Veterinarian Suicide

The social environment has failed to recognize the high rate of suicide in veterinarians. In the past few years, studies have shown that they complete suicide at four times the rate of the general population. Those developments sparked further research to try to figure out why the suicide rate was so substantial. If the system is the veterinary profession, than other subsystems involved would be veterinary school, veterinary hospitals, and private practice. Macro social environment parts of the system would be socioeconomic status of the area they practice, cost of school, and debt and expensive interest rates. Other systems involved that also have an affect on veterinarian suicide include family systems and client systems. Theories also

The support systems could include one-on-one peer support, support lines directed towards the veterinary profession, continuing education hours that focused on their emotional health, and education of supervisors. In interviews veterinarians suggested that the one-on-one peer support should be mandatory at certain times in the veterinary profession when suicide risk is at it is highest. The reason it was suggested that it be mandatory is considering they believe that several veterinarians will not seek help due to the amount of perfectionist personalities in the profession. Australia has utilized support lines for veterinarians, which may be helpful, but few utilize it. Veterinarians also suggested therapy through email or chat system for the reason that it would be easier for veterinarians to seek out on their busy schedule and veterinarians that may feel comfortable calling a hotline may be more comfortable behind the computer screen. In that the mandatory one on one peer support may be difficult to apply, required continuing education hours with at least a minimum amount required towards emotional health and self-care. It is also important to educate employers so that they know what signs to pay attention to when assessing for suicide risk in their employees. They should also be educated on what to do if they notice suicidal ideation or other risk factors in their employees. For veterinarians no

Clients bringing their animals to a veterinarian involves an array of components. First is client interaction, which is difficult for a portion of veterinarians that find it stressful to talk to clients. This is only true for several, and other veterinarians enjoy speaking to clients and find it to be a rewarding part of the job. One of the reasons that client interactions may become stressful is the financial burden that falls on them when their animal is sick. Humans can access an advanced insurance compared to the pet insurance available. Pet insurance plans only cover what the client has already paid for the service, minus the deductible and percentage. Also, on the grounds that animals cannot speak, veterinarians require extra testing to find the problem. Another reason that client interaction may be stressful is that the veterinarians are usually there when he or she euthanize his or her pets. The clients are grieving and the veterinarian is the only person they know to talk to. Few counselors recognize pet grief, so often the clients continued to call to talk to the veterinarian about their