Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2023 Jul 3:10:1184525.
doi: 10.3389/fvets.2023.1184525. eCollection 2023.

A narrative review of the physiology and health effects of burnout associated with veterinarian-pertinent occupational stressors

Michele A Steffey  1 , Dominique J Griffon  2 , Marije Risselada  3 , Nicole J Buote  4 , Valery F Scharf  5 , Helia Zamprogno  6 , Alexandra L Winter  7
Affiliations
Review

A narrative review of the physiology and health effects of burnout associated with veterinarian-pertinent occupational stressors

Michele A Steffey et al. Front Vet Sci. .

Abstract

Chronic workplace stress and burnout are serious problems in veterinary medicine. Although not classified as a medical condition, burnout can affect sleep patterns and contributes to chronic low grade systemic inflammation, autonomic imbalance, hormonal imbalances and immunodeficiencies, thereby increasing the risks of physical and psychological ill health in affected individuals. Cultural misconceptions in the profession often lead to perceptions of burnout as a personal failure, ideas that healthcare professionals are somehow at lower risk for suffering, and beliefs that affected individuals can or should somehow heal themselves. However, these concepts are antiquated, harmful and incorrect, preventing the design of appropriate solutions for this serious and growing challenge to the veterinary profession. Veterinarians must first correctly identify the nature of the problem and understand its causes and impacts before rational solutions can be implemented. In this first part of two companion reviews, burnout will be defined, pathophysiology discussed, and healthcare and veterinary-relevant occupational stressors that lead to burnout identified.

Keywords: burnout; occupational stress; practice management; veterinary; wellbeing.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

AW is employed by Merck & Co. The remaining authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
A multi-step model for the development of burnout adapted from concepts described by Freudenberger and de Hert (84, 85).
Figure 2
Figure 2
Described phases of recovery from clinical burnout. Adapted from concepts presented by Pijpker et al. (170).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Volk JO, Schimmack U, Strand EB, Vasconcelos J, Siren CW. Executive summary of the merck animal health veterinarian wellbeing study II. J Am Vet Med Assoc. (2020) 256:1237–44. 10.2460/javma.256.11.1237 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Moses L, Malowney MJ, Wesley Boyd J. Ethical conflict and moral distress in veterinary practice: a survey of North American veterinarians. J Vet Intern Med. (2018) 32:2115–22. 10.1111/jvim.15315 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Bain B, Hansen C, Ouedraogo FB, Radich R, Salois M. 2021 AVMA report on economic state of the veterinary profession. Am Vet Med Assoc Schaumbg IL (2021)
    1. Pohl R, Botscharow J, Böckelmann I, Thielmann B. Stress and strain among veterinarians: a scoping review. Ir Vet J. (2022) 75:15. 10.1186/s13620-022-00220-x - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Kipperman BS, Kass PH, Rishniw M. Factors that influence small animal veterinarians' opinions and actions regarding cost of care and effects of economic limitations on patient care and outcome and professional career satisfaction and burnout. J Am Vet Med Assoc. (2017) 250:785–94. 10.2460/javma.250.7.785 - DOI - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources