When Veterinary Medicine gives you Lemons, make Lemonade
A 3-ingredient recipe
Alexandra Yaksich, B.Sc, AHT
We hear often about compassion fatigue in the industry. We hear it until our ears turn blue. We are facing a big problem, us veterinary people. For technicians and veterinarians, employment opportunities are projected to grow 16%, or a doubling of job offers in the next 5 years, “much faster than the average of all occupations”. 1 Yet, fewer of us are staying in the field, and we all know how difficult it is to find staff.
What exactly is compassion fatigue? As defined by the Merriam-Webster dictionary: “apathy or indifference toward the suffering of others as the result of overexposure to tragic news stories and images and the subsequent appeals for assistance.”2 It is also often described as the negative cost of caring3. I suspect compassion fatigue plays a major role in our lack of staff, or staff that will not stay in the field, in ways that we may not intuitively consider. It’s not like compassion fatigue is a disease that can target at random. As caregivers, we are all susceptible to it.
We do a compassionate job, compassion fatigue is natural for us, and thankfully because we’re caregivers and compassionate people, we’re all working to normalize that this is a part of our field, and that it’s okay to talk about it.
However, practical application of strategies to combat this type of strain in our profession, or the knowledgebase to recognize that it’s happening in others, seem fewer and further between.
While the old adage solutions are certainly effective when they’re applied – you know the ones – eat healthy, meal prep, exercise, take time off… this can be very difficult to actually implement. When on the verge of depression, compassion fatigue, or burnout, by definition, the motivation and physical or emotional energy to even start to make those positive changes in one’s life is non-existent. When it rains, it pours.
Let’s talk a numbers game for a minute – and stay with me, it’ll be short I promise:
There is an interesting mathematical concept called the Pareto Distribution. Its formula is commonly known to describe the distribution of wealth4, or the 80/20 rule.
It started when Pareto, an Italian economist in the early 1900s, noticed in his garden that 20% of the peapods were producing 80% of the peas! He looked further and realized that 20% of the population in Italy owned 80% of the land at the time5. The people who accumulate the most wealth make up a small percentage of the total population.
Interestingly enough, this distribution is an observation of all facets of life. It holds a multitude of different social structures and events, from finance to social networking to mRNA shedding in birds.6 It even applies to the old business axiom, 20% of your clients will produce 80% of your sales.
When we look at this on a graph, it means that depending on the direction you’re moving toward, you’re either going to go exponentially up, or exponentially down. 7
We can take this concept and apply it to mental health.
Have you ever noticed you either spiral up or spiral down? Balance itself is a feat for Hercules.
The moment we begin to feel compassion fatigue, we are at risk for the spiral down. A very big problem we face is that it can be so difficult to identify when that is taking place. Further, as technicians, we have a double-fold problem. Our paygrade is so low we often have difficulty to afford all of the things we need to treat ourselves, mainly, the time we need to take in order to mend our hearts and minds. In all the articles about compassion fatigue, I have yet to hear this being discussed.
The financial constraints we experience only serve to narrow our perception of ourselves (and wallets). We don’t have a lot of wiggle room.
So, what are some practical examples of how we can start to make real change in our industry? What is the recipe for this veterinary lemonade?
Talk about it – and be honest.
You probably grew up thinking that talking about money was a huge faux-pas. It was practically engrained in us. Yet, on virtually every technician group online, it is the topic we see the most: How to function on a low wage, how to find work-life balance when we need to get a second job, etc. It’s a real tragedy in our profession that so many talented, qualified people working to help animals would have so much strain imposed on them.
I would encourage us to discuss this in an open way with our friends, colleagues, mentors, anyone! The more we talk, the more we find out! Take a look at this amazing statistic from the CVMA: each extra RVT per vet increased gross revenues per vet by $78,000! Where’s our street cred for that?
When you open this door, you can only gain something! And if we talk about it, who knows, something might come out of it! It’s definitely better to get it off our chests than to let it simmer. Once we walk through that door, we can start to see ways in which we can increase revenues even more, and therefore take-home more! Once the creativity ball starts rolling… it’ll only spiral up.
2. Support Businesses that encourage social reform / actively help our industry
This is where money can be fun: when the belief that a dollar spent is a choice made. Whether that is business-to-business or person-to-business spending.
Is it really worth buying a cheaper product when you know the profits are going to a cause you morally disagree with? Let’s rephrase that – is it worth taking the time to research the companies you purchase from? You bet!
If we all made collective choice to opt for great quality and sustainable practices, we would push social change through our purchases. Think of companies like Wilder-Harrier, they are a dog food company that sources their meat from a species of invasive carp that are a threat to population dynamics in lakes and rivers. They turn a problem into a solution, feeding our pets with a more sustainable source of protein. You can see the whole process on their website. Look for companies who create sustainable, ecological, and fair-trade products. Those who endow a sense of corporate responsibility is a good strategy to pave the way, through economics, for fair wages.
Some companies have completely flipped the script by turning compassion fatigue around. Euthanasia is a known stressor for us, and companies like Euthabag , a Canadian company founded by a veterinarian, which provides not only a product showing how much we actually care, but a focus on education which can help you feel compassion satisfaction. They’re not a future corporation only there for profit, but for the benefit of the people of vet med. They put so much effort into teaching us things that we don’t learn in school. On top of that, armed with the knowledge on how to handle such delicate obstacles in our daily practice, it’s easy to feel that you did everything right and made a difference in someone’s life. This can fill up your tank rather than empty it. They have a ton of CE available to everyone, for free. Another plus: they always make a special mention to technicians. They add that zest we need for our recipe!
Because companies like this exist, it is setting a standard of what we find acceptable. Great quality and sustainable practices. Much like what our whole profession needs. Our actions in business relations will have a ripple effect which will cause broad changes – changes we need to see. Let’s support these efforts!
3. Give yourself some you time.
This one is tricky for everyone I know in Vet Med. Not only because we can’t seem to peel ourselves away when we’re needed to help, and let’s be real, we’re all so badly understaffed right now. It’s difficult for us caregivers to give back to ourselves. Try to remember how you felt when your tank was full. Were you rested? Hopeful? Upbeat? Remember when empathy was your superpower?! We can get back to that place if we do things that bring us joy. Sometimes, the best way to do that is to allow ourselves some time and space to do the things that make us feel good. Ground yourself in the things you love: what is your cat’s favorite toy? How much do you laugh when they get the zoomies? Spending quality time with kids and pets only serves to do us some good. They don’t even need to be yours! With them, we are forced to be present, to stay in the moment. There is no space for worries there.
Connecting with others in the industry can be more than helpful. Reaching out to, or helping others who are experiencing similar emotions can create a feeling of connection and empower us to move forward through this, together. There are great resources out there that were made for this exact reason, by our very people!
There is a beautiful app called Vets In Mind which is a source of quality information about mental health and wellness for the veterinary people! Created by a veterinarian who aims to encompass as much awareness about the technician perspective as well! It’s a great app to have immediate access to help right when you need it, at your fingertips.
The Vet Girl podcast and website has a plethora of information and prioritizes the topic of compassion fatigue in our industry. They’re one of the first veterinary organizations to add a licensed social worker to their team as a result of the prevalence of mental health issues in our industry. There are people paying attention to this, you are not alone! Dr. Andy Roark’s Uncharted podcast is another great one that gives tons of visibility to technicians and their struggles. It’s amazing to see it’s being promoted to veterinarians as well, encompassing a united approach to understanding our teams better!
Finally, but not least – the Vet Tech Café Podcast!!! For all types of listeners, by technicians. Their goal is to give listeners some insight into the issues that technicians face daily. They have guest experts on the show to talk about ways to advance careers in this field, and offer perspective on our industry as a whole.
Think of it as when your empathy cup is empty, fill it with joy.
It’s also important to take adequate time away. Dr. Turner, a psychologist in Calgary, says her patients often wonder when is a good time to go back to work? How much time do you spend away from work? While this will vary for each individual, I suspect in the throes of burnout or compassion fatigue, more than 1 or 2 days is needed. If this is the case for you, try talking with your practice manager about mental health leave and if there are options available to you through work. Here is a great article that discusses the implications of time off, as well links to resources for leaves-of-absences and government supported programs, so we won’t have to carry the burden of the financial aspect when taking this into consideration.
If our industry is going to thrive, each of us needs to act in such a way to make sure that we take care of ourselves first. A strange concept for us caretakers, but we need to start following our own advice. Each step we take toward bettering ourselves and our industry will ultimately end up increasing the quality of care we give to our patients. After all, they’re the reason why we’re here in the first place. Let’s aim to be in the upward direction of that 80/20.
References
[1] https://www.bls.gov/ooh/healthcare/veterinary-technologists-and-technicians.htm#:~:text=in%20May%202020.-,Job%20Outlook,lab%20work%20on%20household%20pets.
[2] https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/compassion%20fatigue
[3] https://books.google.ca/books?hl=en&lr=&id=2qyVRQ8y7SkC&oi=fnd&pg=PP1&dq=Figley,+Charles+(Ed)+(2002).+Treating+compassion+fatigue.+New+York:+Brunner-Routledge.&ots=XMGynOA-NE&sig=IuIJFfR4_Ob72AR6lXhYjXP_UbY#v=onepage&q=Figley%2C%20Charles%20(Ed)%20(2002).%20Treating%20compassion%20fatigue.%20New%20York%3A%20Brunner-Routledge.&f=false
[4] https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/250536
[5] https://corporatefinanceinstitute.com/resources/knowledge/economics/pareto-distribution/#:~:text=The%20Pareto%20Distribution%20principle%20was,of%20wealth%20among%20the%20population.&text=He%20related%20this%20phenomenon%20to,about%2020%25%20of%20its%20population.
[6] https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0072611
[7] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Generalized_Pareto_distribution#/media/File:Gpdpdf.svg