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Why we need to be careful how we talk about suicides among veterinary professionals
Hardly a week goes by when I don’t receive a Google alert or see some glaring headline about suicides in the veterinary profession. Even Time Magazine has weighed in on this heavy topic with a headline that reads “Veterinarians face unique issues that make suicide one of the profession’s biggest worries”. But while we are […]
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Stop Being a Martyr and Start Modeling Healthy Behavior
It is one of my biggest pet peeves when it comes to instilling wellness into the veterinary profession…veterinary care providers who would rather be a martyr than model good behavior for their colleagues and staff. I’ve seen it all too often: the veterinarian who always stays late to see the end-of-the-day emergency, the technician who […]
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Five Tips for Battling Burnout in Veterinary Practice
Do you feel emotionally drained by your clients? Are you frustrated by your work or feel that you are working too hard? Does working with people all day require massive effort? Have you stopped caring what happens to some of your patients? If you answered yes to any of these questions, then you are probably […]
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Ten Tips for Staying Well This Holiday Season
The holidays are here and while this time of year is exciting and energizing for many people, it can be exhausting and illness-provoking for others. While most people feel happiness, love, and other positive emotions over the holidays, the American Psychological Association recognizes that those emotions are usually accompanied by feelings of stress, sadness, irritability, […]
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Stop Being a Martyr and Start Modeling Healthy Behavior
It is one of my biggest pet peeves when it comes to instilling wellness into the veterinary profession…veterinary care providers who would rather be a martyr than model good behavior for their colleagues and staff. I’ve seen it all too often: the veterinarian who always stays late to see the end-of-the-day emergency, the technician who […]
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10 Tips for Improving Your Sleep Hygiene
Approximately 1 in 3 people struggle with insomnia, which is the inability to fall asleep or stay asleep at least three nights per week during which adequate sleep is possible. I am no exception to this statistic and have struggled with insomnia off and on throughout my adult life. Most of the time, insomnia occurs […]
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Three things that you can do to help reduce the rate of suicide among veterinary professionals
A serious stigma regarding mental health exists in the veterinary profession and it’s time for it to stop. Much of the discussion regarding mental health in the veterinary profession recently has focused on ways to reduce the high rate of suicide, which is 2.5 to 3.5 times more common among male and female veterinarians than […]
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I welcome the day when we can say “I’m taking a leave for my mental health”
I remember when I was an assistant professor at the University of Guelph Ontario Veterinary College and struggling to maintain my mental health. I have a longstanding history of depression and anxiety and after just four years on faculty I was experiencing burnout. This was long before my foray into veterinary wellbeing and I did […]
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Is empathy good or bad for veterinary caregivers?
The research is clear in human medicine: patients have better outcomes when they are managed by a physician who demonstrates empathy. Patients of empathic doctors communicate more openly, follow doctor’s orders more closely, and have improved outcomes. No doubt the same is true for pet owners and animals when it comes to empathic veterinary caregivers; […]
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Have you ever wondered which veterinarians have negative attitudes about mental health and why?
It is widely known that the rates of psychological distress and suicide are higher among veterinarians (especially females) compared to the general population. However, you may be surprised to learn that veterinarians also have a more pronounced stigma regarding mental illness and treatment compared to the average person. A study published in 2015 investigated risk […]
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Five Tips for Battling Burnout in Veterinary Practice
Do you feel emotionally drained by your clients? Are you frustrated by your work or feel that you are working too hard? Does working with people all day require massive effort? Have you stopped caring what happens to some of your patients? If you answered yes to any of these questions, then you are probably […]
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Five Tips for Building Better Boundaries (aka Saving Your Sanity!)
Veterinarians are notorious for struggling to maintain healthy boundaries. I cannot tell you have many veterinarians I know who go into work on their days off, follow-up with clients from home, or see patients outside of the hospital (even in their house) because a neighbour (or stranger!) asked them to. These same veterinarians tell me […]