Why vets need love too

When you have a pet, it’s normal to feel anxious when something happens to them that requires a trip to the vet. It’s best to try and not let yourself get too overwhelmed though as this will not only affect your pet, but can also be detrimental to your vet’s health. While many may think that working with pets all day is a dream job, the reality is that many vets spend their workdays performing euthanasia on sick animals, dealing with difficult clients and experiencing compassion fatigue.    

Tragically, vets deal with an unbelievable amount of stress that has lead them to be four times more likely than the general population to commit suicide. With approximately one vet choosing to end their life every 12 weeks, Dr Nadine Hamilton began the 'Love Your Pet, Love Your Vet’ (LYPLYV) initiative to help reduce the stigma around vets seeking help and to raise awareness of these staggering statistics.

What is LYPLYV?

LYPLYV wants to tackle three things. Firstly, we want to reduce the stigma for those working in the vet industry to seek professional help. The second is to raise community awareness of the statistics behind veterinarian wellbeing and their high burnout and suicide rate. Many members of the community don’t realise the negative impact their behaviour can have on these professionals – particularly if they are being rude, unreasonable or have unrealistic expectations. The third is to provide an outlet for vets to seek help, which is where I come in – they can work with me one-on-one, at one of my training events or via workshops within their own practice. It’s so important we raise awareness of this as it can literally be a “life and death” situation.