Veterinary Burnout and Wellbeing: What the Data Actually Shows, and What Practices Can Do

Talk about mental health in veterinary medicine often starts with the worst numbers and stops there. The real picture, from the profession's largest repeated study, is more useful: some groups are doing well, some are clearly struggling, and the differences point to things practices can change.

This guide walks through what the Merck Animal Health wellbeing studies found in 2023, who is most at risk, and what the evidence supports doing about it. If you are struggling right now, the resources at the end are a better place to start than this article.

The study

Merck Animal Health has run its Veterinarian Wellbeing Study with Brakke Consulting and the AVMA every other year since 2017. In 2021 it added a separate study of the rest of the practice team. The 2023 round, released in January 2024, surveyed:

• 4,636 veterinarians, a nationally representative sample of practitioners and non practitioners.
• 2,271 team members: technicians, assistants, client service representatives and practice managers, drawn with NAVTA, the VHMA, veterinarian referrals and a large hospital group.

It used validated instruments, including the Cantril Ladder for wellbeing and the Burnout Assessment Tool (BAT-12) for burnout, alongside a standard measure of serious psychological distress. That means its numbers can be compared with the general population, which is where they become meaningful.

What it found for veterinarians

Better than its reputation

• 74% of veterinarians were somewhat or extremely satisfied with their careers. Asked about their peers, they guessed only 43% were. The profession believes it is unhappier than it is.
• 53.9% were flourishing on the wellbeing scale.
• 82% had low to medium burnout, close to the general population's 84%.

But exhausted

The exception is exhaustion, one of burnout's components: 61% of veterinarians scored high, against 32% of the general population. The AVMA's hours data matches. Full time veterinarians averaged 48.7 hours a week in 2023.

Young veterinarians and debt

The gaps by age and debt are large:

• 44.4% of veterinarians aged 18 to 34 were flourishing, against almost 60% of those aged 55 to 64.
• 17.3% of veterinarians aged 18 to 34 were in serious psychological distress, against 6% of those 55 to 64.
• 60.8% of veterinarians with no educational debt were flourishing, against 37.7% of those with $300,000 or more.

The first years in practice, carrying the heaviest debt, are the riskiest. That is why structured support for new graduates matters. See a new veterinarian's first month.

Real progress

• 73% agreed that mental health treatment helps veterinarians lead normal lives, up from 68% in 2019.
• A quarter were receiving counseling, up from 13% in 2017.
• 52% of employers offered mental health insurance coverage (44% in 2017), and 38% offered an employee assistance program (21% in 2017).

What it found for the rest of the team

This is where the picture is harder.

• 42% of team members were flourishing, below veterinarians.
• By role: 52.3% of hospital managers, 42.6% of technicians, 39.4% of client service representatives and only 33.6% of veterinary assistants were flourishing.
• 72% had high exhaustion, against 32% of the general population.
• In the peer reviewed write up in JAVMA, serious psychological distress was twice as common among team members as among veterinarians.

Money is central

Nearly 60% of team members were unsatisfied with their income and financial situation, and 68% named compensation as their biggest challenge. One in four worked a second job to pay bills, and about 60% carried credit card balances month to month. The JAVMA authors concluded that financial stress may play a role in the distress they found.

That is a direct link between pay and mental health. A practice that pays assistants a wage they cannot live on is not only risking turnover. See what veterinary technician job ads pay, by state.

What predicts doing well

The study looked at who was outperforming their peers on wellbeing, burnout and distress. They tended to:

• Have work life balance, the strongest single predictor.
• Have an active social life outside work.
• Exercise and use positive coping habits.
• Have hired a financial adviser.

The strongest predictor of low wellbeing, high burnout and distress was the personality trait neuroticism, a tendency toward stress, anxiety and mood swings, which scored higher among veterinary professionals than the general population. That is not a diagnosis. It is a reason to know yourself, and a reason for practices to build support in rather than assume everyone copes the same way.

What practices can do

The study's authors and the AVMA were clear that wellbeing is both personal and workplace work. MentorVet founder Addie Reinhard put it this way: a healthy person in an unhealthy workplace can still struggle. The evidence supports these workplace changes:

1. Pay people enough. For assistants and client service staff especially, the data ties financial stress to distress.
2. Use technicians fully. The AVMA and the study authors both recommend letting technicians work to the top of their training. It improves satisfaction and takes load off doctors. See is it a hiring problem or a workflow problem.
3. Fix the hours. Predictable schedules, real breaks and fewer late finishes go straight at exhaustion. See the four day week in veterinary practice.
4. Offer mental health coverage and an EAP, and mention them in team meetings so people know they exist.
5. Make it safe to talk. Regular team meetings that cover the hard cases of the week, not only the schedule.
6. Support new graduates with structured mentoring and a gradual caseload.
7. Give people somewhere to grow. AAHA's retention research found career development among the top reasons people would stay rather than leave.

Where to find help

If you are a veterinary professional who is struggling:

• In the US, call or text 988 for the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, any time.
• The AVMA's wellbeing resources include assessments, training and a directory of support.
• MentorVet Connect offers free mentoring to AVMA members in their first ten years.
• Your employer's EAP, if it has one, offers confidential counseling.

How Zuse helps

Choosing the right workplace is part of staying well. On Zuse Talent, you can browse jobs with pay and schedule shown, and read our questions to ask before accepting a veterinary job.

Sources

• AVMA News, Veterinary profession heading in right direction with mental health (January 22, 2024), on the 2023 Merck Animal Health Veterinarian Wellbeing Study IV and Veterinary Team Wellbeing Study II
• Volk JO et al., Merck Animal Health Veterinary Team study reveals factors associated with well-being, burnout, and mental health among nonveterinarian practice team members, JAVMA, 2024
• AVMA, Chart of the month: Work hours continue to exceed pre-pandemic norms (May 21, 2024)
• AVMA News, Study: Fair pay, appreciation for work top factors in employee retention (March 4, 2024)
• AVMA, Wellbeing resources for veterinary professionals

FAQ

How common is burnout among veterinarians?

In the 2023 Merck study, 82% of veterinarians had low to medium burnout, similar to the general population. But 61% had high exhaustion, nearly double the general population's 32%.

Are vet techs more burned out than veterinarians?

Burnout levels were similar, but wellbeing was lower and serious psychological distress was twice as common among nonveterinarian team members. Assistants and client service staff had the lowest wellbeing.

Who is most at risk in veterinary medicine?

Younger veterinarians, those with high educational debt, and veterinary assistants and client service staff. Financial stress and high exhaustion were common threads.

What helps veterinary wellbeing most?

Work life balance was the strongest predictor. An active social life, exercise, positive coping and financial planning also helped. At work, fair pay, full use of technicians, predictable hours and mental health benefits are supported by the evidence.

Is veterinary wellbeing getting better?

In some ways. More veterinarians now receive counseling, attitudes toward treatment have improved, and more employers offer mental health coverage and assistance programs than in 2017.