Should Doctors Have Pets?

Being a doctor is one of the most stressful professions in existence. As a resident, you spend almost your entire week at the hospital, and as you become an attending physician, the hours become less, but the job is still equally demanding. Doctors spend so much time preoccupied with work and the accompanying stress, they may suffer from burnout or even worse: depression. There are a variety of ways to control and tone down those negative feelings as much as possible.

Exercise is one of them. Along with, “Stop smoking,” another phrase a doctor often says to his/her patients is, “Get some exercise.” Another rarely thought of way to relieve stress is owning a pet, or maybe more than one. Many doctors recommend their patients get pets for a variety of reasons that we’ll discuss in a little bit, but should doctors have pets themselves? The question isn’t as simple as it sounds, because there are a variety of factors to decide if a doctor is capable of having pets.

So, why do doctors recommend having pets, anyway? You might be thinking, “Because they’re cute,” which is definitely a good answer, but there’s a lot more to it. For starters, pets are natural antidepressants. They’re the best kind, actually, since, although you met get addicted, it’s a lot better than getting addicted to something else. A hormone called oxytocin is released from your brain when you interact with your dog. This is one of the “happy” hormones and is also released when a woman breastfeeds, but for different reasons. What more do you need than the fact that interacting with your pet releases antidepressants from your brain?

A lot of people think pets are bad because they cause allergies, but this isn’t always true. Animals don’t cause allergies, but you might be allergic to their dander the same way you might be allergic to strawberries, for instance. Unless you’re directly allergic to your dog, it will most likely have a beneficial effect, as recent studies show dogs reduce the risk of asthma and allergies, especially in children. Another benefit for a doctor who has kids at home is dogs, especially, can raise the immunity of your child. Your dog is protecting your child from everything, basically, whether it is real, physical danger or microscopic microbial danger.

If you’re a doctor, you’re probably not lacking in the IQ department, but what about your emotional quotient? As previously stated, doctors can suffer from burnout, which includes antagonizing their patients, so they may not generally feel too good about people and interacting with others. Pets help fix that, since you’re sensitive to their needs and need to take care of them. In cases of burnout, doctors feel like patients are using them, but that certainly won’t be the case with their pets.

Bonding is another major perk, but is limited mainly to owning a cat and, to a greater extent, a dog. As a doctor or resident, you’re most likely working away from home, where your family and friends are. If you’re a junior resident, you probably don’t even have time to make friends. Bonding with your cat or dog will help with the loneliness and make you feel connected to them. This is especially true with dogs, who will make you feel like their lives revolve around yours and that you can do no wrong. Cats and dogs can also sense how their owner is feeling. If you’re happy, they’ll be happy, too, and will be playful. If you’re feeling sad and stressed out, they’ll be there to comfort you and will be less demanding as well.

Doctors tell patients to exercise and to own pets when they themselves do neither. Your pet could help you do both. First, because, obviously, you got a pet, and second, getting a dog will most likely force you to exercise. It’s inhumane to have a dog and keep it locked up; you’ll be taking it for at least one walk per day, which will give you the opportunity to exercise and breathe in some fresh air. It’ll also be a break from the busy life at the hospital and all the technology and constant beeping. Even when you’re doing something for your pet, you’re benefitting, too.

We’ve been praising dogs and, slightly less, cats left and right, but what about fish? Having a fish tank is great, because it’s a lot less responsibility if you don’t have the time for constant care and taking your dog out for walks. It’ll also calm you down; watching your fish as they slowly move through their aquarium can help lower blood pressure and heart rate. Be careful not to get fish that move too fast, as that’ll just make you restless. As for cats, when they lick you, they’re doing you a favor: thanks to their rough tongues, they help improve blood circulation in the area they’re licking.

Of course, it’s not all as fun as it sounds. There are a few drawbacks to owning pets. After all, animals are living creatures that require constant care. Regular feeding is an essential issue, of course. If you spend too much time in the hospital, feeding your pets several times a day may be an issue. One solution to this is to buy an animal food dispenser that releases more food as the contents of the bowl start to run out. You could also ask a neighbor or friend to feed them for you, but this will only work if you’re too busy only a couple of times a month, not every single day. If you’re not living alone and your partner or roommate can feed them, however, you won’t have a problem there.

You’ll also need to clean up the litter and take your dog(s) for walks. When it comes to cleaning up animal litter, no machine will do it for you and probably no human will either, unless it’s a family cat or dog. If you don’t have time to take your pet for walks, you should definitely not get a dog. A dog really does need some activity, and being trapped in an apartment or backyard all day won’t do it any good, nor is it fair. If you’re considering getting a fish tank, keep in mind the cleaning process, because you’re going to have to clean the entire thing once or twice a month. Unless you want to spend an hour doing it, you should probably get a small tank with one or two fish rather than a big one.

If you live alone, your pet might get lonely, too. Instead of you being lonely at work, to solve your problem, you ended up with a lonely animal at home. You can partially fix this by getting another animal to keep it company. This is not a definite fix, though, as they’ll still need your attention, and having two pets means more animals to feed and more litter to clean.

Animals are great and, along with exercise, are the healthiest form of stress relief. They have a multitude of benefits, such as stimulating the release of oxytocin from your brain, making you feel less lonely, and even helping you get some exercise. If you have children, they’ll also boost their immune systems, not to mention how much fun your children will have playing with them. Children can also learn responsibility by taking care of pets. There are downsides, and keeping a pet is never an easy thing, but almost all the problems you may face are easily solvable, especially if you’re not living alone. Basically, there’s no excuse for a doctor not to have a pet. Actually, there’s no excuse for anyone.