Vet Tech Career Burnout
A recent study by AVMA shows that up to 49% of veterinary professionals experience “moderate-to-substantial” workplace burnout. How does this affect employee satisfaction and turnover rates?
Nobody wants to invest in becoming a vet tech only to get sick of it in less than ten years. The sad reality, however, is that this is the truth — this career is currently witnessing widespread cases of employee burnout. California State University's graduate faculty recently released a thesis that fronts that “the profession of Veterinary Technology has an extremely high turnover rate with an estimated average practice life of five years.”
In this read, Data Magic Computer Services delves into the leading causes of increased vet tech career burnout and how we can help. We are the number one IT services company in Fort Worth and Dallas.
What Are the Main Causes of Vet Tech Career Burnout?
We can generally describe burnout as a protracted, negative response to workplace stress. Most employee burnout prevention guides front that the starting point is to work on your attitude. This is true — every career path has its equal share of ups and downs; it's your attitude that determines whether you burn out or stay motivated. While we agree with this approach, we also think that it addresses the aftereffects rather than the causes of workplace stress.
To reduce career burnout in this industry, we must first understand the root causes:
- Low Wages: Low salaries and poor benefits are obviously one of the reasons vet techs burn out. Suppose a vet tech was making an average of $100,000 per year; there wouldn't be much grumbling.
- Little or No Recognition: Most vet techs complain that they're barely recognized despite putting in hours of work to ensure things run smoothly. Worse still, other professionals (especially vets) often treat them as though they are inferior.
- Too Many Responsibilities: Usually, most veterinary clinics maintain just one 'IT Guy' or two experts at most to handle their entire IT infrastructure. It's literally impossible for just a couple of professionals to keep up with the fast-changing IT dynamics and stay on top of the game at all times.
How Do Outdated Systems Contribute To Vet Tech Burnout? How often do you update your software? Is your hardware able to meet your current IT needs? Are you experiencing server overload?
Outdated IT infrastructure causes slow networks and site downtimes. Vet techs have too much to handle; sluggish systems don't make this work any easier. Quite often, we interrogate network downtime from the perspective of lost revenue. Beneath this apparent consequence, there's an even more worrying impact — workplace stress.
How much time is wasted as your vet techs wait on browser pages to load, apps to open, or documents to download? How many times have you been mad at your vet tech for a glitch that they had no control over whatsoever? Outdated systems limit efficiency and productivity. The result is the technician feeling wasted, less productive, and less appreciated. Obsolete software and hardware reduce employee morale and are a leading cause of career burnout.
Need Expert Help With Day-To-Day Efficiency That Will Bring Your Employees Satisfaction?
Most vet facilities are now turning to modern software like Hippo, EasyVet, Cornerstone, and Sheppard to manage their systems. While this is a good starting point, they have limited support. That's where Data Magic Computer Services comes in. We boast years of experience supporting veterinary facilities in and around Texas with system and practice management. Our experts have an in-depth understanding of this industry, thanks to working with several vet clinics.
Vet techs have a lot to do, and sometimes this becomes frustrating and nerve-wracking. But with the right support, it doesn't have to be. Get In Touch with us, and let's show you how.
