Fig. 4. Distribution of AAEP respondents’ physical and mental health limitations on daily activities (page 374 of report).
minority of respondents had CS scores of less than 22. Scores below 22 indicate that those respon- dents are in a high-risk range for mental stress related to low CS. CF is the opposite of CS. This term describes the negative mental consequences that may occur in people who work in health care or helping profes- sions. The standardized ProQOL scoring system quantifies CF with a composite rating that blends a respondents’ score for burnout (negative conse- quences of chronic exposure to trauma or stress in others that tend to come on slowly) with their score for STS (negative consequences of exposure to ex- treme trauma or stress in others that tend to occur rapidly). CF scores for the majority of equine sur- vey respondents were in the low normal range (av- eraging about 24 for burnout and 21 for STS), implying that, as a group, most equine veterinary professionals suffer fewer negative effects of work-
ing in a helping profession than do members of other professions (Fig. 6 and 7). A small number of equine practitioners scored
above 35 on one or both of the CF subscales indicat- ing “at risk” levels of CF. Specifically, 5.8% of equine respondents scored over 35 on the burnout scale, and 1.6% scored over 35 on the STS scale, indicating that this minority of members suffer ex- treme stress in their current jobs. The percentage of at-risk respondents was lower than that noted in the AVMA group, and the overall mean CF scores of the equine group were also a few points lower than those of the AVMA group, implying that the equine sector suffers slightly less CF than the general vet- erinary population. A linear trend for both CS and CF scores across graduation year cohorts was noted, with older grad- uates scoring higher (better) on the CS scale and lower (better) on the CF scales (burnout and STS)
Fig. 5. Compassion satisfaction (CS) scores of AAEP and AVMA respondents. AAEP score mean was 37.5; this is a higher level of CS than the range documented in other professions. Scores below 22 are considered high risk (page 394 in report).
