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A new approach to workplace schedules to allow for regular time away from the clinic is emerging as a key strategy for dealing with veterinary career burnout. By John Burfitt
Despite considerable research in recent years into poor mental health and career burnout impacting the Australian veterinary profession, one thing is clear—there is no single solution or magic fix.
But one strategy is gaining momentum across the profession—scheduling long and regular breaks throughout the year for vets to take time out from the demands of clinical practice, to recharge and reset.
For some, time away involves volunteering, further study, research, or teaching. For others, it’s a chance for a holiday. But by building regular breaks into the working year, some vets are recognising that creating space away from the pressures of the practice is essential for protecting their mental health as well as their career longevity.
The need for an effective strategy is clear from the latest figures from the veterinary advocacy organisation Sophie’s Legacy, a charity dedicated to preventing suicide and improving working conditions. A recent study concluded that 50 per cent of vets experience career burnout, and one in six have experienced suicidal thoughts.
According to Dr Oliver Liyou, an equine veterinarian and founder of the EVDS practice in Grafton, NSW, a radical change in thinking is required.
“There needs to be a paradigm shift, and you’ve almost got to burn down the old way of doing things—which has not been working for a long time—to rebuild it so that the profession survives,” he says.
Dr Liyou explains it’s important for vets to get away for a period from the relentless pace of clinical practice before fatigue morphs into burnout.
“This system needs to be seen as valid and workable, but it does take some planning. If you’re willing to take it onboard in your annual planning for the team, then you are heading in the right direction.”
Dr Liyou speaks from experience. On the advice of his psychiatrist, he makes sure he schedules regular breaks in his own annual practice calendar. A strong advocate for mental health support for vets, Dr Liyou faced his own crisis in 2005 when—under various pressures exacerbated by overwhelming practice demands—he attempted suicide.
“The big take from my psychiatrist Dr George Blair-West was that in a caring profession like ours, there is such importance in recognising that if you don’t plan for a break every three months or even a long block of time off, then it is easy to lose sense in the overwhelming aspects of the job.”
Dr Liyou states the benefits in making time for the brain to switch off and unwind from a demanding clinical schedule once every three months has made a huge difference in how he functions the rest of the year.
There needs to be a paradigm shift, and you’ve almost got to burn down the old way of doing things—which has not been working for a long time—to rebuild it so that the profession survives.
Dr Oliver Liyou, founder, EVDS
This approach is one Dr Diederik Gelderman has seen adopted by a number of the practices he works with through his consultancy Turbo Charge Your Practice.
“It’s happening more and more, but unfortunately there’s still too many vets who just reach breaking point and say, ‘I’m out of here’, without trying to explore anything else,” he says.
“This system deserves to be considered more widely. It’s a matter of putting the welfare of the practice and the team first, as when you retain a happy and nurtured team, you can look after the clients and the pets in a much better way.
“The bigger picture is about keeping you and your team happy, so they will not only be great at their jobs but also stay in the profession.”
Ben Marcos of BusiVet has noted a significant change in attitude to taking regular breaks throughout the year. “There has been a movement that small, regular routine ways of managing mental health and stress is encouraged, and taking time out from the stress is crucial,” he says.
“Vets don’t want to wait until it’s ‘too late’ but instead are now looking at taking big breaks every so often throughout the year. While working long hours under tough conditions used to be a badge of honour, taking time out for personal things, including family and sabbaticals, is now supported—and should be.”
Planning for breaks while at the same time managing workplace demands, staffing schedules and client expectations does, Marcos states, take some work. “We’ve seen this successfully incorporated into many clinics, but it’s a matter of planning ahead and allocating break time into the roster and encouraging all vets and the team to take leave regularly.”
The concept of time away from work needs to redefined, HR specialist consultant Sophie Bretag of Metta Leaders advises, and built into a practice’s annual planning at the start of the year. Bretag is the author of the new book, The Kind Way.
“It comes down to planning recovery as a priority, the same way you’d plan anything else,” she says. “That means staggering leave, so the whole clinic isn’t out at once, booking locum cover well in advance rather than at the last minute, and encouraging staff to regularly use their annual leave, including mental health days.”
Bretag stresses good communication and workplace structure is vital. “Communicate early with your team and clients about leave plans, protect your regular breaks, and find what genuinely recharges you, whether that’s setting boundaries, increasing your movement or whatever helps you feel your best.”
Managing client expectations about practitioner availability through modern technology has made keeping patients in the loop easier than ever, Dr Liyou adds.
“Today it’s so easy to manage client communication and there has already been so much coverage of issues about mental health within the profession they should understand this. And if they can’t understand, then maybe you don’t want them as a client. This needs to be non-negotiable for us to all keep going.”
