and when the practice can’t accommodate, mchugh finds it difficult to leave her concern at the clinic.
“i think about that pet through the night: are they going to be okay? did they seek care? sometimes you take it home with you,” she says.
veterinary medicine is a profession that attracts people who have a deep love of animals, as well as a strong work ethic: “the grittiest people i know work in vet med and are perfectionists,” says eusanio-cormier. “what goes along with that is the fear of saying no.”
but there’s a cost to that dedication, including stress, burnout, depression, and even suicide. in fact, according to a 2020 study by the
ontario veterinary college
(ovc), vets reported higher suicidal ideation than canadians generally.
it’s a statistic that eusanio-cormier identifies with.
“i was clinically depressed [last summer],” she says. “it was quite grave — i had many psychosomatic physical ailments because of the pressure. it’s sad that sometimes you have to hit rock bottom to change your ways, and that’s what i want to avoid for my profession.”
veterinarian school can cost nearly $70k per year
stressors start right out of vet school, with many students carrying massive debt. through an interprovincial agreement, b.c., saskatchewan and manitoba fund a minimum of 58 placements at the university of saskatchewan’s western college of veterinary medicine (one of only five vet schools in canada), costing students just over $14,000 per year for four years to acquire a degree. unsubsidized students pay nearly $70,000 per year.
according to salary data company
payscale
, an entry-level vet can expect to earn roughly $77,000 a year, including overtime pay. a vet who has put in 20 years will make around $97,000 — hardly enough to fund a lavish lifestyle let alone pay off those debts. if a vet goes into private practice, that debt skyrockets with all the overhead costs.
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