Drug Abuse In The Veterinary Profession

828 Words2 Pages

The first time when I heard about abusing of substance drug was during my first semester final exam in the veterinary school as the first year veterinary student. I still clearly remember some of my classmates who had pale faces, dilated pupil, with strange and unusual behavior. Since then I learned that drug abuse is not only common during the final exams, but it is quite common in the veterinary profession as well. The addiction and drug abuse in the veterinary profession necessitates us, as the profession, to address and answer a couple important questions such as, what are the main underlying causes that lead a veterinarian student/doctor toward addiction? What would be the impact of this problem on a veterinarian carrier in the future? …show more content…

In my opinion, the most important cause during the school time that may lead the veterinary student toward emotional, mental, and physical exhaustion is excessive and prolonged stress caused by absolutely difficult curriculums. Sequentially, some students are not able to handle these stressful situations regardless of the amount of help they receive from the school or faculty, and they eventually feel that they have nothing more to give; at this vital point they begin taking drugs and/or alcohol to cope with what they are emotionally, mentally, and physically struggling with. After graduation, the texture of problems are different; this time the reality of the veterinary profession acts as the main stressor; In the real world, we enter the profession that has little support for us, has long working hours and tremendous stress, is not going to pay us fairly, and exerts competitive and marketing pressure on our shoulder. Sooner or later we find ourselves in the unfriendly environment where we do not feel joyful and satisfied and are not able to live up our dream and more importantly pay back our student loan. Now, we possess more problems than what we encountered in the veterinary school, which was just studying hard to gain good grades. Consequently, these domino effects gradually …show more content…

The stereotype that “ a veterinarian just having fun” or “ a veterinary is a easy job because it is not dealing with real patients” is far away from the reality of the veterinary profession. The veterinary is a unique profession in the several aspects not only because our patients have four legs and cannot speak up for itself, nor have to we always be there for the animals’ owner with our heart at any circumstances, but because we hold government DEA licenses to dispense addictive and narcotic medications, which there are not yet formal guidelines or procedures in place. For instance, Ketamine, the powerful dissociative, and nitrous oxide for anesthesia are routine temptations in veterinary office that have a high rate of

Open Document