Suicide in Veterinary
Hello good people who are reading this, I hope you are having a good day and if not I hope your day gets better, just think of all the things you have to be thankful for. Carrying on with the show, this week I know I've done quite a few posts on this topic but I feel that it's so important and as I'm not a vet yet it is quite hard to give you in depth explanations and diagnosis of clinical problems, however one thing I can relate to is mental health. At some point in your life everyone will experience some form of mental health issue, our mental state is a very volatile thing and I believe that it is important to speak out about any issues we are having, just like if I had a really bad stomach ache or I broke a bone I would tell people, this is how it should be for mental health, because you have a mental health issue does not mean you have failed or you aren't worthy, you are and you deserve help and you can overcome it. So lets get on with the main blog.
Back in 2004 a statistic was bought to light that it was 4 times more likely for a veterinarian to commit suicide than it was a doctor, nowadays the top 5 professions for suicide rates are Doctors, Dentists, Police officers, Veterinarians and Financial services. Since 2004 a many steps have been taken to try and adjust this statistic and to discover the reasons behind it because back then it was very unclear as to why this was the case. Back then it was thought that the reason the statistic was so high was because vets had the means to commit suicide, they euthanize animals often so they knew the possibilities, many used to say that if lawyers had the same availability of resources the suicide rate would be just as high. However since then research has been done to find that this is only I single part of a web of issues leading to suicide in the veterinary profession. Rosie Alistair from Edinburgh University is researching wellbeing in the veterinary profession and is the chair of VetLife helpline which is a confidential service that deals with professionals in veterinary and their issues. She has found that there are 3 other major factors of workplace distress, Occupational stress is one, Psychological distress is another and the reluctance to seek help is the final one, which all lead to veterinary being high on the list for suicide rates. All veterinary students have to be extremely driven, every year thousands apply for a limited number of spaces, with only the brightest gaining places, to be truthful I was hoping this was going to be me however that was not to be and I think taking a year out will help me discover new things and really be able o stabilise my mental state ready for university next year.
Carrying on, so these really intelligent students get into university and throw themselves into the 5 years of hard study. I know that universities are now doing so much more to try and combat the early signs of mental health and are trying to educate their students more and more that it is okay to seek help and this is wonderful, however there is still a cultural issue in the veterinary profession, to be a vet you must be extremely intelligent and driven as I said but this often means that you won't or can't admit to yourself that you can't something or that you aren't okay. This is so important it is okay if you can't do something, I believe that being able to admit this and realise that you need help is the biggest hurdle if you can do that then your already most of the way there. If we could just break the stigma about mental health and talk about it like we do our normal health then I think that this issue could slowly be dealt with because people would be realising they needed the help and be able to access it early on so that these minor issues don't develop into something much larger.
People will often say of being a vet must be a great job, these people saying that aren't vets most of the vets I've done work experience with have really questioned me about whether I really want to be a vet and they've eluded to all of the issues that they face on a day to day basis, I addresses some of these issues in a previous post if you would like to go and read it. Many new grad veterinary students though they will have done weeks upon weeks of EMS in their course they still have a massive change in expectations which they move into practice after university. One of the major changes that they have to deal with is the moral distress first hand of being vet, this is when you know by your own morals and beliefs the right thing to do for the patient however this can't be done often due to a lack of financial support from the owners, so many ethical dilemmas can arise because o that. In this there are a few subgroups that are more likely to experience workplace mental health issues, 1. the under 35's, 2. females and 3. people who work alone often. I think that its these group who need to be targeted and have systems set up to help them with these potential problems. One thing I head on the radio was a vet saying that his job was his passion and his poison, he said many vets will take on extra stresses that will pile up on them however because of this can do attitude they won't want to admit that it is too much, this needs to change, and he also said that new graduates need to learn that euthanasia isn't a failure, objectives must be set and in some cases the euthanasia of an animal can be for the best and he said that new graduates need to keep this in mind the wellbeing of the animal comes first, alongside this he stressed that when first going into a practice it is important to find one with a god support system for new vets as there will inevitably be new workplace stresses and issues that you will deal with that you may no have realised.
Wow that was hard hitting I hope you enjoyed that small insight into this rather major issue, I know that the other professions such as medicine and dentistry are being targeted in universities as well now and I think that this is so important no one should ever get to the point doing a job they worked so hard for where they feel so alone and detached that they even consider suicide, we need to make this something that everyone talks about it is soooo important and yes those extra o's were necessary. Remember that if you are reading this and at any point you thought wow this could be me go and talk to someone, if you are at university then they will have counsellors, mentors, student listeners even professors that will listen and help you. If you are in the work place then speak to one of your colleagues and if you feel you can't do that then call Vetlife on 0303 040 2551, or you can email them just search Vetlife on google and it's the first result to come up. If in other cases you are looking for ways to deal with workplace or mental health issue then I have done a few posts on that before, I recommend finding something you love that switches your brain off, I like sport for this, or reading a good book, and also why not try meditation or joining a social group to talk to people about things that aren't your job, surround yourself with supportive people who you can trust and who will listen to you.
Thank you so much for reading this, I truly feel that this is so important no one ever deserves to get to the point where they are considering suicide, so please people who have read this share it and help more people look for signs and offer your help, but remember someone admitting they are having an issue is the biggest hurdle so don't force it out of them. thank you again for reading and I will see you next week.
Back in 2004 a statistic was bought to light that it was 4 times more likely for a veterinarian to commit suicide than it was a doctor, nowadays the top 5 professions for suicide rates are Doctors, Dentists, Police officers, Veterinarians and Financial services. Since 2004 a many steps have been taken to try and adjust this statistic and to discover the reasons behind it because back then it was very unclear as to why this was the case. Back then it was thought that the reason the statistic was so high was because vets had the means to commit suicide, they euthanize animals often so they knew the possibilities, many used to say that if lawyers had the same availability of resources the suicide rate would be just as high. However since then research has been done to find that this is only I single part of a web of issues leading to suicide in the veterinary profession. Rosie Alistair from Edinburgh University is researching wellbeing in the veterinary profession and is the chair of VetLife helpline which is a confidential service that deals with professionals in veterinary and their issues. She has found that there are 3 other major factors of workplace distress, Occupational stress is one, Psychological distress is another and the reluctance to seek help is the final one, which all lead to veterinary being high on the list for suicide rates. All veterinary students have to be extremely driven, every year thousands apply for a limited number of spaces, with only the brightest gaining places, to be truthful I was hoping this was going to be me however that was not to be and I think taking a year out will help me discover new things and really be able o stabilise my mental state ready for university next year.
Carrying on, so these really intelligent students get into university and throw themselves into the 5 years of hard study. I know that universities are now doing so much more to try and combat the early signs of mental health and are trying to educate their students more and more that it is okay to seek help and this is wonderful, however there is still a cultural issue in the veterinary profession, to be a vet you must be extremely intelligent and driven as I said but this often means that you won't or can't admit to yourself that you can't something or that you aren't okay. This is so important it is okay if you can't do something, I believe that being able to admit this and realise that you need help is the biggest hurdle if you can do that then your already most of the way there. If we could just break the stigma about mental health and talk about it like we do our normal health then I think that this issue could slowly be dealt with because people would be realising they needed the help and be able to access it early on so that these minor issues don't develop into something much larger.
People will often say of being a vet must be a great job, these people saying that aren't vets most of the vets I've done work experience with have really questioned me about whether I really want to be a vet and they've eluded to all of the issues that they face on a day to day basis, I addresses some of these issues in a previous post if you would like to go and read it. Many new grad veterinary students though they will have done weeks upon weeks of EMS in their course they still have a massive change in expectations which they move into practice after university. One of the major changes that they have to deal with is the moral distress first hand of being vet, this is when you know by your own morals and beliefs the right thing to do for the patient however this can't be done often due to a lack of financial support from the owners, so many ethical dilemmas can arise because o that. In this there are a few subgroups that are more likely to experience workplace mental health issues, 1. the under 35's, 2. females and 3. people who work alone often. I think that its these group who need to be targeted and have systems set up to help them with these potential problems. One thing I head on the radio was a vet saying that his job was his passion and his poison, he said many vets will take on extra stresses that will pile up on them however because of this can do attitude they won't want to admit that it is too much, this needs to change, and he also said that new graduates need to learn that euthanasia isn't a failure, objectives must be set and in some cases the euthanasia of an animal can be for the best and he said that new graduates need to keep this in mind the wellbeing of the animal comes first, alongside this he stressed that when first going into a practice it is important to find one with a god support system for new vets as there will inevitably be new workplace stresses and issues that you will deal with that you may no have realised.
Wow that was hard hitting I hope you enjoyed that small insight into this rather major issue, I know that the other professions such as medicine and dentistry are being targeted in universities as well now and I think that this is so important no one should ever get to the point doing a job they worked so hard for where they feel so alone and detached that they even consider suicide, we need to make this something that everyone talks about it is soooo important and yes those extra o's were necessary. Remember that if you are reading this and at any point you thought wow this could be me go and talk to someone, if you are at university then they will have counsellors, mentors, student listeners even professors that will listen and help you. If you are in the work place then speak to one of your colleagues and if you feel you can't do that then call Vetlife on 0303 040 2551, or you can email them just search Vetlife on google and it's the first result to come up. If in other cases you are looking for ways to deal with workplace or mental health issue then I have done a few posts on that before, I recommend finding something you love that switches your brain off, I like sport for this, or reading a good book, and also why not try meditation or joining a social group to talk to people about things that aren't your job, surround yourself with supportive people who you can trust and who will listen to you.
Thank you so much for reading this, I truly feel that this is so important no one ever deserves to get to the point where they are considering suicide, so please people who have read this share it and help more people look for signs and offer your help, but remember someone admitting they are having an issue is the biggest hurdle so don't force it out of them. thank you again for reading and I will see you next week.
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