We asked our followers what burnout was to them. We received 104 responses! Though a lot of them are very similar, they are each individual to each person.
For confidentiality purposes no names have been used.
1. Burnout to me is being 13 hours into a 10-hour shift. Tired of being taken advantage of.
2. ER Tech: Methodical euthanasia. Sedate, IV, alert DVM when o is ready. I feel like a robot.
3. To me burnout is feeling like you can’t simply come to work anymore.
4. Being driven to the point of mental and physical exhaustion where you stop caring. A human black hole.
5. Working 13+ hours and picking up extra shifts.
6. Using all your physical, mental, and emotional energy at work, that you have none for yourself.
7. Working endlessly without a break in the day or just consistent overtime.
8. You’re so mentally/emotionally exhausted you forget how to show compassion to patients.
9. Feeling too empathetic towards the client’s needs and not being able to help them right away.
10. Constantly being forced to cover for everyone but if you need time off your SOL.
11. 13-hour days, always working on your day off.
12. Never being able to say no to clients coming in during these ER shifts.
13. Questioning my ethics.
14. Always being short staffed.
15. Not being listened to when you have concerns about a vet and mishandling animals.
16. Working in critical care and having to tip toe around the mood swings of your coworkers.
17. Feeling brainwashed into a “suck it up buttercup” feeling.
18. Working yourself to the bone, tired, exhausted. Afraid to call out when sick.
19. Getting annoyed at dogs that are barking/hyperactive. I feel so bad when I realize.
20. Apathy. Complete and utter apathy.
21. Being guilt tripped into staying late and picking up extra shifts. I have a life outside of work!
22. Chasing your tail all night and morning staff making you feel crap at the end of your difficult shift.
23. Working 40-50 hours a week while also being a full-time student.
24. Being constantly tired and depressed but at the same time not able to sleep.
25. I have been tossed around clinic to clinic because no one wants to keep me.
26. When it’s profit over honesty/integrity towards the staff, and your mental health declines.
27. When you are so tired and all you can think is work and how much you hate/love it.
28. Being made to feel guilty for not picking up extra hours/work by the industry standard.
29. Burnout=compassion fatigue.
30. Being overworked for unappreciative clients who yell at you for something out of your control.
31. Losing all enthusiasm.
32. Always being the one to stay. To not be able to trust anyone else to follow through.
33. Emotionally and physically drained due to over scheduling and understaffed.
34. Crying to your roommates every night because you dread going to work the next day.
35. Being so tired of being tired that you just want to end all. (This person was reached out to. They are ok, just very overwhelmed)
36. Not having lunch for days straight and working overtime and no changes.
37. When I am easily irritated with my patients.
38. Being excited for a OBGYN appointment because that means you’re not at work.
39. Missing lunch/breaks multiple days in a row. Coming home too exhausted to care for my pets.
40. Making simple mistakes. A coworker was clearly burnt out, she gave Rimadyl as a pre-med.
41. Putting a client on hold for someone else to take over while you immediately break down into a full panic attack/crying.
42. When a doctor is mentally draining you or client. You want to go home super early.
43. Feeling run down, unappreciated, angry, and sad all at once.
44. Always saying yes even though you really need the mental break and time with your family.
45. Being severely understaffed and completely overbooked and not getting hazard pay.
46. Being so drained from work to the point where you just want to give up on passing VTNE.
47. Being spread super thin and not feeling appreciated even though you work your ass off.
48. Feeling so exhausted and not wanting to get out of bed even if it’s something you love to do.
49. Crying on Sunday because you have to work Monday.
50. Burnout is a personal choice. Put your foot down. It’s your responsibility to take care of you. (Disagree with the personal choice - studies show otherwise)
51. Not giving two shits. Not being trained but being thrown into things.
52. Short staffed every single day. New people to integrate every week.
53. Feeling like nothing you do is ever enough. No matter how hard you're worked. Questioning everything.
54. The toxicity that is this industry in general. It’s fucked and will never change.
55. I hate my job. The only solution I see is to start my own practice and follow my own rules.
56. Having to give myself a pep talk to get out of my car and into the building.
57. I’ve only done this 1.5 years. I feel like I’m not allowed to feel burnt out and it kills me. (There is no set length of time that says you cannot experience burnout. It can happen to anyone, anytime, and for any reason)
58. No down time.
59. For a vet, most likely caused by compassion fatigue.
60. I’ve anxiety and depression at the same time and get triggered at everything. Need to be fast.
61. Waking up every morning and contemplating calling off work just to be in a good mood.
62. Not caring enough for patient care.
63. Having no motivation, accepting defeat.
64. I got covid and my clinic had to close down. My manager made me feel awful and it was my fault.
65. A PM with a “that’s the way we’ve always done it” attitude. All staff always on eggshells.
66. Feeling tired and unmotivated all the time. Both overwhelmed and under stimulated.
67. Regretting getting my degree and license for this field.
68. Feeling lost and tired after a lot of problems.
69. Getting pissed off with my patients and clients, and resenting being in work.
70. Dreading going to work.
71. Spread too thin, and overbooked.
72. I know I’m burning out when I get annoyed/frustrated with the animals.
73. Doing patient care half assed, being rude or “blunt” to coworkers.
74. Always being miserable at work. Crying thinking about going to work. Compassionless.
75. Not paid for overtime, taking advantage of my love for animals, being humiliated. (Not being paid for overtime is illegal)
76. Busting your ass and still feeling unappreciated.
77. Always wanted to be in a leadership role. Now that I am, I don’t want it. I’m never heard.
78. Autopilot on a lot of things and not really caring.
79. Feeling like you don’t want to go to work, feeling stressed and overwhelmed.
80. Loss of emotion.
81. Tiredness, mentally and physically exhausted, cry at nothing, not smiling, no motivation.
82. Being physically able 100% to do anything, but mentally exhausted and drained.
83. When you end up doing most of the euthanasia’s at work.
84. Constantly being told to not complain. Come in extra. When we’ve been open the whole time.
85. Working endless hours, bending over backwards, and management still asks for more.
86. Being the only one who cares about patient care which includes patient hygiene, and TLC…not just getting treatments done.
87. Questioning if you are strong enough to be a veterinary nurse.
88. Not being able to say no, or getting yelled at when you set boundaries for yourself.
89. Burnout is losing compassion and feeling numb at work.
90. The entire staff’s mental health declining, and management turning a blind eye.
91. Being exhausted combined with not being appreciated. Makes you thinking why am I doing this?
92. Constantly being overworked, short staffed, underpaid, and being around negativity all day.
93. The holiday surrenders that always pour in.
94. What I’m trying to push through right now.
95. Feeling like I have to work twice as hard when other coworkers are lazy.
96. I was getting terribly burnt out and asked to reduce my hours, by an hour, and was told to find another job.
97. Losing any confidence, you have when your doctor walks into the room because either way, you are wrong.
98. Bringing home, a critical patient because no other tech or doctor cared it survived.
99. Burnout is being head tech, everyone around you is burnt out so you take on even more.
100. Living only for your days off.
101. Burnout to me is educating owners that don’t care.
102. One step past compassion fatigue. Really hard to get emotional level to 100% again.
103. Situations where owners make decisions purely out of their selfishness and not thoughts to pet.
o Example – Liver mass causing bloat frequently, dog came in gasping for air 3 times in 2 weeks.
104. ER nurse here – It’s when owners put pets through unnecessary suffering without a care.
Similarities:
Exhausted mentally & physically
Overworked
Understaffed
Unappreciated
Overtime
Overwhelmed
Unmotivated
No breaks
Guilt tripped
13+ hour shifts
This was common pre-covid. It has been exacerbated due to Covid. Veterinary professionals have always busted their asses for their patients. If you ask any of us, we would do it regardless of the pay. We truly don't join this field for the money. We love our job and our patients. We just ask for a little more compassion to be given to us, as we give it to others.
Clients - be nicer to your vet staff. This is what they deal with on a daily basis.
Management - be better, do better. Your staff is struggling. Of the 15k+ followers we have, I guarantee if more had answered they would be the same.
Vet Nurses - continue to stand up and advocate for yourselves and others. You deserve better.
Sources - Not Another Vet Nurse followers.
Photo - google image search - we do not own the rights.
Shena Humbert, LVT
Not Another Vet Nurse