The topic of veterinary wellness has received increasing attention over the last decade. Whether prompted by societal concern for health and wellness in general, or the growing awareness of the troubling incidence of suicide in the profession, veterinary wellness is in the spotlight across Canada, and worldwide. We could ask, “Is this because veterinarians’ health is worse than it used to be? Are the challenges of practice becoming overwhelming?” According to Dr. Jean Wallace in a recent study identifying the stressful parts of veterinarians’ work and how it relates to their wellness, “more and more veterinarians are suffering from compassion fatigue, burnout, and suicidal behaviours.”

Certainly the stressful aspects of veterinary practice are not new to those in practice. Veterinary practitioners are known to endure long hours, on average working 50 to 60 hours per week. Beyond the fatigue that accompanies this and the wide-ranging fallouts of work-life imbalance (relationship breakdowns, social isolation, insufficient self-care, and inadequate coping — all significant stressors in themselves) veterinarians’ work is emotionally charged, and therein, emotionally taxing. The context of pain, suffering, worries, fear, failures, and death can wear on veterinarians and their co-workers, and even potentiate discord among hospital personnel and difficult relations with clients, causing further stress and distress. The moral distress of balancing quality patient care with client financial means, and the psycho-socio-emotional realities of euthanasia (both humane- and economic-based) are daily aspects of practice that threaten to undermine even the most resilient.