By Brandon Hess, CVPM, CCFP
Wellness has been a hot topic in the veterinary industry recently, but what is it? When we discuss a patient’s wellness, we speak of it in terms of the whole patient: vaccines, CBC, chemistry etc. Veterinary professional wellness is no different, as we need to look at the whole health of the practice and individuals within it. Shawn Achor does a great job outlining how happy people are more productive in his TED talk, and that’s how we should look at the success of a practice: happy people make a financially healthy practice, not the reverse.
Let’s take a step back and look at a holistic view of the practice, and people within it. What topics influence each other, and the success of both the staff and practice?
Compassion Fatigue vs. Burnout
These terms are often used interchangeably, but they are different. Compassion Fatigue can only occur in care-giving relationships, and when empathy is present. Burnout can happen in any industry, and is an overall decrease in job satisfaction. Burnout typically occurs within veterinary medicine as a result of unmanaged Compassion Fatigue (CF).
Empathy
One of the two requirements to experience Compassion Fatigue, this is figuratively being able to put yourself in someone else’s shoes. The more you can relate to a person, or situation, the easier it is to practice empathy. This can include little things, such as a sick dog that is the same breed as your fur-baby. The higher level of empathy you are practicing, the more susceptible you are to the emotional impact of that situation.
Work-Life Balance
The albatross of vet med, this is the ability to balance work and life. What is important for veterinary professionals to realize is that there is quantity and quality on both sides of the balance. If we cannot decrease the amount of work we are doing, then we must focus on increasing the quality of our time away from work (life). This is where people tend to fall short.
Practice Culture
Best defined as the “feeling” of the clinic, this too is a hot topic. The practice’s culture is a direct reflection of the leadership and ownership team, what they tolerate or the decisions they make. Is there a toxic employee that needs to go? Guess who can make that decision! Is there a lack of accountability, or structure in the practice? Guess who can fix that!
Communication and Conflict
Ineffective communication, and high levels of unresolved conflict in practices is toxic. No one wakes up in the morning saying: “I can’t wait to go to the clinic filled with passive aggressiveness and gossiping”. Yet, most people are conflict avoidant. These two topics have a huge return on investment (ROI) for practices, as happy staff generate more revenue. In addition, happy staff tend not to leave, thus reducing staff turnover expenses.
Suicide Awareness and Prevention
This is a topic we don’t talk about enough, and tend to avoid due to discomfort of even saying it. However, suicide education is necessary. Why is it so high in veterinary medicine? What should be looked out for? How do you handle it when you are concerned about someone?
All of these topics, and more are covered in the Veterinary Professional Wellness Workshop through Patterson Veterinary Supply. You can also go to the VetSupport Compassion Fatigue Resources page to read articles about the above topics and access resources for you and your team. Education is the first step of normalization.