Galaxy Vets Calls for an Update to the Veterinary Professional Oaths

DALLAS, Jan. 27, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Galaxy Vets launched an initiative to revise the language of the veterinary professional oaths. An open letter was published at change.org and addressed to the American Veterinary Medical Association, the National Association of Veterinary Technicians in America, and the other regulatory authorities in the veterinary domain across the world. The letter suggests including a commitment to attend to personal health and mental well-being, similar to an amendment made by the World Medical Association into the Declaration of Geneva, or "The Modern Hippocratic Oath" taken by physicians.

Burnout in the veterinary profession is becoming increasingly widespread. A study by VIS and Galaxy Vets revealed a 9.4% increase in burnout levels over the past year. According to the AVMA, 44% of veterinarians have considered leaving the profession, up from 38% last year.

Worse, one in six veterinarians has contemplated suicide. Compared with the U.S. population, female veterinarians were 3.5 times as likely to die by suicide, while male veterinarians were 2.1 times as likely. For veterinary technicians (nurses), the statistics are more shocking. Male and female veterinary technicians are also more likely to take their lives compared with the general population — 5 and 2.3 times more likely, respectively.

Veterinary medical organizations are doing tremendous work, advancing the profession and promoting emotional wellbeing. The veterinary professional oaths should start promoting it as well. Given the current workforce crisis, these oaths cannot be complete without considering the mental health challenges that modern veterinary professionals face, and the potentially adverse effects these factors can have on their health and their ability to provide high-quality care for their patients.

Professional oaths are deeply meaningful and solemn vows. They represent a set of ethical standards and guiding principles that indoctrinate new veterinary graduates into the profession, which they then practice daily. A pledge that has such emotional power should reflect the critical importance of an individual's own health, wellbeing, and work-life balance as basic premises to achieve the professional commitments laid out in the oath.

"While I strongly believe that burnout and job-stress prevention should be a management-level strategy — since they largely stem from external factors — the importance of self-care should also stay focused at the individual level. We need to create a strategy to maintain the balance between realizing the altruistic and noble calling of helping animals, and fostering our own needs as human beings," Dr. Ivan Zak, CEO at Galaxy Vets, said.

Sign the open letter: https://links.galaxyvets.com/oaths.

About Galaxy Vets

Galaxy Vets is a vertically integrated veterinary healthcare system in the U.S. With a mission to give veterinary medicine back to veterinarians, Galaxy Vets allocates equity in the organization to its employees — veterinarians, specialists, technicians, administrative staff, and relief workforce — making them co-owners of and shareholders in the entire network. Driven by the purpose to make a significant impact on the industry, Galaxy Vets designs its culture around burnout prevention and takes a data-driven approach to foster employee satisfaction and work-life balance. Learn more at https://galaxyvets.com/.

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SOURCE Galaxy Vets