Dow M Q, Chur-Hansen A, Hamood W, Edwards S
School of Psychology, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Adelaide, North Terrace, Adelaide, South Australia, 5005, Australia.
School of Animal and Veterinary Science, Faculty of Science, University of Adelaide, SA, Australia.
Aust Vet J. 2019 Oct;97(10):382-389. doi: 10.1111/avj.12842. Epub 2019 Jul 31.
Research has identified that members of the veterinary profession are at high risk of occupational stress, burnout, poor psychological wellbeing and an elevated rate of suicide. Although scholarly interest in veterinarians has increased in recent years, relatively few studies have specifically examined the emotional work in veterinary interactions and what effect dealing with companion animal owners' grief has on the wellbeing of veterinarians. The purpose of this study was to determine if dealing with bereaved clients affected the psychological wellbeing of veterinarians. The concept of compassion fatigue was explored, including whether veterinarians believed that their training had equipped them for communicating with grieving clients.
Veterinary surgeons registered in South Australia in 2015 were invited to complete an online survey, with 105 participants responding.
Many participants, particularly female and younger veterinarians, were experiencing mild to severe psychological distress and nearly half of the sample was experiencing high to very high levels of compassion fatigue. No participants reported seeking psychological or other professional mental health support and the majority had not referred a grieving client to a psychologist or other mental health professional. A significant proportion of veterinarians felt their own mental health was affected by dealing with clients grieving the loss of a companion animal.
The findings are discussed in terms of increasing the wellbeing of veterinarians through improved curriculum training and workplace health promotion, particularly considering the high suicide rate reported for the profession.
研究发现，兽医行业的从业者面临职业压力、职业倦怠、心理健康不佳以及自杀率上升的高风险。尽管近年来学术界对兽医的兴趣有所增加，但相对较少的研究专门考察了兽医互动中的情感工作，以及应对伴侣动物主人的悲伤对兽医幸福感的影响。本研究的目的是确定与丧亲客户打交道是否会影响兽医的心理健康。探讨了同情疲劳的概念，包括兽医是否认为他们的培训使他们有能力与悲伤的客户沟通。
邀请2015年在南澳大利亚注册的兽医外科医生完成一项在线调查，有105名参与者做出回应。
许多参与者，尤其是女性和年轻兽医，正经历着轻度至重度的心理困扰，近一半的样本经历着高至非常高程度的同情疲劳。没有参与者报告寻求心理或其他专业心理健康支持，并且大多数人没有将悲伤的客户转介给心理学家或其他心理健康专业人员。很大一部分兽医认为，与因伴侣动物死亡而悲伤的客户打交道会影响他们自己的心理健康。
根据通过改进课程培训和工作场所健康促进来提高兽医幸福感的情况对研究结果进行了讨论，特别是考虑到该行业报告的高自杀率。
