Experiences of veterinarians in clinical behavior practice: A mixed-methods study

The objectives of this study were to describe the current practices of veterinary behavior clinics and describe the experiences of veterinarians engaged in clinical behavioral medicine, with a focus on workload issues and challenges within the client-veterinarian relationship. An Internet survey was completed by 77 veterinarians, including 31 board-certified veterinary behaviorists, 21 veterinary behavior residents, and 25 nonspecialist veterinarians. Qualitative data from the survey were analyzed using thematic analysis, and the experiences of the veterinarians participating in this survey were described using 5 major themes: outcomes, workload, compliance, understanding, and change. Veterinarians in this study experienced challenges within the client-veterinarian relationship, including difficult discussions and compliance related issues, as well as workload issues, including understaffing and time demands. Despite these challenges, most veterinarians in this study rated themselves as very satisfied with their career in veterinary behavior and enjoyed interacting with clients, supporting the human-animal bond, and improving animal welfare. Veterinarians who had access to support staff were statistically significantly more satisfied with their careers in veterinary behavior compared with veterinarians who did not have support staff.