By Renee Larr
Pet owners often focus on their own emotions when their precious animal is facing a medical emergency – and rightfully so. They tend to overlook the fact that veterinarians deal with sick pets 15 to 20 times a day, sometimes having to euthanize pets.
“Veterinary medicine is unique because you have a patient and you have a client. Every day the client brings emotional problems to the table that veterinarians are expected to be able to solve,” said Dr. Derrel Elkins, a veterinarian at Noah’s Animal Hospitals, which has a location in Carmel. “You add that to the fact that veterinarians face death about three times more than any other health care provider. We euthanize more animals, and many times there is no decompression from euthanasia. No one is taught how to empathize and how to deal with these emotionally distraught people on a day-to-day basis. It gets to be a really mentally tiring problem that is cumulative over time.”
Noah’s Animal Hospitals, in conjunction with Merck, will host a seminar for veterinarians and clinical staff members to discuss a growing problem in the veterinarian field: compassion fatigue.
“Compassion fatigue happens in all medical health care fields. It’s a psychological problem of caregivers who give, give, give and do not receive back. Then over a period of time it just takes an emotional toll,” Elkins said. “Compassion fatigue leads to a burnout situation which then goes into anxiety, depression and potentially severe mental illness and suicide.”
Suicide in the veterinary profession is four times higher than the general population, and is increasing at a dramatic rate, according to the American Veterinary Medical Association. Elkins has experienced compassion fatigue firsthand and wants to help others in his field.
“Back in the 80s, I experienced this, and there was nothing in our literature. So, I did a lot of research and I started writing about it and giving seminars about it. I’ve always had an interest in this because I’ve experienced it personally, figured out how to deal with it and how it affected my career,” Elkins said.
The event will be held Jan. 15 from 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at the Marriott Hotel East. Admission fee is $100 for each veterinarian and $50 per additional person. For more, visit noahsanimalhospital.com.
