It’s September as I write this. Summer holidays are over and “life” begins to happen again in earnest. A multitude of commitments begins to pile up. It seems like the issues and crises will never end. How do we cope? How do we prevent burnout? At the CVMA convention in July we explored some of these issues at the Summit of Veterinary Leaders forum.
The topics of burnout and suicide are long overdue as national discussion points. It has certainly been a difficult area for me to discuss. As a male of the baby boomer generation, we were expected to be strong, and the idea that mental health issues were for others was deeply ingrained in us. Truth be told, in hindsight I was constantly bumping up against the issues of mental health throughout my career. How did I avoid any serious consequences? That is a good question. Health Canada statistics from 2002 indicate that 1 in 5 Canadians will experience a mental illness in their lifetime. The remaining 4 will have a friend, family member or colleague who will. I certainly can relate — a classmate who disappeared for days at a time, a classmate who committed suicide, a family member’s addiction and mental health issues, and more recently, a serious accident and brush with mental health concerns myself.
Recent articles and discussions have continued to emphasize the growing issue of mental health issues and suicide in the veterinary profession (1–7). One such article from the United Kingdom (2) by Bartram and Baldwin states, “Veterinary surgeons have a proportional mortality ratio (PMR) for suicide approximately 4 times that of the general population and around twice that of other healthcare professions.” From an article from Australia in 2008 (4); “The estimated suicide rates for western Australian and Victorian veterinarians were respectively 4.0 times and 3.8 times the standardized rate for suicide in the respective state adult populations.” These statistics are alarming indeed.
The national member wellness survey conducted by the CVMA this spring showed just how serious these issues are in Canada. (The CVMA gratefully acknowledges the Association des médecins vétérinaires du Québec en practique des petits animaux for the use of its survey template.) With a 20% response rate there were several interesting and surprising findings. This is by no means a statistically valid survey but the general response tallies are quite alarming even considering that those affected by issues would be the most interested in responding.
Do you believe that you have suffered burnout in the past? 51% yes
Have you had burnout confirmed by physician/psychiatrist? 12% yes
Is your profession a major contributing factor of your burnout? 90% yes
For more detailed information on the survey have a look at the article found in the news section of this issue entitled “Wellness of Veterinarians: CVMA National Survey Results” on page 1159.
Some provinces have developed safety nets and/or piggy backed on existing professional support programs. I am most familiar with the Ontario situation and the Professionals Health Program (PHP). These and other help lines and support services are available for those who need support or are in a crisis situation. How do we develop the tools to prevent us from getting this far?
Other countries have expressed concerns as well, have undertaken research and are attempting to address the issues, particularly Great Britain with Vetlife, and Australia with Vet Health. Through discussions with those administering the Australian program the concept of resiliency was raised. How resilient are we to the stress and strain of everyday practice and life? Do we have the tools necessary to be able to cope and bounce back from mental health issues?
Over the course of the next year, this issue will be discussed at the CVMA Council table. We must answer some basic questions about this topic and I invite you to share your opinion, starting with — should we get involved? And if so
How should we get involved?
Are there any current resources that we can make available to members?
How should we fund these endeavors?
Is a benevolent fund or foundation a viable option for funding for those in distress?
The most recent article from the Association of American Veterinary Medical Colleges by Skipper and Williams (7) provides a serious call to action: “There is a critical need for action. For action to be effective, it clearly needs to be undertaken with the involvement of all of the agencies concerned with veterinary medicine, including the Student Chapter of the American Veterinary Medical Association, the American Association of Veterinary State Boards, the Association of American Veterinary Medical Colleges, and the American Veterinary Medical Association, if this ticking time-bomb is to be defused.” To me it is obvious that the respective Canadian organizations must be involved as well.
As suggested in my previous editorial — please make your opinions heard, either to the CVMA (admin@cvma-acmv.org) or to me directly (www.skyvet.com, jim@skyvet.com or cvmapresident@cvma-acmv.org) Stay calm! Stay well!
Footnotes
Use of this article is limited to a single copy for personal study. Anyone interested in obtaining reprints should contact the CVMA office (hbroughton@cvma-acmv.org) for additional copies or permission to use this material elsewhere.
References
- 1.Mellanby RJ. Incidence of suicide in the veterinary profession in England and Wales. Vet Rec. 2005;157:415–417. doi: 10.1136/vr.157.14.415. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- 2.Bartram DJ, Baldwin DS. Veterinary surgeons and suicide: Influences, opportunities and research directions. Vet Rec. 2008;162:36–40. doi: 10.1136/vr.162.2.36. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- 3.Bartram DJ, Baldwin DS. Veterinary surgeons and suicide: A structured review of possible influences on increased risk. Vet Rec. 2010;166:388–397. doi: 10.1136/vr.b4794. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- 4.Jones-Fairnie H, Ferroni P, Silburn S, Lawrence D. Suicide in Australian veterinarians. Aust Vet J. 2008;86:114–116. doi: 10.1111/j.1751-0813.2008.00277.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- 5.Fritschi L, Morrison D, Shirangi A, Day L. Psychological well-being of Australian veterinarians. Aust Vet J. 2009;87:76–81. doi: 10.1111/j.1751-0813.2009.00391.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- 6.Hatch PH, Winefield HR, Christie BA, Lievaart JJ. Workplace stress, mental health, and burnout of veterinarians in Australia. Aust Vet J. 2011;89:460–468. doi: 10.1111/j.1751-0813.2011.00833.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- 7.Skipper GE, Williams JB. Failure to acknowledge high suicide risk among veterinarians. J Vet Med Educ. 2012;39:79–82. doi: 10.3138/jvme.0311.034R. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]