Are you grabbing your own oxygen mask before helping others?

Andrew Lufkin, a UT veterinary social worker, used this question to point out one of the reasons why some veterinarians struggle with their mental health.

A CDC 2019 report stated that veterinarians have a higher suicide risk than the general population, with males 1.6 times more likely and 2.4 times for female veterinarians.

While great progress and attention continues on this matter, it still remains a critical topic, according to Aidan Smith, a senior studying animal science with a pre-veterinary concentration.

“When I first heard of this statistic, which was back in my sophomore year, it was honestly very shocking to hear. I had somewhat realistic understanding of the challenges this career presents, but I had never really thought that it would correlate to such a high suicide rate … that really demonstrates just how much of an issue this actually is,” Smith said.

Recently, the UT Pre-Vet Association added a mental wellness chair, Julia Cutchin, to support pre-vet students. According to Smith, Cutchin sets up wellness check-ins that also act as earned credit for students.

“I feel like the mental health resources provided are good ones but they’re not specifically targeted towards pre-veterinary students,” Smith said.

While UT communicates the availability of resources to student vets, as well as adding faculty like Cutchin for extra support, Smith feels the mental services could apply more to pre-vet students.

“Most people know about them but they’re not advertised anymore on the Ag campus than they would be on main campus or to other majors … but they’re usually the same ones that you can find anywhere else on campus. I view this more as a PVA action than an action done by UTK itself,” Smith said.

According to Smith, UT could implement specific coping mechanisms for pre-vet students and inform them on some of the mental health issues vets commonly face.

Smith stated she was not made aware of the “veterinary suicidal crisis” until halfway through college.

“I feel like bringing awareness to it earlier on and giving students coping skills and mechanisms to use earlier can help with that kind of issue and benefit us both in undergrad (and) veterinary school, as well as in the professional world, once we graduate.”

Rebecca Hopkins, a freshman studying pre-vet, also said that UT could provide service animals for pre-vet students to bring emotional benefits.

“This might not be doable campus wide, but where my mom works they have a service dog that comes in to help lift spirits,” Hopkins said. “That might be good because I know a lot of students also had to leave their pets behind, so being able to pet and play with a dog might help boost their mental health.”

Despite alarmingly high suicide rates among veterinarians, the question remains — why is this not talked about enough?

According to Lufkin, the vet world holds a strong traditional sentiment in their methods and procedures and “that friction is probably more so at play than oversight” — yet, newer generations are more vocal about mental health in this field.

When vet students come to Lufkin for mental health support, he proposes baseline questions like how much sleep they obtain, their nutrition and physical activity or what their support looks like at home. Lufkin said the ultimate question is, “When do you feel like you’re not a vet student?”

“I think a big thing for a lot of these people is they get blinded into, ‘I’m just a vet student, I need to pay attention to me being a vet student,’ and they forget that they’re a sister or a mother or a wife or a boyfriend or a son or any of those things. We as people are much more than just one thing,” Lufkin said.

Smith believes that vet emotional wellbeing is overlooked because of the recent shift in perception of mental health as she said, “many people do not view mental health the same way physical health is viewed,” making it easier for individuals to internalize their struggles and avoid the conversation.

“While some causes are pervasive across multiple occupational fields, like burnout and general forms of stress, anxiety and depression, there are other contributing factors that are only found in the veterinary field that don’t often get addressed,” Smith said. “This can include things like compassion fatigue, euthanasia stress and burnout associated with factors unique to veterinary medicine.”

When vet students encounter ample stress levels, they struggle to explain their emotional turmoil because of the extra complicated components that the field encompasses. Lufkin said this additional context is difficult for outsiders to understand, including vet students’ parents.

Another key trigger is the course load. According to Lufkin, first semesters are extremely tough, especially for out of state students. He says that it is a big jump academically, but also a huge mental transition.

Additionally, Lufkin says that since most vet students are perfectionists, they put a lot of pressure on themselves to obtain a perfect grade in their courses. While efficient grades help students succeed in their future careers, that’s not all that makes a sufficient veterinarian.

“I think a big thing that I talk a lot with didactic students is that external validation for that A (grade) is not going to make you a great doctor,” Lufkin said. “It’s also not going to be able to have you get the problem solving skills that you need to have in order to define what the problem is and be able to solve it. It’s kind of a difference between job performance and mastery.”

Although becoming a veterinarian demands great exertion and diligence, Hopkins believes the outcome is still rewarding.

“Honestly, the first time I shadowed at the clinic, there was a dog that was dying and had to be put down and it really made me question being a vet,” Hopkins said. “But, I continued to shadow there and seeing them try their hardest no matter what and most of the time being able to help, made me really want to keep going to become a vet.”

In Lufkin’s experience as a social worker, he takes a holistic approach to his demanding career because he is still on staff.

“I still can’t believe that that happened, that I’m still here,” Lufkin said. “There’s a big, huge chunk that I’m just grateful to be able to be in this position. I’m humbled by the opportunity that students knock on my door and be like, ‘Hey, can I pour my guts out to you?’ And I’m like, ‘Yes, you can.’”

Hopkins said she takes breaks when she needs and focuses on one day at a time to not feel overwhelmed. Similarly, Smith plans her studies out in small fragments and pairs her favorite activities with studying to make it more enjoyable.

“This included listening to music and watching TV as I study … or ‘treating’ myself to some sort of reward after studying. I’ve also set a hard rule to never lose sleep over studying or homework. This not only forces me to prioritize my sleep and wellbeing but it also forces me to be more efficient with my time and prevents me from procrastinating as much,” Smith said.

If you are struggling with a mental health crisis, do not hesitate to contact 988 or the UT 24 hour helpline at 865-974-HELP (4357).

This story has been modified from its original version, published on Oct. 17th, 2025. The original version incorrectly stated a statistic with percentages, “males 1.6% times more likely and 2.4% times for female veterinarians.” It has been changed to state the sentence that “A CDC 2019 report stated that veterinarians have a higher suicide risk than the general population, with males 1.6 times more likely and 2.4 times for female veterinarians.”