Money

My experience in emergency veterinary medicine has taught me that anguish will drive people to say hurtful things they would not ordinarily say under less stressful circumstances. The problem with this behavior is that the comment lingers with the veterinary professional long after the client leaves the clinic. Veterinary medicine has the dubious honor of recording one of the highest suicide rates per profession. We know you are hurting, so are we.

One of the more hurtful comments I have heard often is "You all are only in it for the money!" In recent years, I've started responding "If I were in it for the money, I would be doing something else!"

People often compare human medicine with veterinary medicine. Both professions demand lengthy educations, at least 8 years after high school. Doctors and veterinarians who want to specialize will add 2-4 years, or more, to that. Graduates of either discipline will start their careers with approximately $200,000 of student debt. While the median salary for physicians, according to US News & World Report, in 2021 was $252,480 a year, the same article stated the median salary for veterinarians in 2021 was $100,370 a year. Both professions are physically, mentally and emotionally draining. The realities of euthanasia make veterinary medicine even more emotional, especially in settings like ER.

Most of us would give you services for free if we didn't have to feed our own families. Many of us look at the estimates we prepare for clients and know we would not be able to sign it for ourselves. We work in veterinary medicine because we are driven to alleviate animal suffering, no matter the species. All of us are living paycheck to paycheck, just like you.

Support positions in medicine tend to make significantly less than the doctors. In human medicine, per US News, physician's assistants and nurse practitioners average from $118,000 to just under $200,000 annually. The equivalent position in veterinary medicine is the licensed veterinary technician. According to US News, the median salary for veterinary technicians in 2021 was $38,350 a year. Many veterinary technicians work 2 or more jobs to keep up.

By now, you are probably asking yourself, then why is everything so expensive? Traditionally, emergency practices are more expensive than wellness care practices. However, many wellness care practices are offering specialized services so the price difference is shrinking. From the ER point of view, you are paying for licensed professionals to be on site 24 hours a day and 7 days a week. You are also paying for all the expensive equipment we keep on hand to offer services like lab work, radiology and surgery around the clock. We keep an extensive pharmacy on hand so we can fill that prescription at 3am. Every medical professional is required to complete a certain number of hours of continuing education every year. Most veterinarians work about 12 hours per shift. Even if they were only scheduled to see pets for 8 hours, my experience is many vets are at work for hours after the end of their shift finishing medical records.

We're not asking for sympathy; we chose this profession. What we are asking for is empathy. If the comment you are about to make would be hurtful to hear, Please don't say it! Apologizing afterwards helps but the damage is already done!