One practical place to start is by reducing repeated physical wear during the day. Clinics do not need perfect ergonomics to make meaningful progress. Small changes in table setup, equipment placement, lifting support, restraint strategy, and task organization can reduce avoidable reaching, twisting, gripping, and static loading that accumulate across a shift.2
A second strategy is to normalize movement and recovery during the workday. Short posture changes, brief walks, quick mobility resets, and even 30- to 60-second transition breaks between appointments or procedures can help interrupt sustained loading and stiffness. These habits are simple, but they signal that recovery is part of a good workflow, not a reward saved for after work.
Third, leaders can support energy stability more intentionally. Readily available hydration, realistic access to quick nourishing food, and better awareness of long blocks of uninterrupted demand can improve focus and decision-making while reducing the “push through it” culture that often accelerates both physical and emotional wear.
Finally, durability should become part of routine team conversation. Asking where the day feels hardest physically, where workflow bottlenecks create unnecessary stress, and what support is missing helps shift durability from an individual burden to a shared operational goal. Evidence from a veterinary hospital study suggests that supportive leadership and accessible team-based well-being practices can improve professional quality of life, particularly compassion satisfaction.4
Building a durable vet team does not require a dramatic overhaul. It requires leaders to see injury, fatigue, and burnout as related outcomes of how work is currently done—and to make small, repeatable improvements that help their people stay strong, engaged, and effective over time.
References
- Seagren KE, Sommerich CM, Lavender SA. Musculoskeletal discomfort in veterinary healthcare professions. Work. 2022;71(4):1007-1027. doi:10.3233/WOR-205043.
- Arias OE, Proulx JA, Taveira A. Exposure to ergonomic risk factors to veterinary technicians at a small animal clinic. J Agric Saf Health. 2023;29(1):71-82. doi:10.13031/jash.15223.
- Chapman AJ, Rohlf VI, Bennett PC. Understanding veterinary technician burnout, part 1: burnout profiles reveal high workload and lack of support are among major workplace contributors to burnout. J Am Vet Med Assoc. 2025;263(S2):s18-s27. doi:10.2460/javma.25.03.0163.
- Alwood AJ, Ferrentino DA, Olson SA, Rodriguez VI. The positive impact of daily well-being practices on individual veterinary professionals’ professional quality of life self-assessment scores within an emergency and specialty hospital. Front Vet Sci. 2024;11:1381090. doi:10.3389/fvets.2024.1381090.
