Veterinary burnout and the ‘Christmas Clear-Out’ – 12 tips for vet mental health over the holiday season

It’s that time of year again, and for many, the next few weeks will be filled with seasonal beverages, gathering with family and friends, and generally relaxing. But when you work within our profession, it can feel like you miss out on the festive downtime. Instead, this season comes with more challenges, like shorter staffing, lonely or stressful nights on call, missed opportunities to see loved ones, and the emotional strain of the dreaded ‘Christmas clear-out.’ There’s no wonder that our physical and mental wellbeing take a hit at this time of year – busy shifts make us feel like we can’t take a break to eat, drink, or rest, and the constant pressure and compassion fatigue affect our mental health and can cause feelings of veterinary burnout. 

In this article, we’ll provide some tips to help you prioritise your physical and emotional needs when you’re working the festive season and avoid veterinary burnout, so you can face the new year energised rather than depleted.

12 tips for better mental health for veterinary teams

1. Plan or prepare your meals ahead of time

When work gets busy, we stop taking care of ourselves. Nutrition is important, and we can’t keep working at our best or feeling our best if we haven’t eaten. To avoid coming home to an empty fridge or finding yourself stuck at work without any snacks, plan and prepare your meals ahead of time and make it easy for you to take care of yourself.

2. Take regular breaks

As a profession, we’re not very good at taking breaks. It’s not easy to justify taking a break when consults are full or the ops list is getting longer by the second. However, meeting our own needs is essential to allow us to reliably meet the needs of our patients, so taking that five-minute comfort break, sitting down to eat, or popping outside for a moment’s fresh air is more valuable than you might think. You can find some great resources to support your practice in promoting breaks on the VetLed website.

3. Ask for support

If you’re feeling the strain and can’t face yet another euthanasia appointment, or you’ve been on your feet without a break for hours and just need five minutes to sit down, eat some food, or have a drink, ask your boss or a colleague for help.

4. Confide in someone

Sometimes challenging situations can’t be changed. Sad cases or unexpected patient outcomes can leave us feeling isolated or like we’re not good enough. But confiding in someone you trust about how you’re feeling can help you feel better, especially if they actively listen to understand and empathise rather than try to fix the problem.

5. Re-frame euthanasia and the ‘Christmas clear-out’

When you’re seeing family after family bringing in their pet for euthanasia, it’s understandable to feel cynical about the reasons why, and this can contribute to feelings of veterinary burnout. But remember, there are lots of reasons why pet owners might choose to put their pets to sleep before Christmas. Maybe the prospect of family or friends seeing their dog with a reduced quality of life has helped them realise it’s time. Perhaps they’re embarrassed that they’ve left it longer than they should have to make the decision. Maybe they were hoping for one last Christmas together but their pet deteriorated and they don’t want them to suffer. 

Thankfully, it’s much less common for pet owners to request euthanasia of their healthy pet at Christmas. Therefore, avoiding negative language like the ‘Christmas Clear-out’ and reframing the situation to focus on the fact that these pets have a poor quality of life and you’re ending their suffering may help you feel more positive.

6. Create your own Christmas traditions

You might not be able to be part of your usual Christmas traditions with family and friends this year due to work commitments, but that doesn’t mean you have to miss out on festive fun. Why not make your own Christmas traditions with your work team? Consider a Christmas breakfast buffet where everyone brings something or encourage Christmas fancy dress (if it’s safe for work!).

7. Schedule calls to family and friends

It’s hard to miss out on seeing your family at Christmas, and it can feel lonely knowing that your family and friends are gathering without you. To help you feel connected, schedule time for some Christmas video calls to tide you over until you get to see each other in person.

8. List wins or positives every day

When work is stressful and full-on, we naturally focus on the negatives. How often have you left a shift feeling like everything went wrong? But did it really? We so often ignore or forget about all of the things that went well, instead dwelling on one or two things that went badly. Combat this by listing exactly what you did during your shift – vaccination, vaccination, cat bite abscess, euthanasia, etc. and placing them into two columns of what went well and what didn’t. When you force yourself to acknowledge the huge proportion of your daily tasks that went according to plan, it will put things into perspective.

9. When you’re ‘off’, make sure you’re ‘off’

How much of your free time do you spend thinking about work? Perhaps you go home and mull over the cases you’ve seen that day, or maybe you do your best to get out of work mode, but the work WhatsApp group pings constantly and you just have to check what’s going on. As difficult as it is, giving your mind a rest from work mode when you’re off shift will help you to feel more relaxed and replenished by the time your next shift comes around and help you avoid veterinary burnout. Try muting work chats on your phone and ask your team to respect your free time by only contacting you directly if it’s urgent. 

10. Make plans to look forward to

If you’re missing out on social events over Christmas, make plans with friends and family for after Christmas or on days when you’re not working. You could even book a trip or activity to give you something to look forward to.

11. Re-ignite your spark and follow your passion

If you find yourself bored, lonely, stressed or deflated while on call, you might end up questioning whether you even want to stay in the veterinary profession. But, why not use this time to find some inspiration and plan? Think about what aspects of your job you enjoy, what you find fulfilling, and where your interests lie. This could be a great opportunity to redefine your career plans and shape your future, and a new CPD course or postgraduate qualification like a veterinary certificate is a great place to start. We have a guide on making the most of your veterinary CPD that might help, too!

12. Speak to your GP, Vetlife, or Samaritans

Most importantly, if you’re struggling, seek support. Your GP will be able to help, while Vetlife and Samaritans are available to talk or email anonymously 24 hours a day. 

Summary

It’s often hard being a vet or vet nurse at this time of year. The long working hours and busy shifts can leave us exhausted, while the inevitable influx of sad cases can drain us emotionally. To avoid veterinary burnout, prioritise your needs and seek support from colleagues, friends, or family, and reach out to Vetlife or your GP if you need to.