When your engine runs out of steam: 10 early signs of veterinary burnout
I remember sitting in my office at the Ontario Veterinary College (OVC) more than a decade ago, staring at a stack of research papers and grant applications for projects I used to be excited about, and feeling absolutely nothing.
As a faculty member in the ICU, my life was a constant whirlwind of high-stakes cases, resident teaching, and the incessant hum of life-saving equipment. From the outside, I was successful. I was an Assistant Professor, a specialist, and a mentor. On the inside, I was spinning my wheels.
At the time, I did not have a name for what I was experiencing. I did not realize that the bone-deep fatigue I felt every morning was not just the result of a long shift. I did not know that my growing frustration with clients or my sudden lack of interest in clinical breakthroughs were symptoms of burnout. I just knew that my current state of being was not sustainable.
The science of the “struggle”
For years, we have measured burnout using the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI). This tool looks at three distinct areas: emotional exhaustion (feeling overextended), depersonalization (that cynical detachment where patients feel like objects), and a low sense of personal accomplishment (feeling like you’re not making a difference).
Recently, research by Dr. Andria Jones and colleagues at OVC published in the Veterinary Record has changed how we look at these numbers. Instead of just saying someone is “burnt out” or “not,” the researchers used a latent profile analysis to classify veterinarians along a continuum. They identified four specific clusters:
- Engaged (10.8%): High energy and high professional efficacy.
- Ineffective (18.9%): Feeling a low sense of personal accomplishment.
- Overextended (29.6%): High emotional exhaustion.
- Burnout (40.7%): High scores in exhaustion and depersonalization, often with low efficacy.
The most striking finding was that nearly 50% of the 1,272 Canadian veterinarians surveyed fell into one of the “latent” states of burnout. This research highlights that burnout is not a single switch that flips; it is a spectrum. If we can recognize the signs of veterinary burnout while we are still in the “overextended” or “ineffective” phase, we have a much better chance of intervening before it becomes an occupational crisis.
The weight of professional shame
When I was in the thick of it at OVC, my thoughts and behaviors startled me. I didn’t recognize them as symptoms of a systemic issue. Instead, I felt that I was not cut out for my role and that there must be something “wrong” with me.
This sense of shame is incredibly common in our profession. We are high achievers, and “struggling” often feels like a sign of weakness that could damage our professional reputation. I looked around at other faculty members and thought everyone else was happy and thriving. That disconnect led me to the conclusion that I was on the wrong path and needed to leave.
If I had understood then that I was simply in a “latent profile” of burnout, I might have felt less like a failure and more like a professional in need of a pivot.
10 early signs of veterinary burnout
In hindsight, I can see exactly where my path began to veer. Here are 10 signs that you, or a colleague, might be entering a latent burnout profile.
1. The “dreaded” commute It starts with a heavy feeling in your chest as you turn into the clinic parking lot. You find yourself sitting in your car for an extra five minutes, staring at the front door, mentally bracing yourself for the day before you even step inside.
2. Physical “niggles” that will not go away Your body often knows before your mind does. For me, it was chronic tension and a frequent upset stomach. If you are experiencing headaches, back pain, or digestive issues without a clear medical cause, it might be your autonomic nervous system signaling chronic stress.
3. Irritability over the small stuff When you find yourself snapping at a technician for a minor labeling error or feeling a surge of rage because a client asked a simple question about a bill, your emotional regulation is compromised. This is a classic sign of being overextended.
4. The “checklist” mentality You stop seeing the cat in Cage 4 as a living being and start seeing it as “the DKA that needs a 4:00 PM blood gas.” When you reduce patients to a series of tasks to be checked off, you are moving toward depersonalization.
5. Withdrawal from the breakroom Veterinary medicine is a team sport, but when you are depleted, the social energy required to engage feels like too much. You might find yourself eating lunch in your car or hiding in the pharmacy just to avoid small talk.
6. Decision fatigue Early burnout makes routine decisions feel paralyzing. If you find yourself struggling to choose a firstline antibiotic or feeling overwhelmed by a standard treatment plan, your cognitive “RAM” is likely maxed out by exhaustion.
7. Cynical “venting” as a default We all need to blow off steam, but there is a difference between a bad day and permanent cynicism. If your default response to a new hospital protocol is a sarcastic comment or an eye-roll, you are likely shifting toward an ineffective or burnt out profile.
8. Sleep that does not restore You might be sleeping eight hours, but you wake up feeling like you have not rested at all. You are “tired of being tired.” This lack of restorative sleep is a primary driver of emotional exhaustion.
9. Losing the “why” I remember when a ventilator case finally weaning off would have made my week. Toward the end of my time in academia, I felt nothing but relief that the work was over. If you no longer feel a “spark” when a difficult case goes well, your sense of personal efficacy is at risk.
10. Personal life neglect When you get home, you have nothing left for your family, your pets, or your hobbies. You “collapse” and spend the evening scrolling on your phone. Your world shrinks until it is just work and the recovery from work.
Finding a way forward
The OVC research emphasizes that while individual resilience is important, we must look at organizational-level interventions to fix the spectrum of burnout.
If you recognize these burnout symptoms in yourself, please know that it is not a sign of failure. It is a sign that your environment and your current workload are outweighing your resources. By catching these signs early, we can start to have honest conversations about workload, boundaries, and mental health before walking away feels like the only option.
We can create a culture where we admit we are “overextended” long before we reach the point of “burnout.” It starts with recognizing the signs and realizing you are not the only one feeling them.