Who knew that being a veterinarian was so stressful?
A study conducted by Harvard Medical School finds the doctor caring for your critters suffers from major moral stress, and Michelle Mantor, publisher and editor of Houston Pet Talk Magazine, who is married to a veterinarian, agrees. She says she hears their complaints, and suspects most people don’t appreciate what goes into the training or what is involved in treating a variety of patients. “’Oh, vet care is too expensive, or they just want your money.’ The truth is veterinarian practices are using the same technology, equipment and medications as in human medicine, and vets are also expected to know multiple species in which no two are alike.”
Most stressful of all is euthanasia, and when doctors are called upon by patients to perform the procedure on animals that don’t warrant it their pain is real. Just going through the emotional turmoil of ending a life is draining enough even when done for the right reasons, says Mantor of her husband’s work. “I can’t believe he does this multiple times a week, because it’s very painful for him, but he has to turn around and walk out of that room and go into the next client who is there with their new puppy and have a whole new demeanor and outlook.” Equally gut-wrenching is when an animal is in fatal distress and horrific pain but the owner can’t bring themselves to put their pet down, extending the suffering.
69% of veterinarians say they have felt moderate to severe distress about not being able to give animals what they thought was the right care.