• Vetiranary Medicine
  • ACVCACVC
  • DVM 360
  • Fetch DVM 360Fetch DVM 360
DVM 360
dvm360 | Veterinary News, Veterinarian Insights, Medicine, Pet Care
dvm360 | Veterinary News, Veterinarian Insights, Medicine, Pet Care
By Role
AssociatesOwnersPractice ManagerStudentsTechnicians
Subscriptions
dvm360 Newsletterdvm360 Magazine
News
All News
Association
Breaking News
Conference Coverage
Education
Equine
FDA
Law & Ethics
Market Trends
Medical
Politics
Products
Recalls
Regulatory
Digital Media
dvm360 LIVE!™
Expert Interviews
The Vet Blast Podcast
Medical World News
Pet Connections
The Dilemma Live
Vet Perspectives™
Weekly Newscast
dvm360 Insights™
Publications
All Publications
dvm360
Firstline
Supplements
Top Recommended Veterinary Products
Vetted
Clinical
All Clinical
Anesthesia
Animal Welfare
Behavior
Cardiology
CBD in Pets
Dentistry
Dermatology
Diabetes
Emergency & Critical Care
Endocrinology
Equine Medicine
Exotic Animal Medicine
Feline Medicine
Gastroenterology
Imaging
Infectious Diseases
Integrative Medicine
Nutrition
Oncology
Ophthalmology
Orthopedics
Pain Management
Parasitology
Pharmacy
Surgery
Toxicology
Urology & Nephrology
Virtual Care
Business
All Business
Business & Personal Finance
Hospital Design
Personnel Management
Practice Finances
Practice Operations
Wellbeing & Lifestyle
Continuing Education
Conferences
Conference Listing
Conference Proceedings
Resources
CBD in Pets
CE Requirements by State
Contests
Veterinary Heroes
Partners
Spotlight Series
Team Meeting in a Box
Toolkit
Top Recommended Veterinary Products
Vet to Vet
  • Contact Us
  • Fetch DVM360 Conference
  • Terms and Conditions
  • Privacy
  • Do Not Sell My Information
  • About Us

© 2023 MJH Life Sciences and dvm360 | Veterinary News, Veterinarian Insights, Medicine, Pet Care. All rights reserved.

Advertisement
By Role
  • Associates
  • Owners
  • Practice Manager
  • Students
  • Technicians
Subscriptions
  • dvm360 Newsletter
  • dvm360 Magazine
  • Contact Us
  • Fetch DVM360 Conference
  • Terms and Conditions
  • Privacy
  • Do Not Sell My Information
  • About Us
  • MJHLS Brand Logo

© 2023 MJH Life Sciences™ and dvm360 | Veterinary News, Veterinarian Insights, Medicine, Pet Care. All rights reserved.

Putting on a happy face

December 1, 2008
Christina Macejko

Schaumburg, Ill.- Veterinarians are the most content with their jobs, according to a 2007 member needs assessment survey conducted by the American Veterinary Medical Association.

Schaumburg, Ill. — Veterinarians are among the happiest and most content with their jobs, according to a 2007 Member Needs Assessment survey conducted by the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA).

Survey data were compared to existing job-satisfaction data from a study published by the National Opinion Research Center (NORC) at the University of Chicago in 2007, which revealed veterinarians have a high level of job satisfaction at 3.55 out of 4 points, just behind clergy (3.79), teachers (3.61) and psychologists (3.59), but above physicians (3.47) and lawyers (3.33).

The average rating in the NORC study for all jobs was 3.30, which makes veterinarians above average.

Advertisement

"Veterinary medicine is very diversified, so there are many opportunities to find your niche," Dr. Robert A. Dietl, chair of the AVMA Membership Services Committee, says of the findings.

But not all reports on the mental well-being of DVMs are upbeat.

Veterinarians' suicide rate is proportionally four times that of the general population and twice that of other health professionals in the United Kingdom, according to a study titled "Veterinary Surgeons and Suicide: Influences, Opportunities and Research Directions." An article on that study ran on the cover of the May 2008 issue of DVM Newsmagazine.

Job stress, lethal drug access andeuthanasia acceptance were among the potential driving forces behind DVMs' heightened risk, according to the study, which was conducted at the University of Southampton School of Medicine in Hampshire, U.K.

Still, the AVMA survey shows veterinarians overall are happy, particularly food-animal veterinarians (3.69). When compared with the the NORC study results, farm veterinarians ranked third in job satisfaction, just below the clergy and physical therapists, while companion-animal practitioners scored a 3.52 satisfaction rating.

The profession's happiness score of 2.30 out of 3 points was below that of lawyers (2.37) and physicians (2.39). Average happiness for all jobs on the NORC study was 2.23.

AVMA research also shows that very few veterinarians choose to leave the profession. Exit surveys conducted by AVMA, which represents 85 percent of all U.S. veterinarians, show DVMs who leave the profession usually are retiring — 22.6 percent in 2008. The least common reason for leaving (6.1 percent) is that the veterinarian is "no longer employed in a field of veterinary medicine."

Related Content:

Association
ABVS approves full recognition for shelter medicine practice
ABVS approves full recognition for shelter medicine practice
Pet Advocacy Network honors outstanding contributions to the pet care community
Pet Advocacy Network honors outstanding contributions to the pet care community
Q&A with AVMA treasurer Dr Arnold L. Goldman
Q&A with AVMA treasurer Dr Arnold L. Goldman

Advertisement

Latest News

Two pups find their forever homes while at Fetch Charlotte

Tools for building a growth mindset

The 5 Ws of veterinary diagnostics contracts

Maryland Zoo giraffe Willow dies suddenly

View More Latest News
Advertisement