Galaxy Vets calls for pro-oath to include self-care
A veterinary healthcare system which is vertically integrated, Galaxy Vets, has issued an open letter to the American Veterinary Medical Association, National Association of Veterinary Technicians in America, and other regulatory bodies to make revisions
by Katie Pfaff
A veterinary healthcare system which is vertically integrated, Galaxy Vets, has issued an open letter to the American Veterinary Medical Association, National Association of Veterinary Technicians in America, and other regulatory bodies to make revisions to the industry’s professional oaths. The letter was posted to change.org at: https://links.galaxyvets.com/oaths
The letter calls for adding a provision that veterinary medical providers care for their own mental health wellbeing. The suggestion mimics World Medical Association’s amendments made in medicine to the physician’s Modern Hippocratic Oath. Request for revision to the veterinary professional oath is prompted by high rates of burnout in veterinary professions and suicide ideation.
"While I strongly believe that burnout and job-stress prevention should be a management-level strategy - since they largely stem from external factors -the importance of self-care should also stay focused at the individual level,” Dr. Ivan Zak, chief executive officer at Galaxy Vets. “We need to create a strategy to maintain the balance between realizing the altruistic and noble calling of helping animals and fostering our own needs as human beings.”
A 2021 study conducted by Galaxy Vets and Veterinary Integration Solutions, found that over the last year, burnout rates were up by 9.4%. The American Veterinary Medical Association estimates that 44% of veterinarians have contemplated ending their career in the field. Sadly, rates of considering suicide are higher in veterinary professionals (1 of 6 veterinary professionals). Veterinarians are more likely to commit suicide than other Americans (3.5 times for women, 2.1 times for men). Veterinary technicians also had increased rates (5 times more likely in men and 2.3 times in women).
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