Veterinary scheduling study highlights burnout prevention levers

Veterinary scheduling study points to predictability, breaks, and role-aware flexibility

A new mixed-methods study highlighted in Today’s Veterinary Nurse argues that relatively small scheduling changes could meaningfully improve wellbeing and career satisfaction across veterinary teams. The article draws on a 2025 master’s thesis by Sarah Ostrin and Laura Marshall that surveyed 51 veterinary professionals and found strong support for more predictable schedules, protected breaks, and flexibility with clearer boundaries. Among the headline findings: 72% preferred consecutive work blocks with matching recovery time, 73% said flexible scheduling would improve mental health and work-life balance, and 85% to 90% reported better mental clarity, fewer mistakes, and stronger communication when regular breaks were built into the day. The piece also stresses that scheduling strain isn’t distributed evenly, with veterinary nurses and technicians often absorbing late-running doctor schedules and losing control over their end times. (todaysveterinarynurse.com)

Why it matters: For veterinary professionals, the takeaway is that schedule design is becoming a workforce and patient-safety issue, not just an HR preference. The Today’s Veterinary Nurse article ties break coverage and predictable boundaries to lower burnout pressure and fewer perceived errors, while broader profession-wide data show work hours remain elevated versus prepandemic norms. AVMA’s 2025 economic report found veterinarians worked an average 42.4 hours per week in 2024, down from pandemic-era peaks but still above the 41.9-hour average reported in 2019; full-time veterinarians averaged 48.3 hours weekly. Separate JAVMA and technician-focused research has also linked work-life balance, workload, and workplace support to burnout risk, wellbeing, and retention. For practice leaders, that suggests schedule changes such as administrative blocks, protected lunches, overlapping coverage, and role-specific flexibility may be practical retention tools, especially in a labor market still under strain. (ebusiness.avma.org)

What to watch: Expect more practices to test scheduling redesigns, especially as workforce retention, technician burnout, and psychologically safer team models stay high on the profession’s agenda. (dvm360.com)