Vet Med

The 5 Freedoms Revisited – An Epilogue (Part 2): Freedom From Want

By Dr. Amelia Knight Pinkston

The high burnout and suicide rate in the veterinary profession cannot be our norm, and it doesn’t have to be. Dr. Don DeForge’s article “The Veterinary 5 Freedoms” was inspired from a speech designed to rally change for “a world attainable in our own time and generation”. Change is possible starting now – today. As a profession we need to be asking, “what specifically needs to change to foster a su…

The 5 Freedoms Revisited – An Epilogue (Part 1)

The high burnout and suicide rate in the veterinary profession cannot be our norm, and it doesn’t have to be. While reading Dr. Don DeForge’s article “The Veterinary 5 Freedoms”, I appreciated his inspiration from a speech designed to rally change for “a world attainable in our own time and generation”. Change is possible starting now – today. You summit a mountain one small step at a time. As a profession we need to be asking, “what specifical…

I frequently used to wish that I could just escape from my brain.

I was exhausted - from a job that made me feel empty by the end of the day, from trying to keep up with a never-ending to-do list, from being anxious even when I didn’t know what was making me anxious which made me even more anxious, and from trying so hard and yet always feeling behind.

Yet the moment I would try to relax, my brain would get louder with thoughts like:

• "You don't have time for this"
• "Oh, you never scheduled …

Here’s a summary of why the vet profession has such a high burnout and suicide rate.

The veterinary profession selects people who are deeply empathetic. We become veterinarians because we are following our heart. If we were logical, we would go to medical school where we could make double the salary and focus on one species. Instead, we follow our hearts.

In order to get into vet school, we have to get excellent grades, do tons of extracurriculars, volunteer in animal hospitals, and general…