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Veterinarian suicide prevention starts in college

A psychologist says the veterinary profession has one of the highest rates for depression and suicide in the U.S. and many colleges are proactively addressing the issue.

Chandra Grabill with Michigan State University’s College of Veterinarian Medicine tells Brownfield some of the pressures of human medicine students are similar to veterinary students, but some challenges like limited earning potential, dealing with death much more frequently, and treatment decisions based on finances can increase the job’s stress-level.

“It’s actually become a growing trend in vet schools to have counselling services in some capacity onsite for students to help to make sure that they can have access those services.”

She says the university has been providing counseling services to veterinary students for more than 20 years. Suicide risks for both small and large animal veterinarians are about the same.

AUDIO: Interview with Chandra Grabill