By Dr. Johnathan Pierce
We lose colleagues all too often in the veterinary field to suicide. The alarming fact is that female veterinarians are 2.4 times more likely to commit suicide than the general population and male veterinarians are almost 5 times that number. Why are we so prone to suicide?
First, we are passionate about our patients. We see their entire lives from beginning to end, puppy and kitten-hood to their senior years. We are their doctors every step of the way: neonatal, pediatric, preventative medicine, diagnosticians, surgeons and even hospice and end of life. We bring them into the world, and we help usher them into the next. And it is all to provide them with the best quality of life that we can.
This can be extremely taxing on veterinarians and their teams alike. We go from one exam room where we may have had to euthanize one of our patients to the next with a smile. Our days are full of emotional ups and downs.
Second, we are passionate about our clientele. We are here to help you provide a better life for your pet and do it in a way that is comfortable for you. We are here to guide and educate you but also provide care that is consistent with your lifestyle and the way you would like to raise your pets. We often become more than just trusted advisors and doctors but friends. We laugh together and cry together. We often become grief counselors.
Lastly, we provide care for those that may not care for it. We treat patients that do not understand what we are doing to them, who are often fearful, and may try to harm us. Even while trying to provide the most soothing treatment method possible, we are likely to run into patents that just cannot be soothed and have to make medical decisions in how best to treat them. Some pet owners have shown similar tendencies. We have been berated for simple fees to outcomes that may have not been as favorable as expected. This may be the most difficult part of our job. Some veterinarians have even been berated and bullied online by people who are not even their clients for events that had been misrepresented. We have been called names such as money-hungry, uncaring, and far worse things than I can describe here.
We are very fortunate and thankful to be able to provide veterinary care in this wonderful community. Veterinarians and their teams have dedicated their lives to animals and to their pet-owning communities. Please be kind and compassionate to your veterinarians, and everyone around you.
Island Life Animal Hospital
Dr. Danielle Gallo & Dr. Johnathan Pierce
5901 Sun Blvd., Suite 107, St. Petersburg
727-289-3776
islandlifeanimalhospital.vet