I said that I would talk about issues in veterinary
medicine and one topic that affects everyone from pet owners to veterinarians
is euthanasia. If you want to be in the field you HAVE to learn how to handle
it and how to deal with euthanasia, you CANNOT avoid it no matter how much you
want to. Some people change their careers/fields because of euthanasia.
When I
first started my job at where I work as an LVT now, I had never witnessed a
euthanasia and never had one of my own pets euthanized. I didn’t know what to
expect. I started out as a receptionist
and at first my job was just filling out the form and cashing them out in the
room. Even that was too much for me. My first week I cried during each one. It
just hits you when you walk in that room, even as a receptionist and you see
the bond between the pet and owner and the pet is about to pass on.
Eventually you adapt to these situations but it wasn’t
until a good year that I finally became comfortable with euthanasia. I hate to
use the word “comfortable” or “ok” when talking about euthanasia because even
though it the act of humanly ending an animal’s life. You are still taking away
that animal’s life and I don’t ever want to truly be “ok” or “comfortable” with
that. Yes, euthanasia may be the best and most humane option in some cases but
it is important to always be sensitive towards this decision.
I used to always think how could owners make the decision
to euthanize their pet? It just seemed to cruel to me, even if the pet was
suffering. It wasn’t until one of my professors, who was very influential on
me, said that “deciding euthanasia for your pet is one of the most selfless
decisions an owner can make for their pet.” I never thought of it that way but
it really is true. It really is selfish to make a pet suffer and live a poor
quality of life just because YOU want to still be with him/her. I have slowly
come to terms with euthanasia and have realized the importance and necessity of
it in veterinary medicine.
With that said, there is the other side of consciousness
where you become so used to euthanasia that it doesn’t even phase you anymore.
Sometimes I reach this point while working in emergency/referral medicine, it
just becomes so repetitive that sometimes I don’t even realize that these
animals are no longer here anymore. It is especially scary when I hear HUMAN
cases that sound so suffering and terminal and I think “why don’t they just
euthanize?” And I’m like WAIT because they don’t euthanize in human medicine and
I quickly realize that it is scary how “comfortable” you can become with this
topic.
The next few paragraphs are from a proposal I wrote for a paper I wanted to write on euthanasia and the effects of it on veterinary staff.
Euthanasia is a very touchy subject
and should not be taken lightly. Many
healthy animals are euthanized every day due to cost concerns, behavioral
problems, accidents, overpopulation, not enough shelter/homes, etc. Not only is this an issue of too many healthy
pets not having homes and as result euthanasia is selected as a solution. This is also an issue of what effects
constant exposure to euthanasia has on veterinary professionals in the
field. When I say veterinary
professionals, I am primarily talking about veterinarians, but also veterinary
technicians, veterinary assistants, and receptionists. Veterinary professionals often do not
ultimately have the final say in euthanizing an animal. It is the client’s choice whether the pet is
old and suffering and it is “time,” or the client simply does not want the pet
anymore for various reasons and chooses to end its life. When veterinary professionals are exposed to
this over and over they must develop a coping method, whether it is a positive
or negative method.
Studies
show that workers in this situation are at risk for high blood pressure,
ulcers, depression, unresolved grief, substance abuse, and suicide. (Pierce) Research has also shown that veterinarians
have high suicide rates, four times higher than the general public. (Pierce)
“Veterinarians have a proportional mortality ratio for suicide
approximately four times higher than the general public and around twice that
of other healthcare professions.” (Bartram and Baldwin) Possible factors that contribute to these
high suicide rates are the rigorous undergraduate work it takes to get accepted
into veterinary school, the stressful graduate level learning, the availability
of lethal drugs to veterinarians, high stress environment of being
veterinarian, and the desensitization to euthanasia from constant exposure to
it.
Although
animals are not humans and cannot literally be compared to them, people who
work in the veterinary field often view pets/animals as their children. Their job is to take care of these animals
and very empathetic towards them. This
is a psychological quality of many people in the field that may contribute to
how euthanasia affects them, where euthanasia mat be viewed differently and
have different effects by a person who has no feelings towards animals.
It is very important to recognize euthanasia and have a support system that you can turn to when you start to become emotionally drained. This field is very emotional and mentally draining and it's important to stay healthy and stable while working through these situations!
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