This month's JAVMA features confirmation of what those of us in the profession for more than a year or two already suspected: veterinarians are a sad bunch, compared to the general population. Consider these stats from the CDC's first-ever survey of the veterinary population: 1 in 6 have considered suicide; 25% of men and 37% of women in the profession report depressive episodes; 1.1% of men and 1.4% of women have attempted suicide; That last stat is the only one where vets figure in ... Read more »
burnout
Lean On, Over, and Around
March is Women's History Month, if you didn't know. I work in a strange profession, one that has changed quite solidly in demographics from its original incarnation to its current status, graduating classes of row after row of- well, men, mostly- now replaced, to an 80% extent, by women. I spend a lot of time talking about veterinary medicine, and I would say about 80% of the time I am talking about it with women (who'd have guessed?) Does the changing demographic matter? Yes and no. I may be ... Read more »