Cover Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association
Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association
ISSN:
0003-1488
Publication Date:
01 Mar 2019

  • 1. Tomasi SE, Fechter-Leggett ED, Edwards NT, et al. Suicide among veterinarians in the United States from 1979 through 2015. J Am Vet Med Assoc 2019;254:104–112.

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  • 1. Roberts SE, Jaremin B, Lloyd K. High-risk occupations for suicide. Psychol Med 2013;43:1231–1240.

  • 2. Joiner TE Jr, Van Orden KA. The interpersonal–psychological theory of suicidal behavior indicates specific and crucial psychotherapeutic targets. Int J Cogn Ther 2008;1:80–89.

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  • 3. AVMA. Wellbeing and peer assistance. Available at: www.avma.org/professionaldevelopment/peerandwellness/Pages/default.aspx. Accessed Jan 24, 2019.

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  • 4. AVMA. Wellbeing gatekeeper training for veterinarians. Available at: www.avma.org/ProfessionalDevelopment/PeerAndWellness/Pages/Wellness-Gatekeeper-Training-for-Veterinarians.aspx. Accessed Jan 24, 2019.

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Letters to the Editor

DOI:
https://doi.org/10.2460/javma.254.5.579
Volume/Issue:
Volume 254: Issue 5
Online Publication Date:
01 Mar 2019
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Suicide among veterinarians

I found the recent study1 on suicide among US veterinarians to be both interesting and balanced. The subject matter is quite broad, and it would be interesting to see follow-up studies on how proportionate mortality ratios for suicide among veterinarians compared with ratios for physicians and individuals in other professions, along with studies comparing ratios for associate veterinarians versus veterinary practice owners.

In their discussion, the authors speculated that one factor that may help to explain the high risk of suicide among veterinarians was the fact that “veterinarians are trained to view euthanasia as an