How Effective Training Can Combat Burnout and Compassion Fatigue Among Vet Techs

Posted by Laura Amendola on February 18, 2026

• Burnout and turnover in veterinary clinics are driven largely by skills gaps and role overload—and training is a proven solution.
  With a majority of vet techs experiencing burnout and compassion fatigue, clinics must address the root causes: unclear expectations, inefficient workflows, and being asked to perform tasks without adequate preparation. Structured, high-quality training helps close these gaps and reduces emotional strain.
• Fully trained vet techs improve patient care, clinic efficiency, and client trust.
  When vet techs are confident and competent, veterinarians can focus on complex care, errors are reduced, communication improves, and clients have better experiences—leading to repeat visits and referrals. Prepared techs also contribute to stronger morale and healthier clinic culture.
• Investing in training reduces turnover and is more cost-effective than constant hiring.
  Professional development is a major driver of job satisfaction and retention. Upskilling existing staff through flexible, skills-based programs boosts engagement, supports career growth, and helps clinics retain top talent—making training a strategic advantage, not an expense.

Your veterinary clinic may be suffering from the following pain points:

• Overwhelmed support staff
• Inefficient workflows and role confusion
• Growing skills gap between what techs are asked to do and what they were trained to do

According to a survey conducted by the American Veterinary Medical Association, 70% of respondents have experienced burnout from the job. Furthermore, 65% have experienced compassion fatigue. These can lead to high turnover rates and staff shortages. As the leaders of your practice, it’s up to you to find ways to prevent burnout and compassion fatigue from reaching this point. A partnership with a trusted training program can help fill the skills gaps in your staff to ensure your techs are trained in all of their job duties. As a result, confidence as well as morale may increase and your clinic can run more smoothly and efficiently.

Read more: The Benefits of Upskilling to Promote a Practice Manager from Within

Like any healthcare facility, the highest priority in your vet clinic is your patients. That’s why delivering the best quality care possible is so important. Veterinarians must be free for vital, complex tasks, so thoroughly trained vet techs must be ready to step in for everyday care. When they have the proper training, they can do this confidently with reduced errors.

• Other benefits of having effectively trained vet techs on your team include:
• Clearer communication
• Better equipped team members to handle questions
• The ability to build stronger trust with pet owners

Positive client experience leads to repeat visits and referrals. Furthermore, when techs feel prepared for the tasks they are asked to do, company culture can improve and turnover may decrease.

Read more: "Vet Techs Are the Power Houses of the Vet Clinic": Celebrating Vet Tech Week and Beyond

Any job in the veterinary field is not easy. Heather Leer, CVT, Veterinary Externship Assistant at Penn Foster Group, explains that “It’s harder the longer you’ve been in clinic, the more you know your clients and you know their pets — and they kind of become a part of your family too... maybe you’re experiencing euthanasia for the first time… because that happens in all clinics, and some people just don’t respond to it as well as they thought they would... you have to have a tough backbone.”

The good news is that there are several ways effective training can help decrease burnout.

• Increased confidence and autonomy
• Task overload prevention
• Aid clinics in setting clear expectations
• Help boost emotional resilience

When your staff knows what is and isn’t expected of them, they can head into each day more prepared to complete tasks and are less emotionally strained by the stress of the work, which will not diminish over time. It also enables them to feel more in control of their work and less overwhelmed by unevenly distributed tasks.

Read more: Boost Engagement: Making Employee Training Irresistible in Your Workplace

A study conducted by Gallup showed that less than half of employees have the skills they need to exceptionally do their job. Furthermore, 60% of workers who recently learned a new skill did so because it helped them do their job more effectively, and 51% saw it as an opportunity to learn and grow. Professional development is important to those in the workforce today and can be a big predictor of job satisfaction.

One key benefit of ensuring team members have access to quality training is the cost effectiveness of upskilling your current workforce rather than hiring new external employees. Supplying your team with the resources they need to develop their skills further can help retain good workers. Senior staff can also mentor new techs that come in to help ensure they also reach success in their roles. This promotes engagement which contributes to positive morale.

Read more: What Vet Techs Really Want from Employers

What can be considered effective may be subjective, but reliable training that puts the focus on the skills your techs need to not only adequately do their jobs, but excel at them, is a goal your clinic can strive for. So how do you do this?

• Structured, skills-based training programs that focus on
  • Hands-on skills
  • Medical knowledge
  • Patient handling
  • Client communication
• Flexible training options that include some or all of the following
  • Online modules
  • On-the-job training
  • Certification prep
  • Continuing education hours
• Training that fits into clinic workflow
  • Self-paced programs can reduce operational disruption
• Modern platforms that support long-term success

Training can look very different depending on the type of clinic, but for the type of work vet techs do, hands-on training is always beneficial. Seeking out training programs that require externships can help elevate your employees by allowing them to gain all the skills they’ll need in person. A program like Penn Foster’s Veterinary Technician Associate Degree Program offers your team members flexibility with a self-paced curriculum and online modules to make it convenient. This allows them to continue working and earning their paycheck while obtaining quality training to help enhance their career.

Penn Foster’s training program also prepares its students to sit for the VTNE exam, which your employees may find appealing since certification can help techs with specializations and also boost their salary. Penn Foster vet tech instructor Vicki McLain, CVT, LATg, VTS-LAM shares, "The vet tech program gives students a much better future opportunity. At the end, they have their associate’s degree and can sit for the VTNE, which opens doors for specializations like emergency care, physical therapy, or nutrition."

Read more: Growing-Your-Own: How Training Programs Help Rural Hospitals Build a Sustainable Healthcare Workforce

A partnership with a training provider can help alleviate some of the pressure and guess work for practice managers. By outsourcing training with a trusted program, you can ensure your techs are getting consistent, high-quality training without pulling focus from other areas. Professional training programs can be used for onboarding, upskilling, and cross training to help your clinic be the best it can be.

Read more: How Credentialed Vet Techs Save Time for Your Practice

When your staff is well trained, their confidence is boosted and they are less likely to succumb to burnout and compassion fatigue. Other positive outcomes can include efficiency improvements, increased client satisfaction, and reduced turnover. With Penn Foster’s Veterinary Technician Program, your techs can gain or increase their skills and be ready for all their daily tasks and duties. Request more information or reach out to our experts to learn if our program is right for your practice.