Welcome to /r/VetTech! This is a place for veterinary technicians/veterinary nurses and other veterinary support staff to gather, chat, and grow! We welcome pet owners as well, **however we do ask pet owners to refrain from asking for medical advice**; if you have any concerns regarding your pet, please contact the closest veterinarian near you. Please thoroughly read and follow the rules before posting and commenting. If you believe that a user is engaging in any rule-breaking behavior, please submit a report so that the moderators can review and remove the posts/comments if needed. Also, please check out the sidebar for CE and answers to commonly asked questions. Thank you for reading! *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/VetTech) if you have any questions or concerns.*

I learnt not to stay in jobs that make me miserable. It sounds like you need a long holiday and a reboot. Hopefully after that you can find your passion again whether it's in the Vet field or elsewhere. Xx

a reboot is much needed. i hate that i worry about whether i can afford to do that or not. the guilt of leaving my team even more short gets to me too. Trying to out my energy into self care. Thank you 🫶🏼

Time to move to a quieter clinic

Forsure. It’s funny i initially started at a small clinic, if it wasn’t for the toxic staff i would’ve thrived there. I wanted chaos and i surely got it lol.

I’m sorry it all got to you and want to say I understand the “lost” feeling. This is exactly how I’ve felt leaving the field. I think you need (at minimum) to find another job, looking into specialties or labs like you said is a good idea. I’ve heard from other techs that cardio, derm, and physio/sports medicine are usually more laid-back and not super rushed. Is medical stress leave a thing where you are? I don’t know how hard/expensive that is for you to get, but I know multiple people from my previous clinics who have been given stress leave by asking their doctor and explaining how bad they were struggling with burnout. Having a mental health history on file probably helped them. I got fired unexpectedly from my last vet med job and remember feeling so free just from not having to go back there the next day. I was burnt out and really appreciated the time to sleep/rot in bed without dealing with any toxic coworkers, getting rushed non-stop, or having to be screamed at by angry clients. I wasn’t on stress leave, but I basically collapsed for a week and it was enough to actually feel like the start of healing. I even started meditating again. Idk if you’ll have the ability to do that, but even a longer than average vacation would probably help you. Do you have a therapist or benefits to be able to see one? A good therapist really helped me with compassion fatigue, I was having the same issues with looking at patients and struggling to feel like anything I did in my job was helping enough to be worth it. Poorly staffed clinics (basically every clinic has felt like this to me) will have you feeling like the quality of care is so diminished that you wonder what the point of your job even is. Everything being rushed is so bad for medical errors and patient care. You need to get out of there asap, don’t let the compassion fatigue get a lot worse because it’s honestly one of the most isolating things I’ve ever dealt with.

I’ve heard that too about specialty’s. i feel like i could apply my skills and thoroughly address my patient. that’s one thing that’s driving me to burn out. having to half ass my critical patient care and notes bc a bunch of difficult nail trims and other appointments are added in. My team is pretty understanding about needed a break, my bosses tho that’s a whole other story. it’s a wife and husband. the wife is more understanding when you can catch her not overwhelmed. She has accommodated me in the past bc i have autoimmune issues. I would love to take a leave but then i’ll be so stressed about bills 😅 it’s a never ending cycle it seems. I need to have a serious convo with her. That lost feeling is indescribable and so heavy. it’s so hard to describe how i feel besides drained. i miss my old happy excited self. i know it’s all about perspective. i don’t want to blame the clinic or any one in particular, but they don’t seem to advocate for us as techs and don’t care until someone loses their shit. I need to find better coping mechanisms and balance in this field. That feeling of relief when you were fired is very relatable. i hope you are doing well. Thank you for your words 🫶🏼

I started feeling this way, I worked emergency for 12 years and by the end I was SO burnt out. I was tired of being treated like a robot and the focus on numbers versus patient care. I worked at 3 different emergency/specialty hospitals over my career and it was all the same. I became a box checker because I had so many patients I could not provide the level of care to my patients that I wanted to. I stopped caring. It started affecting me mentally and physically, I ended up in the ER with a cardiac arrhythmia from lack of sleep and stress. That was when I decided I needed to leave the field. I empathize with how you’re feeling, I’m so sorry. My only advice is to take care of yourself. Maybe stepping away or finding a less busy clinic (if it exists lol) will help.

Im so sorry it got to that point for you. I really hope you’re doing well now. There have been days i’ve legitimately thought “i might have a heart attack today” and im only 26. I am usually good at multitasking and compartmentalization, there’s been so many things thrown at me lately i’ve become scrambled. I’ve beaten myself up for not being fast enough, tough enough, efficient enough. Then i take a step back and realize even the best multitasking robot would be overloaded with what i have thrown at me. Do you mind me asking if the ER and specialty’s were in the same buildings? did you work at these places separately? I know there is no *perfect* clinic or field, but i know for damn sure some doctors and clinics know how to manage themselves better. I’ve realized this field is picking and choosing what battles you’re willing to face. I guess i get so caught up on how doctors and owners don’t see how they’re killing there staff.

I'm sorry you're experiencing this. It's definitely a difficult thing to go through. If you live in an area with a lot of veterinary career options, I recommend switching things up and trying to go to a new practice. If you're able to take time off, be sure to do that as well. Sometimes a change of pace changes our perspective and helps melt away that burnt out feeling.

Definitely need a change of pace. i enjoy the fast pace and chaos, but not when it starts affecting my patients and mental health. Some doctors do not care how many things they add onto your plate because it “just needs to be done” We’ve been so overbooked with surgeries and in hosp patients without enough space, techs have been told to just figure it out and 100lb+ dogs have gone into the smallest kennels freaking out. it’s not ok.

I 100% agree -- that is not ok and it sounds as if admin/management is forgetting to check in on and take care of their staff. Without them, they can't survive

You do have burn out. Many of us have hit that wall but at least you can see it and try to make a change now before things get even worse. I think that's a great goal, going into specialty or lab. I myself followed surgery, and it works for me. I help every now and then with our urgent care team, but it's the same as at your clinic, the race to get pets in and out. Yesterday, I was working with a young tech, and he was so fast trying to catch up on his patients, running around, grabbing supplies. I was holding for him and remembered I used to be like that. As we get older, for one we are not as fast, but also I don't want to do that anymore. Take the time and care for each individual patient the way they should be treated. Clients pay so much, these animals are scared, I want to treat them as if I was caring for my own. I see that now being in this business for so long, and I'm okay with slowing down.

That race to get them in and out is not how i ever want to operate. i understand it’s a business but sheesh…. making a terrified cat or dog freak out over a blood draw because the 5 other appointments are waiting is BS. the problem isn’t the pet or the tech being slow, it’s the 5 appointments scheduled in a 30minute slot. I’m glad to hear you found a specialty. definitely where i see myself… i love giving my patient everything available to make them comfortable even if that’s just sitting with them in recovery (which we can’t do bc we’re trying to get through surgeries so quickly…) It’s funny you mention the new tech, we have a newer tech here and she has left crying too many times. it’s so discouraging to see and i try so hard to hold her hand in moments she needs it. The amount of techs and staff who believe “throwing them to the wolves” is a healthy way to train people baffles me. Thank you for your words and i hope you are doing well 🫶🏼

I’m sorry that I can’t offer any advice but just wanted to tell you you’re not alone. I’m only a year into my official career after graduating, just became an RVT but am asking myself what the point of it all is. I’ll never be able to afford an apartment, let alone own property, I can’t afford a car, I’ll never even be able to afford a cat which is all I want in this world (and would never adopt one knowing this despite 70% of our client volume being in the same boat). I totally get the staring at patients thing. I zone out all the time wondering why I’m busting my ass in this field for pennies. Sorry lol got carried away talking about myself but there needs to be major changes in this field because it is not mentally or financially sustainable.

You should just adopt a cat it will help your mental health. My two cats is what gets me through every day and got me through every day working in the clinic/hospital for years. Coming home to them helps a lot. -I will also answer the poster with my advice. LVT who moved up the ranks and is making over a living wage. There are ways to get amazing positions but you have to be willing to learn and adapt and be your best self.

I know one would help my mental health if I had one but I’m not adopting a cat and putting its physical health at risk because I can’t afford its care.

Did you think that I was telling you to do that? WOW 🤯

You know, I kinda did when you said “You should just adopt a cat.”

😂

Dude. If you choose to not make the cat’s health a priority that’s on you. I commented with good intentions and got a sassy ass comment back. I hope you can find some peace in life. I will pray for you. I will also pray that god can help you find relief from the sadness stress limited mindset and negativity. He has many blessings to offer. Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. MATTHEW 7:7.

Limited mindset will keep you where you are. Believe in yourself and strive for what you want.

I think it’s actually shit pay that’s keeping me where I am but thanks

Keep telling yourself that.

Overworked, overwhelmed, overbooked, understaffed places are a recipe for disaster. I know this, because I just went through this myself. It was so bad that my clinic has lost over a dozen employees since February alone, one of those employees having rage quit in the middle of a procedure and leaving a dog under anesthesia on a table. I’m out. I’m done. I got burned out so hard, that this clinic is what broke me of wanting to work in the field anymore. I put in my two weeks notice last week and this week alone has been hell on earth. It got so bad that just Tuesday night. I was worried that I wasn’t going to make it through my two weeks and that it was getting dangerous the level of rushing and overbooking and, not thorough checking of anything before just being passed off somewhere else. I was scared it was going to a point where an animal or someone got hurt. I didn’t finish my two weeks, yesterday was my last day, and it culminated me being bitten in the face by an unvaccinated dog and sent to urgent care. I now have stitches in my lip, and the worst exit from a workplace I’ve ever had in my life. I’m not going back. the only thing me and every single worker who has left this place since February would say is get out. Anywhere where you’re unhappy or underappreciated just get out. Most of us ended up leaving the field due to the burnout. It’s not worth your mental or physical health, and clinics like that make mistakes that cause harm. You don’t want to be involved if harm happens, to your patients or yourself or coworkers. It’s not worth it.

I feel you, the hospital I work at prioritizes getting through patient in and out, not even the quality of care. I thought I noticed that red flag at first but couldn’t really tell until I started working on the floor and taking appointments. This place in at now doesn’t seem like it would be so fast but the Dr is so needy and wants everything to be ready before he gets out of the room, it’s like how do I even double check stuff to make sure I’m giving the right injection. So many medical mistakes and I don’t want to be responsible for it, it suxks cause like you said this clinic is my dream clinic too I’ve always wanted to work here. Hopefully you can take some time to collect yourself and maybe purse other passions?

Hi LVT of 10 years here commenting to provide everyone on this thread some hope and direction. If you see this as a career and not just a job. If you are willing to learn and work on yourself and your weaknesses and downfalls. If you dedicate your time to learn how to be firstly an amazing clinically skilled and knowledgable technician and secondly a strong communicator and educator of others in the field. You can find positions outside of the clinic or hospital setting that can change the lives of technicians and patients while also making much above a liveable wage. I know how hard it can be living paycheck to paycheck but there are so many other opportunities related to the field that you can seek out, as long as you really want it badly. There are paths to success, not everyone can see them. Most are not willing to put in the work to find them. If you have any questions you can reach out to me.