The third annual Galaxy Vet study aims to investigate how burnout relates to work environment, compensation, and euthanasia

Galaxy Vets begins its third annual Burnout Survey and invites the veterinary community to participate. Led by Ivan Zak, DVM, MBA, Galaxy Vets CEO, and titled “The Emotional Toll of Financial Stress, Work Environment, and Euthanasia,” the study aims to track the burnout rate among veterinary professionals, and find insights on the major factors driving professional fulfilment or contributing to work exhaustion and interpersonal disengagement. This year’s survey includes some open-ended questions to capture even more opinions from the industry.

The survey will take approximately 10 minutes to complete; all responses will be anonymous. Access the survey: https://galaxyvets.com/the-emotional-toll-of-financial-stress-work-environment-and-euthanasia/ .

“I hope that our research will help veterinary practices better understand their employees and build healthier work environments by reducing factors that contribute to burnout,” said Dr. Ivan Zak. “This year, we want to analyze the relationship between work culture, compensation and burnout. We will also take a closer look at how euthanasia procedures impact the mental well-being of veterinary teams, especially when it is performed for economic or convenience reasons. Our hypothesis is that being forced to put pets down due to clients having insufficient funds is one of the most devastating emotional experiences that veterinarians and their teams undergo routinely. It is an under-studied and under-discussed issue that is traumatic both for pet owners and healthcare teams, urging the industry to create more solutions that improve access to care.”

The questionnaire is based on the Stanford Professional Fulfillment Index (PFI) that measures professional fulfillment (intrinsic positive reward derived from work) and burnout (work exhaustion and interpersonal disengagement). An additional set of questions is designed to discover the relationship between burnout and the work environment, compensation, and euthanasia.

The 2021 study revealed a 9.4% increase in the burnout rate in all groups compared to the previous year. It separately explored the correlation between burnout and work-life balance. One of the key findings was that veterinary professionals who have goals reported significantly less burnout, and feel happier and more valued than those who did not.