Veterinary professionals under age 30 suffer the highest rate of burnout, according to a study conducted by the CEO of Veterinary Integration Solutions.
Ivan Zakharenkov, DVM, used the widely recognized Professional Fulfillment Index (PFI) to measure the responses of 1,457 people, mostly veterinarians and veterinary technicians, in all age groups. The project was conducted as part of his MBA dissertation.
The younger professionals stood out when asked about their emotional and physical exhaustion, enthusiasm and “sense of dread when I think about the work I have to do.”
“This finding is even more alarming because, in general, the veterinarian population is young. For example, 38% of U.S. vets are age 40 and under,” said Dr. Zakharenkov, also known as Dr. Zak.
“The reason for higher burnout can be that the younger generation places more emphasis on the work-life balance,” he said. “It’s harder for them to handle long hours or experience frustration from other factors such as the lack of control when dealing with problems at work.
“Looking to address this problem in my dissertation, I have considered a correlation between veterinary and human health care industries and proposed that implementing lean thinking methodology can help support veterinary employees’ mental well-being and keep their motivation levels high.”
Forty-three percent of the survey respondents were veterinarians and 38% were veterinary technicians. Also quizzed were practice managers, veterinary assistants, receptionists and veterinary technologists.
More information about the burnout survey is available at bit.ly/2HAgpeg.
Veterinary Integration Solutions, a data and analytics company, is headquartered in Saint John, Canada.
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