Stress as a vocation. Veterinarians’ perception of work-related stress
Irina Zamfirache [1]
| Abstract: The article illustrates the stress that veterinarians face in their profession and advances a few possibilities for stress management. Some representative studies on stress and veterinarians are described in the first part of the paper, which is followed by a discussion of semi-structured interviews conducted with veterinarians in Bucharest. The main objective of the research was to understand and analyze the social world of veterinarians by illustrating the main problems faced by members of this occupational category. Lack of a support network, intricate communication with pet’s owners, limited access to the possibility of a specialization and emotional challenges associated to euthanasia are the main themes that emerged from the interviews. The conclusions show that veterinarians would benefit from trainings in order to address these specific issues, including those related to communication with pet’s owners and the development of efficient coping mechanisms. Keywords: Stress; stress management; veterinarians; coping mechanisms; vocation; |
[1] Faculty of Sociology and Social Work, University of Bucharest, Romania, irina.zamfirache@sas.unibuc.ro.