Veterinarians have a tough job. Besides patients sometimes inclined to bite them, many face harassment and bullying from pet owners. Experts say compassion fatigue is common, and many practitioners also have hefty student debts.

All that can add up. Recent studies, in fact, show that female veterinarians are 3.5 times and male veterinarians 2.1 times as likely to die by suicide compared to the general population. 

Prem Sharma, CEO at Tandem Vet Care, shared with MindSite News some of the reasons women in veterinary medicine are especially vulnerable. “Demographically, women now dominate graduating classes (in veterinary schools), yet pay equity and leadership opportunities lag behind, creating financial and professional tension,” he said.

In his experience, women’s emotional labor adds another layer to the workload. ”Female vets are more likely to absorb a client’s grief after a euthanasia, mediate between families debating treatment costs, and answer late-night texts about a pet’s declining appetite.

Each difficult moment might seem minor; over time, however, they increase psychological strain, resulting in elevated mental health risks,” Sharma said. “It’s not about female veterinarians being less resilient; rather, it is the environment surrounding them that magnifies ordinary hardship.”

This can result in burnout, says Sharma – which saps energy – as well as compassion fatigue, which blunts empathy. “A veterinarian spends many hours taking in the worries and sadness of others until her own emotional reserves feel depleted.” 

Sharma recommends some steps clinic leaders can take to better support their veterinarians:

• Emergencies often eat into lunch breaks, so add small buffers throughout the day to give vets and assistants a chance to regroup. 
• Keep the appointment book about 20% open so vets have time for walk-ins.
• Build in 10-minute decompression slots after any high-stress case.
• When work place demands feel overwhelming and compassion fatigue sets in, urge vets on the team to take a few days off. 
• If long hours are unavoidable, mitigate the mental toll by assigning each doctor a trained technician to handle estimates, refills and note-taking.
• Use technology to help stave off burnout: Software, appliances like smart scanners to track inventory, or a triaging system could provide a much-needed couple of hours to regroup or debrief.
• Finally, “vetmed” is meant to be a calling, not a burden. Try to reflect on the day with a five-minute huddle where each team member names one challenging moment and one satisfying win. It’ll help to calm nerves and infuse a sense of purpose.

Sharma fears that unless clinics act with the same urgency they devote to a crashing patient, mental health crises will continue to threaten the well-being not only of clinicians, but of the animals in their care. “This demands more than posters, green ribbons and one-off wellness seminars – it calls for structural changes,” he said. “We need to replace isolation with community and create a profession that feels worthy of the passion that draws so many to it.”

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