Program for July 14

9:00 – 10:00 AM

There has been growing concern in the profession about mental health among veterinarians including issues such as depression, anxiety, compassion fatigue and suicide. There have been some studies on these issues in the profession but to date, no definitive nationally representative study on mental health and wellbeing among US veterinarians has been done. This study was conducted to survey a random sample of US veterinarians across all sectors of the profession to accomplish the following three goals:

1. Definitely quantify the prevalence of serious psychological distress among veterinarians with comparisons to the US general population
2. Identify segments of the profession most at risk and determine factors that negatively and positively impact mental health
3. Measure the level of wellbeing in the profession and identify factors that contribute to higher levels of wellbeing.

Participants in this session will gain a much deeper understanding of the current state of mental health and wellbeing in the profession and also recommendations for what can be done at the organizational, practice and individual levels.

10:00 – 10:15 AM

10:15 AM – 1:00 PM

Attention to mental health and wellbeing in the veterinary profession has exploded in the last few years. This is so good for helping DVMs take better care of their wellbeing and protect their mental health!  It is also essential to acknowledge and attend to the wellbeing of those who support DVM’s. As one state VMA executive director wrote, “The weight of expectation is sometimes crushing – we do things well, we’re often in the hero role, and that creates a sense with our leaders and members that ‘staff, or the executive, will handle it – they always do!’  It’s a challenge to perform at 100% all the time.”

This workshop will focus on creating a toolbox to support wellbeing among VMA executive directors. By establishing healthy boundaries, mobilizing constituents to take ownership for the association, and efficiently transforming conflict when it arises, an executive director can create space to engage in the important self-care responsibilities needed to feel inspired and energized in the work. Through didactic lecture, video, dialogue, and experiential exercises, participants will leave with action steps for creating inspired wellbeing in themselves and their organizations.

Learning objectives:

• Learn how, when, and why to set compassionate boundaries for supporting wellbeing
• Learn and share facilitative skills for increasing engagement among constituents
• Learn skills for transforming conflict