CDC-led research has found suicide deaths among veterinarians and veterinary technicians well above the numbers expected in the general U.S. population.
You cannot remove every risk factor, but the research points to levers a practice controls: securing access to euthanasia drugs, offering support such as an employee assistance program, training staff in QPR, sharing the 988 Lifeline, communicating safely about suicide, and handling leave and return-to-work fairly.
This guide walks through each.
Rules vary by state and change
This guide explains federal rules and the state rules it names, as of the date above.
Employment law and veterinary practice rules differ by state and are revised often, so confirm current requirements with your state veterinary board, labor agency or employment counsel before you act on them.
It is general information, not legal advice.
What CDC research found on veterinarian and vet tech suicide
Three CDC-led studies carry most of what gets cited:
| Study | What it covered | Measure | What it found |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tomasi et al., JAVMA, 2019 | Death records for 11,620 U.S. veterinarians who died from 1979 through 2015 | PMR — the share of deaths that were suicides | 398 deaths by suicide; suicide PMR of 2.1 for male and 3.5 for female veterinarians |
| Witte et al., JAVMA, 2019 | Veterinary professionals and students in 18 NVDRS states, 2003–2014 | SMR — observed versus expected suicide deaths | 202 deaths by suicide or undetermined intent; among decedents employed at death, significantly elevated suicide SMRs for veterinarians (1.6 male, 2.4 female) and veterinary technicians/technologists (5.0 male, 2.3 female) |
| Nett et al., MMWR, 2015 | Anonymous 2014 online survey of 10,254 currently employed U.S. veterinarians | Self-reported prevalence | Serious psychological distress in 6.8% of male and 10.9% of female respondents, versus 3.5% and 4.4% of U.S. adults |
Read the measure before the number.
A PMR asks whether a larger share of deaths were suicides than in the general U.S. population; an SMR compares observed suicide deaths with the number expected.
Neither is a suicide rate, and none of the studies ranks veterinary work against other professions.
The methods data matter for employers: in the 1979–2015 Tomasi study, the most common methods among veterinarians were firearms (45%) and pharmaceuticals (39%).
The same study found a suicide PMR of 5.0 for female veterinarians in nonclinical positions, versus 3.4 for those in clinical positions.
Two findings from the Witte NVDRS data, 2003–2014, shape this page.
SMRs for veterinary assistants and laboratory animal caretakers were not significantly elevated — the elevation concentrated in veterinarians and technicians — and the veterinarians who died were significantly less likely than the other groups to have a history of a prior suicide attempt — a visible warning may never come first.
The 2014 survey is the one to quote carefully: since graduating from veterinary school, 14.4% of male and 19.1% of female respondents reported suicidal ideation, 24.5% and 36.7% depressive episodes, and 1.1% and 1.4% suicide attempts.
CDC's own summary was hedged: the survey suggested nearly one in 10 U.S. veterinarians might suffer serious psychological distress, and more than one in six might have experienced suicidal ideation since graduation — with nonresponse bias possibly pushing the numbers either way.
A 2022 CDC/AVMA follow-up on all causes of death in the same 11,620 veterinarians again found suicide proportionately elevated — and it, too, covered veterinarians only.
The most recent Merck Animal Health Veterinarian Wellbeing Study, fielded September–October 2023 among 4,636 U.S. veterinarians and released in January 2024, found serious psychological distress concentrated in the youngest: 17.3% of veterinarians aged 18 to 34, versus 6% of those aged 55 to 64.
A companion team study collected 2,271 questionnaires from technicians, assistants, managers and CSRs.
Why access to euthanasia drugs matters
In the Witte study, poisoning was the most common mechanism of suicide among veterinarians, and the drug most commonly used was pentobarbital, a euthanasia drug.
For 13 of the 18 veterinarians who died of pentobarbital poisoning, the injury occurred at home.
That suggests the drug left the clinic — which is why this is an employer-facing issue.
When the researchers excluded deaths involving pentobarbital poisoning, the veterinarians' suicide SMRs no longer differed significantly from the general population; the technicians' remained elevated.
The CDC authors' conclusion was deliberately hedged: improving administrative controls for pentobarbital "might be a promising suicide prevention strategy among veterinarians," with different strategies likely needed for veterinary technicians or technologists, whose deaths showed a higher likelihood of opioid poisoning of unknown origin.
On NIOSH's hierarchy of controls, the authors wrote that eliminating, substituting or engineering out pentobarbital is not feasible in veterinary settings — leaving administrative controls, changing the way people work, as the most viable option.
Some of that groundwork is already federal law.
DEA rules require veterinary practitioners to store Schedule II–V controlled substances in a securely locked, substantially constructed cabinet; bar a registrant from employing, in any role with access to controlled substances, a person convicted of a felony relating to controlled substances or whose DEA registration application was denied, whose registration was revoked, or who surrendered a registration for cause; and require a theft or significant loss to be reported in writing to the DEA Field Division Office within one business day of discovery, with DEA Form 106 filed within 45 days.
Your state board may add requirements such as logs or key custody — check its current rules where you operate.
No specific protocol has been tested as suicide prevention in these data, so treat whatever controls you adopt as drug security and licensing compliance — our controlled substance security guide goes deeper on both.
The CDC authors' principle stands: the pentobarbital deaths involved a drug the practice stocks.
Employee assistance programs
An employee assistance program (EAP) connects employees with counseling and referral services.
In the research making the case for it, it is a support an employer can provide: the Merck Wellbeing Study III authors put two side by side — employers can provide EAPs and health insurance that covers mental health treatment — and they recommend creating safe environments where employees feel comfortable seeking help, reducing the stigma associated with mental health issues.
Adoption is moving one way.
In Merck Study IV, the share of veterinary employers offering EAPs rose to 38% in 2023 from 21% in 2017, and mental health insurance coverage rose to 52% from 44%; a quarter of veterinarians said they were receiving counseling, up from 13% in 2017.
Offering an EAP and making it usable are different jobs.
Put the number where staff already look — the break room board, the schedule app, the onboarding packet — and mention it after hard cases, not only at open enrollment.
An employee who has never heard the EAP said out loud will not assume it is safe to use.
One Merck finding belongs in your staffing math: serious psychological distress reached 17.3% of veterinarians aged 18 to 34, versus 6% of those aged 55 to 64.
The youngest veterinarians in that survey reported the most distress — worth weighing in your staffing budget.
Gatekeeper training (QPR) and the 988 Lifeline
QPR stands for question, persuade, refer — gatekeeper training for people without professional mental-health backgrounds: how to recognize signs that someone may be considering suicide, open a direct conversation, and guide them to professional help.
AVMA offers it free to all members of the veterinary community — entirely online, about 60 minutes, with free access to the materials for up to three years provided by AVMA, AVMA LIFE and AVMA PLIT.
Teams are encouraged to take it together; groups of more than 25 people are asked to email [email protected] before enrolling.
Pair the training with the number: since July 2022, calling or texting 988 connects people with trained counselors in the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline network, with live chat at 988lifeline.org.
It is available 24/7/365, conversations are free and confidential, veterans can press 1 for the Veterans Crisis Line, and Spanish-language support is available by pressing 2 or texting AYUDA to 988.
988 works as a manager's tool, not just a poster.
Someone worried about another person can contact 988 — a manager unsure how to approach a struggling employee can ask for guidance there.
And SAVE's warning-sign list is worth knowing too: talking about wanting to die or looking for a way to kill oneself, talking about feeling hopeless, trapped or a burden, increased alcohol or drug use, withdrawing, and extreme mood swings.
The checklist below is the immediate-response version.
Safe messaging when talking with staff
How a practice talks about suicide — in a team meeting, after a loss, in a memo — is part of prevention.
Over 100 studies worldwide have found that the risk of suicide contagion is real and that responsible reporting can reduce the risk of additional suicides.
The Recommendations for Reporting on Suicide, developed by SAVE through a consensus process with the CDC, SAMHSA, NIMH, the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention and the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, include practices that translate to employer communication.
The rules that matter most in a workplace:
- Say "died by suicide," not "committed suicide." SAVE's guidance is blunt about why: "commit" may imply a crime.
- Leave out method and location. The guidance says to avoid describing or depicting the method and location of a suicide and to keep location general — including with your own team.
- Do not settle on a single cause. The Witte data back the caution against oversimplifying: job or financial problems were identified as contributing in 7% to 22% of veterinary-professional suicides among groups with reportable data — close to general-population figures — a caution against assuming work stress alone explains these deaths.
- Watch the words. Avoid "epidemic" or "skyrocketing"; use words like "increase" or "rise."
- Include hope. Say that coping skills, support and treatment work for most people who have thoughts about suicide. That sentence belongs in hard conversations, too.
If your practice loses someone, do not improvise the hardest communication you will ever write: AVMA publishes a resource guide, "Preventing suicide in a veterinary setting," and two postvention guides for workplaces after a suicide.
Returning to work after a crisis
When an employee comes back after a mental health crisis, two federal laws set the baseline.
Under the ADA, as the EEOC explains it, employees with depression, PTSD or other mental health conditions are protected from discrimination and harassment and may be entitled to reasonable accommodations.
The ADA's employment provisions apply to employers with 15 or more employees for each working day in 20 or more calendar weeks in the current or preceding year; state law can reach smaller employers, so confirm what applies where you operate.
The EEOC's accommodation examples read like a scheduling toolbox: altered break and work schedules, changes in supervisory methods, specific shift assignments, a quiet workspace, or permission to work from home.
Conditions such as major depression, PTSD, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia and OCD should easily qualify as disabilities, and a condition need not be permanent or severe to be substantially limiting.
An employee who cannot yet perform essential functions and has no paid leave may still be entitled to unpaid leave as an accommodation, if it helps them return to performing those functions.
The FMLA is the second piece, covering private-sector employers with 50 or more employees in 20 or more workweeks in the current or previous calendar year.
Employees are eligible after 12 months with the employer and at least 1,250 hours in the prior 12 months, at a location with at least 50 employees within 75 miles, and may take up to 12 workweeks of leave in 12 months, including for their own serious health condition.
Many single-site practices fall below that threshold; state leave law may still apply.
One rule governs the medical side of the conversation: you may ask about a medical condition only in limited situations — an accommodation request, after a job offer, or on objective evidence the employee cannot do the job or poses a safety risk — and any health information an employee discloses must be kept confidential, even from co-workers.
Agree with the employee what colleagues will hear, and keep the medical details out of it.
The first week back matters as much as the paperwork: a schedule that starts lighter, one point of contact, and the same confidentiality a month in as on day one.
For the systems around your team — hiring, screening, pay, policies — our veterinary hiring hub covers the rest.
If you are worried about a team member today
- Stay with them — do not leave the person alone.
- Remove firearms, alcohol, drugs or sharp objects that could be used.
- Call or text 988. The Lifeline also takes contacts from people worried about someone else.
- Take the person to an emergency room, or seek help from a medical or mental health professional.
- If danger is immediate, call 911.