Tamara Abato-Earwood
Vet Issues
Word Count 557
I still believe suicide is a key issue that veterinarians are facing every day. The veterinary
profession has the highest suicide rate of all the health care professions. My opinion has been
reaffirmed since starting school at WesternU. I was aware that there was a high suicide rate in
the veterinary profession before starting school but during this first block I saw many more
articles on this topic and even learned about it in Vet Issues. When speaking to other students on
various topics about the clinics they worked at, I started to recognize there is a common trend of
how the public perceives the veterinary profession. Negative experiences in vet clinics are due to
unrealistic expectations from clients, and cyberbullying from upset clients. Clients seem to think
that clinics are overpriced, that services should be given out for free because if we don’t, that
means we don’t actually care about the animals. This is devastating to me because I do want to
help every animal I can, but I also know I will not be able to because I still have to be able to
afford my own living costs, as well as continue to pay off my student debt when I enter the field.
I do believe that providing resources for veterinarians to reach out when they are having
suicidal thoughts is critical. But I don’t think providing resources is enough to stop these suicides
because there are already resources out there. There are many 24/7 hotlines out there for people
to reach out when they are having suicidal thoughts, but many people do not feel comfortable
using them. This is because there is negative stigma related to mental health and that people
struggling with it, are just seeking attention and should just ‘get over it.’ In order to stop this
stigma and create an environment that makes people feel confident and comfortable to seek help
the stigma must be broken. Similar to sexual harassment modules required by many schools and
workplaces, I think mental health modules (such as the AVMA one-hour online training course)
should be a mandatory training for everyone in vet school and vet offices to complete on a yearly
Tamara Abato-Earwood
Vet Issues
Word Count 557
basis. Although these modules can be seen as cumbersome, I think they are vital in order to
decrease the number of suicides happening. These training courses will break the stigma related
to mental health allowing those struggling to no longer feel alone and feel confident enough to
ask for help.
While the cause of suicide is multifaceted, stress unfortunately plays a major role in these
various factors only making people feel more stressed and alienated. Ultimately vet school
doesn’t train you to take care of yourself, it trains you to take care of animals, and the stress as a
result of this, can exacerbate suicidal thoughts. In the vet curriculum, I also think it would be
very valuable to have a class or a requirement that forces students to learn how to handle daily
stresses and maintain a healthy balance. This is a lifelong skill that is not only related to working
in the veterinary field. To prevent these multi-factorial suicides the solutions must be
multidimensional, starting with those in school and those that follow. I believe suicide rates will
drastically decrease if these measures are incorporated into veterinary curriculums and clinics.
Tamara Abato-Earwood
Vet Issues
Word Count 557
Work Cited
“Here's Why Suicide Among Veterinarians Is A Growing Problem.” Time, Time, 12 Sept. 2019,
time.com/5670965/veterinarian-suicide-help/.
McGregor, Jennifer. “5 Ways to Break the Stigma Associated with Mental Health.” PsyTech,
www.psytechsolutions.net/break-mental-health-stigma.