Less than half of veterinary professionals feel their profession is
appreciated
- World Veterinary Day 2024 celebrates the essential work
of veterinarians, yet new data show only 49% of veterinary
professionals believe their profession is
appreciated.
- Veterinary associations and Boehringer Ingelheim unite
to help address this issue—starting with showcasing often-unseen
aspects of the veterinary profession.
The World Veterinary Association’s theme for World Veterinary
Day this year (April 27, 2024) highlights that veterinarians are
essential health workers. Without veterinarians, food safety cannot
be guaranteed, animals suffer needlessly, and humans face a higher
risk of exposure to dangerous infectious diseases. Yet access to
veterinary care should not be taken for granted as many
veterinarians are currently considering leaving their chosen
career, most often due to reasons associated with work-life balance
and their mental health.1
Today Boehringer Ingelheim released findings from a survey of
1056 companion animal, livestock, and equine veterinarians in the
United States, Japan, United Kingdom, France, Brazil, and Germany,
to explore if veterinarians feel valued and understood by animal
owners. A main finding of the study is that only 49% of
veterinarians feel that the veterinary profession in general is
appreciated.
“Understanding the reasons why veterinarians feel their
profession is underappreciated, raising awareness of often-unseen
and complex aspects of veterinary work, and most importantly,
showing veterinary professionals that we recognize their essential
work, is an important first step,” remarks Fabio Paganini, Member
of the Global Animal Health Executive Committee at Boehringer
Ingelheim. “As a veterinarian myself, I know that there is so much
to love about this job. Together, we can showcase the relentless
dedication, the genuine compassion, and the scientific know-how it
takes to work as a veterinarian. It truly is a vocation to aspire
to.”
Perceived levels of appreciation for the veterinary profession
were relatively consistent across key types of veterinary teams —
with only 48% of pet-focused (cats and dogs), 55% of livestock and
42% of equine veterinary professionals reporting that their
profession was appreciated. This is despite 75% of survey
respondents reporting feeling personally appreciated by their
client base.
“We should not stand quietly as our colleagues leave the ring
due to stress and burnout,” remarked Dr Ellen Van Nierop, President
at World Small Animal Veterinary Association. “Veterinarians are
exceptional professionals, who play an essential role in directly
maintaining and improving the health and well-being of animals and
indirectly, of the whole society. It is imperative that we shine a
light on the often-unseen care and effort veterinarians put into
forging a healthy and happy society.”
Digging deeper: what underpins appreciation
levels?Veterinary professionals believe their personal
clients appreciate their “level of expertise” (reported by 66% of
veterinarians surveyed), the “ability to deal with ethical dilemmas
(including euthanasia)” (61% of veterinarians) and the fact “they
provide a large variety of care” (57% of veterinarians). However,
the survey also revealed that clients don’t always have full
awareness of how far veterinarians push themselves to provide care.
Of all participants, 49% felt they were underappreciated by clients
when it came to understanding the “resilience to stress and
emotional exhaustion” required from the job, with 48% reporting an
underappreciation of the fact they “work despite feeling physically
exhausted” and the way they “trade-off their work-life-balance to
help animals”.
What needs to be done?All survey respondents
were asked to state a key aspect of their profession that they wish
people knew more about. The most common responses from pet-focused
participants were “our compassion and dedication to animal welfare
i.e. not money” and “our commitment to being a veterinarian and the
difficulties of the role”. Similarly, the most common response from
both livestock and equine veterinary professionals was the
“importance, competence and value of the profession”.
Boehringer Ingelheim, together with the Word Small Animal Vet
Association (WSAVA) and the World Association for Buiatrics, plus
other leading organizations, are united to help veterinarians —
starting with showcasing veterinary professionals’ compassion and
dedication to animal welfare, while shedding light on the
often-unseen complex and difficult aspects of care.
“By celebrating the essential behind-the-scenes work
veterinarians do, we can help them feel seen and appreciated so
that they hopefully retain their passion for animal care for as
long as possible,” shared Prof. Arcangelo Gentile, President of the
World Association for Buiatrics. “World Veterinary Day 2024 (April
27) serves as the perfect opportunity to raise awareness of what
really happens behind the clinic, farm and stable doors.” Countless
young people are dreaming of becoming a veterinarian. We want them
to understand the beautiful, complex, raw, fascinating, and
touching reality behind the dream. And we want them to know how
rich a life lived as a veterinarian can be.
Going Beyond 2024 survey (implemented
by Kynetec, on behalf of
Boehringer Ingelheim)“We're proud to have partnered with
Boehringer Ingelheim on this project. Working together, we were
able to provide significant insight that we believe will lead to
increased understanding of the care that veterinarians provide and
make their essential professional engagement widely recognized in
the public,” commented Dr. Jan Bahlmann, Kynetec's Head of Animal
Health Customer Insights (Europe).
Top-line survey designThe survey was conducted
from mid to end of March 2024 across 1056 veterinarians in Brazil
(212), Japan (201), United Kingdom (170), France (162), United
States (160) and Germany (151). The survey scope included companion
animal (57%), equine (5%), dairy (10%), beef (8%), swine (6%) and
poultry (3%) specialist veterinarians as well as mixed practices
without a main focus (11%). Computer-assisted web as well as
telephone interviews in local language were used to collect the
data.
Going Beyond campaignGoing Beyond is a campaign
developed by Boehringer Ingelheim with support from industry
partners and veterinary associations to raise awareness of, and
celebrate, the essential behind-the-scenes care that veterinarians
provide for animals and communities worldwide. This care, which
often goes unseen by animal owners, can leave veterinarians feeling
underappreciated, contributing to poor mental health. Launching
around World Veterinary Day 2024, Going Beyond aims to tackle this
issue head-on by showcasing the boundless dedication, resilience
and passion of veterinarians who care for animals in often
challenging circumstances. The ultimate goal is to help
veterinarians feel seen, appreciated and motivated to continue
doing what they do best – caring for our beloved animals.
KynetecKynetec is a global provider of data,
analytics and insights in agriculture, animal health and nutrition.
We empower agribusinesses and animal health and nutrition companies
to make data-driven decisions, from strategy to execution, through
predictive analytics and advanced insights. What sets us apart is
our direct access to the markets we serve - farmers, veterinarians,
pet owners, and agricultural experts - and our deep understanding
of the complex dynamics that shape those markets. We regularly
undertake data and analytics projects in all the major agricultural
and animal health/nutrition markets, spanning more than 80
countries, to provide the insights that enable our clients to build
winning strategies and brands. Kynetec’s responsibilities in this
campaign work included empirical research co-design, survey
execution and analytics.
Boehringer Ingelheim - Animal Health business
Boehringer Ingelheim provides innovation for preventing and
treating diseases in animals. The company offers a wide range of
vaccines, parasite-control products, and medicines for pets,
horses, and livestock to veterinarians, animal owners, farmers, and
governments. As a leader in animal health, Boehringer Ingelheim
values that the health of humans and animals is deeply connected
and strives to make a difference for people, animals, and society.
Learn more at www.boehringer-ingelheim.com/animal-health.
Boehringer IngelheimBoehringer Ingelheim is a
biopharmaceutical company active in both human and animal health.
As one of the industry’s top investors in research and development,
the company focuses on developing innovative therapies that can
improve and extend lives in areas of high unmet medical need.
Independent since its foundation in 1885, Boehringer takes a
long-term perspective, embedding sustainability along the entire
value chain. More than 53,500 employees serve over 130 markets to
build a healthier, more sustainable, and equitable tomorrow. Learn
more at www.boehringer-ingelheim.com.
Intended Audiences NoticeThis press release is
issued from our Corporate Headquarters in Ingelheim, Germany, and
is intended to provide information about our global business.
Please be aware that information relating to the approval status
and labels of approved products may vary from country to country,
and a country-specific press release on this topic may have been
issued in the countries where we do business.
1 Nolen RS., AVMA. Practice Inefficiencies Compound Veterinary
Stress. (2021). Available at:
https://www.avma.org/javma-news/2021-12-01/practice-inefficiencies-compound-veterinary-stress
Last accessed April 2024.
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