Documentary highlights prevalence of suicide in veterinary professionals

Content warning: death, substance abuse, suicide 

For those who do not work in veterinary medicine, picturing a typical day for someone who works in the industry may be a bit difficult. But for those who work in and around veterinary medicine, the answer is much clearer: There is no typical day. That’s a lesson Marie Barnas, unfamiliar with the industry herself, learned firsthand. It’s also what prompted her to direct and produce The Cost of Caring, a documentary highlighting the prevalence of suicide in veterinary medicine.  

“It actually started as an important issue for me as a client,” Barnas said. “I had several aging pets and I became close with my vet team. As we talked, I learned they loved my fur babies too and they also felt stress. When I found out that vets suffered from so many factors that impacted their wellbeing, I felt compelled to help. As someone who makes documentaries, I realized the best path for me would be to raise awareness so people would be kinder to their vet team.” 

The Cost of Caring features interviews from academics and veterinary professionals to better understand why veterinarians are three to five times more likely than the general population to die by suicide.  The more Barnas talked to veterinary professionals, the more she learned about the hardships of their field.  

“At the end, I found out that the hardest part was to not talk to every caregiver,” Barnas said. “Everyone has a story that is worth telling and I wish I could have put everyone into the final production.” 

Raising Awareness 

Once Barnas began learning about the prevalence of veterinary suicide, she decided to explore it by discussing the topic in-depth with academics and various veterinary professionals. Her network grew quickly. 

“I started locally with people I knew in Tennessee,” Barnas said. “I quickly realized that the veterinary community is a small group where everyone was related by less than six degrees of separation; literally, one person would lead me to another.” 

As Barnas’s documentary notes, community is an important aspect of suicide prevention, and one that veterinary professionals must lean into to support one another. However, her documentary also acknowledges that the issues that impact veterinary professionals are systemic, rather than personal. Moreover, she notes in the documentary that clients typically do not understand the rigor of the profession, which can lead to misunderstandings, conflict, and heated emotions. These factors can make veterinary work intense for all parties involved. 

“It’s a lot,” Barnas said of veterinary work. “We must recognize that this is not a profession where people are just playing with cute puppies and kittens all day, these are people dedicating their lives to doing very difficult things, and making very difficult decisions, and dealing with things like euthanasia that are unique only to this profession.” 

Barnas’s documentary notes that euthanasia plays a key role in the reason veterinarians are particularly susceptible to suicide. According to Dr. Tracy Witte, a clinical psychologist and professor at Auburn University featured in the film, the number one method of suicide among veterinarians is overdosing. The most commonly used drug found in those overdoses was Pentobarbital, the drug used when euthanizing animals in vet clinics.  

Opening up 

Barnas notes that veterinary suicide is a harsh truth that must be acknowledged and discussed. The Cost of Caring opens a door to having these difficult conversations and increasing public awareness. 

“Veterinary suicide is a reality and the best way to confront it is to discuss it openly, offer solutions, support, be honest about it, and be a voice for each other as well as yourself,” Barnas said. “We also hope to help vet students and pre-vet students see the layers before they enter the profession… so it was important for me to peel back the layers and show that this is not about sensationalizing an issue in this profession, but that this is a profession that we must acknowledge needs support from all of us.” 

The importance of having support is one of many ideals that drove Barnas’ work. “For those in the vet med industry, I want them to see that they are not alone, that there is help out there, and that there are many people who care for them.” 

The Cost of Caring is currently screening at film festivals and is available on Prime Video. The film will be available on Nashville PBS next year. For updates, check out the film’s website. 

If you or someone you know is considering suicide and self-harm, help is available. Call the National Suicide Prevention Hotline at 988 or use their anonymous chat service at 988lifeline.org. Take the Adult Suicide Screening Questions survey here and take the AVMA’s Wellbeing Assessment for Veterinarians here. For more resources about veterinary suicide, visit thecostofcaring.com or nomv.org.   

Photo credits: © Marie Barnas 

Disclaimer: The views expressed, and topics discussed, in any NEWStat column or article are intended to inform, educate, or entertain, and do not represent an official position by the American Animal Hospital Association (AAHA) or its Board of Directors.