How to Use Perspective to Avoid Veterinary Burnout

We veterinarians are tough! We are intelligent! We are talented! We are compassionate! We are AWESOME!

All of us are awesome! It's not said enough... It's not believed enough... It's time we highlight that about ourselves!

We have such an important role to play in society, and we have made so many strides in the past.

However, some of us struggle with wellbeing and fulfillment. However, many of us are feeling the weight of the ‘tough stuff’ of vet med.

In order for us to keep giving the best care for pets and best service to clients, we must gain a grasp on the wellbeing challenges we face.

So how can we do it better? How can we overcome the challenges that the ‘tough stuff’ brings?

Someone once said, “Each day, you’re either getting better, or you’re getting bitter. That one letter difference is up to you.”

Before I get into the “How We Can Do It Better” part, let’s take a look at a few truths.

My intuition tells me that:

a.) we don’t desire things that are impossible to achieve - as a species we’ve overcome gravity and traveled to the moon… if we can get to the moon, you can overcome your burnout. As a species, we desired to build a machine to travel across the seas by air, and we now have so many flights that you can get to just about anywhere and at any time… if we can develop machines like airplanes you can have wellbeing.

b.) obstacles, hurdles, challenges, etc. were meant to be overcome - the mountain was meant to be climbed; darkness and traveling at night was meant to bring the invention of the light bulb (Thanks Thomas for your persistence!!!). If we can surmount these natural obstacles, we can eliminate poor wellbeing... we can make veterinary suicide a thing of the past. Will it be easy? Nope. Is it worth a valiant effort? Of course!

With these two things in mind, I believe the following to be truths:

Wanting to be a veterinarian is proof that you can become one.

Getting into vet school is proof that you can make it through. 

Getting a D.V.M. is proof that you can succeed and be COMPLETELY fulfilled as a veterinarian. 

Having a D.V.M. and owning a Veterinary Practice is proof that you can succeed as a practice owner. 

Notice that I wrote ‘proof’ and not ‘a guarantee’. Notice that I wrote ‘can’ and not ‘will’.

The ‘proof’ will be ‘a guarantee’… and the ‘can’ will be a ‘will’ if you do what is required to achieve what you want. 

This is what I call self-discipline. I define self-discipline as doing what is required to achieve a result especially when you don’t feel like it. 

I believe self-discipline is the heartbeat of success. It’s not the only character trait required to succeed at a thing, but it is a necessary component of succeeding at a thing.

In other words, are you doing what’s required - or do you have the self-discipline - to make it through vet school? 

Are you doing what is required to overcome your burnout? There are dozens of YouTube videos and books on how to overcome burnout. Have you listened to/read them all? 

Are you doing what is required to be completely fulfilled as a veterinarian? Do you know what you need to be completely fulfilled as a veterinarian? How many hours have you spent trying to figure that out? 

Are you doing what is required to have the health and fitness that you want? 

Are you doing what is required to have the marriage or relationship that you want? Again, there are many resources on cultivating quality relationships.

Are you doing what is required to pay off your student loans? There are cool resources to help like Debt-Free Vets and Richer Life DVM. Have you joined them? Have you read each blog post? 

Are you doing what is required to have the full picture of wellbeing that you want? I’ve written a few things that may be useful “The Major Key to Your Wellbeing is You!”. There are lots of books on wellbeing and fulfillment, have you read/listened to them? 

The Awesome and Fun Part:

You can always do it better. Whether you know it or not, you have a wellbeing toolbox - it may be empty or it may be full. Regardless of what’s in it at the moment:

“It’s the small refinements upon something that’s already good that makes it great.” Earl Nightingale

Therefore, there’s never a good reason to quit going after something good (wellbeing is good) because you can always improve and do better. You can always add new tools, strategies, and principles to your toolbox!

If I can overcome burnout, suicidal ideation, over-eating/being overweight, alcohol abuse, a failing marriage, and smoking... If I can overcome adversity and life challenges, then I believe anyone can!