Dr. Ivan Zakharenkov is on a mission to save our profession
Every veterinarian has experienced burnout at one time or another. It is one of the biggest pressures on the industry, alongside student debt and suicide rates. After 12 years as an ER veterinarian, Dr. Ivan Zakharenkov was among the many veterinarians who are so burned out, they knew a change was the only option.
After so many years fighting to save animals on the frontlines, Dr. Ivan made the switch from helping animals, to helping other veterinarians. He chose to create a company instead with the focus on helping vet offices prevent burnout in the workplace.
Dr. Ivan’s path to helping others was a long time in the making. He made his first dollar marking up and reselling vet kits to his fellow students after getting into vet school. This entrepreneurial spirit helped him to see the possibilities in everything that was thrown at him—including his burnout.
Rather than viewing burnout as a bad thing, Dr. Ivan began looking for ways to make vet offices less given to burnout. He noticed that the people who are trying to solve burnout issues typically didn’t have the problem, and the people who were suffering from burnout refused to admit it.
The Power of Saying No
One of the keys to avoiding burnout is the ability to respect boundaries. Too many times vet techs, veterinarians, and other staff are being forced to take on things they feel uncomfortable doing. An overwhelming number of clients who need last minute care, surgeries they may not feel confident in doing, or simply working another shift when they really need a day off.
By learning what an individual’s boundaries are and respecting them, a great deal of burnout can be reduced. The power to say ‘no’ is essential here. Many in the veterinary community feel as if they must handle everything to be considered competent.
This is a quick way to end up in burnout. When you never say no, others on your team quickly assume that you are fine with what ever task you are being asked to perform, which means doing it over and over again.
The Power of Flow
Dr. Ivan also notes that a book he read, Stealing Fire: How Silicon Valley, the Navy SEALs, and Maverick Scientists Are Revolutionizing the Way We Live and Work by Steven Kotler, had a powerful influence on him.
The book talks about “the state of flow” and how nearly everyone who does something well ends up in this state. The more flow you have in your life, the happier you’ll be.
Dr. Ivan has gone on from being a burned out E.R. vet to helping create a smooth workflow in other veterinary offices in a fairly short amount of time. He finds his days stress free and continues to grow as a person each and every day. Although being a veterinarian is his background, he believes that he would be doing the same thing but in a different field, no matter what field he had ended up in.
He hopes to continue in his work creating a world with less burnout for the foreseeable future, one vet office at a time.
