Veterinary podcast spotlights injury reporting culture in clinics: full analysis
Version 2
A new Veterinary Viewfinder episode is shining a light on a workplace reality many veterinary professionals recognize immediately: getting bitten, scratched, or exposed on the job is common, but speaking up about it can still carry social or professional risk. In “Bitten, Scratched, and Told to Suck It Up,” hosts Dr. Ernie Ward and Beckie Mossor, RVT, say they’re seeing a troubling pattern in veterinary social media conversations, with team members reporting passive-aggressive responses, dismissal, or outright retaliation after raising concerns about injuries or zoonotic exposure. (podcasts.apple.com)
The episode lands in the middle of a broader industry conversation about workplace safety and what veterinary medicine has historically accepted as normal. Research published in Occupational Medicine found the profession has had very high rates of non-fatal occupational injury, and it also documented a culture in which many respondents described bites, scratches, and other recurring injuries as too minor to report. In that study, bite or scratch injuries were among the most commonly cited examples of workplace injuries, yet some respondents still framed them as routine hazards that didn’t necessarily merit formal reporting. (academic.oup.com)
That normalization matters because the regulatory and operational stakes are real. AVMA guidance says veterinary practices should maintain a safety program to protect workers, while AVMA PLIT highlights OSHA recordkeeping and reporting obligations for practices that meet coverage thresholds. OSHA’s general recording criteria say work-related injuries become recordable in situations including days away from work, restricted work, loss of consciousness, or medical treatment beyond first aid. In practice, that means a bite or scratch incident isn’t just a cultural issue, it may also trigger documentation, follow-up care, and risk-management responsibilities depending on severity and treatment. (avma.org)
Recent industry reporting has added more detail on what safer systems can look like. An AAHA article published in April 2026 highlighted a JAVMA study of 113 small animal practices in the U.S. and Canada that found clinics with 100% staff certification in stress-reducing care programs had fewer patient-inflicted injuries. Practices without full-team certification were reported to be 3.5 times more likely to have injuries once a month or more. The same article noted that post-injury protocols vary widely, with some clinics requiring follow-up at a human medical facility and others taking a less consistent approach. (aaha.org)
Expert commentary around that study also reinforces the cultural point raised by Ward and Mossor. AAHA quoted coauthor Gene Pavlovsky, DVM, DABVP, describing the profession’s injury culture as a kind of “badge of honor,” while researcher John Tulloch warned that presenteeism after injury can increase risk for the rest of the team. That aligns closely with the podcast’s central message: when clinics treat injury as weakness, inconvenience, or a cost problem instead of a systems problem, they may worsen both safety and morale. (aaha.org)
Why it matters: For veterinary professionals, this story sits at the intersection of staff safety, compliance, retention, and trust in leadership. If team members believe reporting an injury will lead to blame or retaliation, underreporting becomes more likely, and practices lose visibility into where restraint protocols, staffing, training, or post-exposure procedures are failing. That can affect workers’ compensation costs, scheduling, insurance exposure, and team wellbeing, but it can also shape whether employees feel psychologically safe enough to raise concerns before a more serious event occurs. The business case and the clinical case point in the same direction: early reporting, consistent medical follow-up, and better handling systems are not perks, they’re core safety infrastructure. (academic.oup.com)
What to watch: The next phase of this conversation will likely focus on whether practices translate concern into policy, including written injury-reporting pathways, bite and zoonotic exposure protocols, OSHA-compliant recordkeeping where applicable, and teamwide training in lower-stress handling. As more data emerge on injury frequency and prevention, clinics may face growing pressure to show that “part of the job” is no longer an acceptable endpoint after a staff injury. (avmaplit.com)