Coping with the Unique Stressors of Veterinary Work 

Stressor #1: Crossing the Hallway Between Life and Death

Let’s dive right into one of the hardest aspects of the work. This is something you won’t see in any other workplace.

You have an appointment where someone’s pet must be euthanized. You stand in that confined room with the owners, absorbing all of their emotions and trying to balance the need to remain steady with their need for empathy.

And then, you walk out of the room, shut the door, and have about 30 seconds to regroup before you walk across the hall into another exam room where a brand new puppy hops up and down as healthy as can be.

And the day is just beginning.

Meanwhile, what if the animal you just euthanized was one you treated for years? What if you got to know the owners well? What if this animal went through a particularly difficult fight with a disease and simply didn’t make it? What the owners followed all of your instructions, and this is where things ended up?

There’s no need to go further with this example except to say you are seen, and you are not alone. Transitioning between the environments of the exam rooms alone is a stressful roller coaster, day after day.

But what if you could learn to reset yourself quickly? What if you could enter the room with the puppy with a clear mind and a full heart and fully embrace the joyful moments of your work? 

Stressor #2 - Putting a Price on an Animal’s Life

When a doctor treats a human, they recommend the best treatment, period. Then, discussions about how much it costs happen elsewhere, with insurance companies and billing departments.

When a veterinarian recommends treatment, they have to talk about costs in the treatment room.

That’s incredibly stressful. Most pet owners don’t have insurance, and even if they do, the costs of treatment can be prohibitive.

Meanwhile, you meet with a great deal of skepticism about the pricing. Owners feel out of control in this kind of situation, and they assume you are overpriced or even recommending unnecessary treatments. Some of them will look at you and see a wealthy doctor asking them to spend exorbitant amounts of money when you sit there with $250,000 of debt from veterinary school, just trying to get by in life.

You do your best to recommend options and pathways and help them weigh the risks all while an animal sits there suffering in the room.

And if you are truly honest, you find yourself wanting to recommend less. You want to relieve the stress in the room, to be liked by the owner, to not offend anyone. But if you do that, who is advocating for the actual patient? It is simply a terrible position to be in, and again, you close the door to the exam room to find your way to another conversation just like it across the hall.

Believe it or not, you can learn to handle it and end the day knowing you did your best for the animals in your care.

Stressor #3 - Co-Workers Colliding in the Clinic

Dealing with spicy colleagues might not seem unique at first, but in a veterinary clinic, everyone is facing the same environment, the same unique challenges you are facing.

So, if it wasn't hard enough to deal with your own stress, here you are facing other staff members who are also moving between exam rooms and difficult interactions with patients and owners. Everyone's stress builds off one another in a rapid, intense way in a clinical environment.

Everyone in the facility is speeding up, not just externally in terms of the busy schedule, but internally - mentally and physically - as a reaction to stress. Meanwhile, no one wants to be the one who does something to slow down the team. The tension hangs thick in the air.

And as you speed up, when someone does make a mistake or isn't doing well at their job, it makes your day harder. Stress cancels out empathy and understanding and frustration takes over. People say and do things they later regret.

You might also face senior staff who have never found ways to cope with the stress of veterinary care. They carry years of anger and exhaustion from the cycle described above, and some emerge as real bullies in the workplace.

This might not be the case every day, and it might not be the norm in your clinic. I hope not. But when these collisions of crankiness cause temperatures to rise in the building, you don’t have to ride the wave. You can learn to stand apart, manage the stress, and find a positive pathway through the day. 

Breaking the Patterns of Stress in Veterinary Care

It is possible to take back control of your day and cope with the stress of the clinic and, quite frankly, you must.

The stress of veterinary practice, unmanaged, takes a heavy toll.

• It follows you home, affecting your relationships and your sleep.

• You begin to burnout and lose your effectiveness in practice.

• Your health suffers due to a lack of proper nutrition, exercise, and self-care.

• You look to unhealthy coping mechanisms for relief, turning to alcohol or losing yourself in long binge-watching sessions.

I experienced many of these signs of stress myself and observed all of them in my staff, which is why I went on a quest to develop a technique for handling the stress of practice. After extensive research and discussions with health professionals from various disciplines, I developed The Power of Pacing®, a technique which I implemented in my own life and as part of my day-to-day mentoring of younger veterinarians.

Here’s what is happening to you as you cross the hallway from exam room to exam room all day long. All of the stress you’re experiencing in veterinary practice causes your body and mind to speed up.

It feels awful, but again, you are not alone! All veterinarians experience this, and it is a normal response.

The technique I developed helps you to slow your mind and body down again by . . .

• Recognizing what’s happening to you and why.

• Redirecting your response.

• Replacing the mental script running in your mind with one that restores calm.

• Repairing the physical effects of the event you just experienced.

• Refocusing on the task ahead of you, or the next exam room on the schedule, with a clear mind.

The Power of Pacing® is a repeatable technique that eventually becomes second nature, allowing you, believe it or not, to reset yourself even in the exam room before you ever have to cross that hallway. Whatever is happening in your day, you can learn to control your response and, in turn, your stress.

And when that happens, confidence returns. Joy returns, you just might find yourself looking forward to coming back tomorrow.

There are many ways to cope with stress in the workplace. What I know first hand is that this technique works, and I would love to share more about it in a brief introductory call.

Meanwhile, I am grateful for the work you do. It is hard, but with the right tools in hand, you can handle it and continue to make a big difference in the lives of the animals and owners who come your way each day.

I’ll be here when you need me.

“Dr R”

William Rogatz DVM, DABVP - Canine & Feline Specialty

Lead Performance Consultant - The Power of Pacing®