A job of suicide. Veterinarians reach for life three times more often

Data related to a new American study published in the Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association is based on data collected over thirty years from more than eleven thousand doctors. About four hundred veterinarians, mostly men, committed suicide in that period. According to statistics, men die most between the ages of 44 and 65, women at a younger age, from 25 to 44.

In addition to the great stress of managing the surgery, pressure from clients for a low price, and aggressiveness of people, the suicidal tendencies of veterinarians are also exacerbated by the fact that they have almost daily experience with euthanasia. They have legal access to the relevant funds. "They see that it's a process that's not painful. And this is a very similar phenomenon in how anesthesiologists think when they see how it is done," confirms psychiatrist Martin Anders from the Psychiatric Clinic of the First Faculty of Medicine of the Charles University and the General University Hospital in Prague.

The problem is not just across the ocean. The same trend is visible in our country. "I know of three cases and they were a combination of professional and personal problems," confirms veterinarian Martin Vlček from Dobronín. "I myself ended up in the ICU at the age of 30 due to burnout and overwork. I'm being careful today, but it's hard. You are a willow that is available 24 hours a day.'

According to the study, a combination of several factors is behind the higher proportion of veterinarian suicides. Above all, they are long and unlimited working hours, which often means round-the-clock service on the phone. There's also the stress of high client expectations, the high level of compassion that comes with the job, and the financial stress. On the one hand, from loans to set up a doctor's office, on the other hand, from the need to "ask for money".

"Especially for introverts, it is difficult to defend their price. A lot of people are emotionally blackmailed because of it. They scold us for being expensive or try to bargain. I am met with the fact that he immediately declares, I need to treat the dog, but I have no money. They say they've been robbed, lost their jobs, or are on benefits. Another aspect is that people are not used to paying for their health, so they have no idea how much care costs themselves," explains Radka Vaňusová, president of the Chamber of Veterinary Doctors of the Czech Republic.

Her words are also confirmed by Prague veterinarian Martina Načeradská. She also encounters the fact that people are convinced that veterinary care, like humane care, should be free. "They no longer see that humane doctors are paid by insurance companies, us veterinarians are paid by no one other than clients. And all the machines are insanely expensive. Only the blood test machines and the microscope cost less than a million crowns, the sonography machine almost 600,000. I have to earn money and repay the loans for all the "toys" that I use for diagnosis," says Načeradská, who brought the study to the editor's attention.

In the Czech Republic, almost half of veterinarians do not live to reach the age of 60

Czech statistics on how many people choose suicide in relation to their profession are not available in our country. However, it is clear from the data of the veterinary chamber that almost half of its members will not live to see their 60th birthday. "It's common knowledge that vets don't live to be old. The reasons are exhaustion, stress, and perhaps even alcohol related to the burnout syndrome," calculates Vaňusová.

Relevant data was not provided by the Veterinary and Pharmaceutical Faculty in Brno either. However, some cases of suicides of Czech veterinarians are also linked to it. Several doctors, including sources from the faculty, confirmed this to MF DNES.

For example, a young doctor and assistant professor from the Small Animal Diseases Clinic there took her own life years ago. Her difficulties were related to both the profession and partner problems. Another case involved an assistant professor from the Clinic for Diseases of Dogs and Cats, and another unfortunate story was directly related to a student in the last year of the faculty who struggled with extremely demanding studies and committed suicide before one of the last state exams.

"It would be good if the veterinary faculty included the topic of mental health in its curriculum. A fellow veterinarian told me that at the faculty he mainly learned to work with animals, but today veterinary medicine is also about business. They didn't have psychology at all, and in practice it comes across that they lack the psychology of business," thinks psychiatrist Martin Anders.

However, the Chamber of Veterinary Doctors reacted to the increasing cases of suicide, depression and anxiety. "For three years, we have been trying to educate our veterinarians so that they can manage their time better, and we are trying to guide them to recognize the symptoms of burnout and start working on it in time," says Radka Vaňusová.

Euthanasia of animals is psychologically very demanding

The euthanasia of animals is a separate chapter in the work of a veterinarian. Veterinarians have legal access to the T61 injection solution, a substance intended for euthanasia, and thus ending the animal's suffering is a regular part of their work. "If you know how to induce a quick and painless death, suicide can become an easily accessible option for you in the event of an extreme life situation," explains veterinarian Zuzana Svobodová, who participates in burnout prevention seminars for doctors and final year students within the chamber. veterinary faculty.

According to MF DNES sources, suicide with the injectable substance T61 has also happened in our country in the past. But euthanasia is also accompanied by great human emotions. This subsequently causes severe stress for doctors. The reactions of the owners are sometimes extremely tense. "There are good and bad euthanasias, but I experienced that people cursed me, that I was actually an executioner," Vaňusová describes.

Another big stressor is today's online time and Facebook, which can bear everything. "Especially for female veterinarians, it is sometimes really difficult to handle these attacks and complaints, especially if they are conducted in the so-called trench warfare of social networks," confirms Svobodová.

Social networks are another of the topics that the chamber wants to focus on. "Veterinarians are slowly collapsing because of what everyone writes about them on Facebook. However, the way it works for us is that the best recommendation is a recommendation from the patient. And we each have only one reputation," concludes Vaňusová.