How to Spot and Stop Burnout

Deborah Stone, MBA, PhD, CVPM, discusses what veterinarians can do to help each other in the fight against burnout and compassion fatigue.

Interview Transcript (slightly modified for readability)

“The more we can talk about the signs of burnout, how it happens, what to do. Also, we need to be mindful of compassion fatigue, which you oftentimes see in the healthcare professions. Again, we go, give, and we go, and we give, and oftentimes just don’t take care of ourselves.

Having conversations like this, learning more about how to tell the signs. Also if you see somebody in a practice, for instance, or one of your colleagues, check in with them. We oftentimes don’t feel comfortable and check in with each other. That goes a long way. It can be a first stop. Start really understanding that we may be suffering from something that needs some help.

We have a lot of resources nowadays where we can learn more about wellbeing, how we take care of ourselves, and again, how we can better take care of ourselves so we can take better care of our clients, our team members, and our patients.”