dvm360 podcast reframes veterinary burnout around purpose

Veterinary burnout is still being discussed as an epidemic, but a new dvm360 podcast episode suggests the profession may be asking the wrong question. In “From ‘I should’ to ‘Why?’: A different approach to burnout,” Aaron Shaw and Jennifer Edwards argue that the core issue isn’t a lack of wellness education. Instead, they say, many veterinary professionals are surrounded by advice, CE, and resources, yet struggle to translate that knowledge into meaningful change because of internal pressure, workplace culture, and competing expectations. (dvm360.com)

That framing arrives after years of industry attention on mental health, compassion fatigue, and retention. AVMA has been publicly focused on wellbeing for years, and Merck Animal Health’s recurring wellbeing research has helped keep the issue in view. But the latest profession-level data suggest awareness alone hasn’t solved the problem. According to the AVMA’s 2025 report on the economic state of the profession, average burnout scores for veterinarians in 2024 were the same as in 2023, at 26.4 out of 50, and only slightly below pandemic-era highs. (ebusiness.avma.org)

In the dvm360 episode, Shaw and Edwards describe a shift from “I should” thinking, which can reinforce guilt and obligation, toward clarifying a personal “why.” dvm360’s summary says they see burnout as tied to cultural norms and personal barriers that make it hard to implement change, even when people know the right steps in theory. That puts the emphasis on personalization and follow-through: understanding what matters most, identifying what interferes with that, and making changes that are realistic in the context of veterinary work. (dvm360.com)

That message also fits with broader veterinary wellbeing reporting. AVMA’s coverage of the 2023 Merck Animal Health Veterinarian Wellbeing Study said the research identified practical measures associated with lower stress and burnout, including healthier workplace culture, employee assistance programs, life outside work, debt management, and self-care strategies. In other words, the field already has a growing list of known supports. The unresolved challenge is whether practices can operationalize them in day-to-day clinical environments shaped by staffing strain, financial constraints, and emotional labor. (avma.org)

Other industry voices have been making a similar distinction between individual distress and system-level pressure. AAHA has noted that burnout is often rooted in the work environment, while compassion fatigue stems more directly from the caregiving itself, and that “moral injury” can arise when veterinary teams can’t deliver the care they believe patients need because of competing stakeholder demands. dvm360 has also recently highlighted organizational approaches to burnout prevention, underscoring that if distress drives people out of clinics, the workforce problem compounds itself. (aaha.org)

Why it matters: For veterinarians, technicians, managers, and practice leaders, this episode reflects a subtle but important shift in the conversation. If burnout persists despite abundant education, then more posters, webinars, and reminders by themselves probably won’t move the needle. The more useful question may be what prevents teams from acting on what they already understand, whether that’s scheduling, staffing, leadership habits, perfectionism, debt pressure, or a clinic culture that rewards self-sacrifice. For employers, that points toward implementation: protected time, clearer expectations, psychological safety, and support structures that make healthier choices possible, not just aspirational. (dvm360.com)

There’s also a workforce angle. Burnout affects retention, productivity, and career longevity at a time when the profession is still debating how much of its labor challenge is a true shortage versus a capacity and sustainability problem. Even if national supply-demand projections have become less dire than earlier pandemic-era forecasts, a profession that can’t keep people well enough to stay engaged still faces a practical workforce constraint. (avma.org)

What to watch: The next phase of veterinary wellbeing coverage will likely center less on diagnosing burnout and more on testing what actually changes it, including clinic-level culture interventions, leadership accountability, and tools that help teams align work with values before exhaustion becomes attrition. (dvm360.com)