important.
“A lot of times people might sit back and say, ‘Why are they doing all this?’ But I think you can see over time the why,” Taylor says. “We’re learning to understand our profession more. For example, the suicide rate is high, but it’s not as bad as we thought it was. The condition of our veterinary community is not as bad as we tend to perceive or tend to think it is. Do we have some areas we need to continue working on and continue growing? Yes, we do. We always will.”
And that’s why she believes these studies are valuable to help tease out areas where the industry can continue to improve and make progress.
“I hope this helps people see that we are a strong, resilient group of people who are proud of what we do. We are proud of being associated with producing food and making a difference in our communities,” Taylor says.
Editor’s Note: Merck Animal Health acknowledges the study’s findings are based on a sample of individuals, and the averages may not apply universally. For more details and a comprehensive list of recommendations for individuals and employers to enhance veterinary wellbeing, visit www.vetwellbeing.com.
