Resources
Mental Health AwarenessStaff Meeting in a Box
Need staff meeting ideas? Welcome to our Staff Meeting in a Box! Each month, we provide a full staff meeting worth of materials on a particular topic, taking all of the planning off of your shoulders!
This month’s topic is Your Well-Being Matters! By clicking on the link below, you will be directed to our online platform, where you will have access to a 24 minute video, created by Brenda Tassava Medina, as well as a downloadable infographic and worksheet for your staff!
Wellness Tip
The Healthy Mind Platter
The concept of the Healthy Mind Platter was developed by Dr. Dan Siegel using inspiration from the USDA’s shift from a food pyramid, to a food plate. Doing things for your brain to keep it healthy is just as important as the food you put in your body! This concept details out 7 different elements that are needed on a regular basis to keep your mind healthy and integrate your brain. How many of these elements do you practice on a regular basis?
- Sleep Time: It is important to get enough sleep in order to give your brain rest. Your brain is consolidating memories and learning while you sleep.
- The average person needs approximately 7-9 hours of sleep per night.
- Naps can help!
- Physical Time: Move your body! Not only is physical time good for your cardiovascular system, but it also helps your brain grow in many ways, by enhancing memory, reducing stress and more.
- Run
- Bike
- Walk
- Stretch / Yoga
- Down Time: Relax and allow yourself to not focus on any particular goal or assignment. This allows the brain to recharge.
- Literally try doing nothing for a short period of time.
- Focus Time: Spend some time focusing on one particular goal or assignment. This allows the brain to recharge.
- Dive into a book
- Keep one tab or application open on your computer at a time
- Turn your phone on Do Not Disturb when you are actively trying to practice Focus Time
- Play Time: Allow yourself time to engage in humorous and spontaneous activities. These activities can help make new connections in the brain.
- Play with your children
- Play with your pets
- Have a one person dance party!
- Game night!
- Time In: Reflect internally on your thoughts, sensations, and emotions and be mindful of the moment. This time helps to better integrate the brain.
- Meditate
- Deep breathing
- Yoga
- Connecting Time: Connecting with other people and the natural world around us helps to have a positive impact on our behaviors, emotions and biological responses.
- Spend intentional time with your friends, family, and in nature.
- Put your phone away!
Learn more about The Healthy Mind Platter on Dr. Dan Siegel’s website.
Employee Handbook Tip
An employee assistance program (EAP) is a great step for any practice to take when it comes to supporting employee mental health. Many plans can be found that cost less than $40/month for an entire organization. When launching an EAP program, it’s important to outline several elements so everyone on the team understands the purpose, and how to use this benefit.
Start with a definition such as, “EAPs are confidential counseling programs designed to help employees cope with stress, mental illness and other personal issues.” Spell out your reasons for offering an EAP with a written statement such as, “We strive to ensure our employees not only experience workplace satisfaction, but that they are also healthy both mentally and emotionally. No matter the worry, we want employees to feel free to reach out to our EAP.”
When implementing a new EAP, it can be helpful to employees to see a list of issues the EAP might address. Consider a poster in the employee break room that lists examples of problems an EAP can address, such as:
- Personal worries, doubts or fears
- Grief
- Work-related stress
- Problems with colleagues
- Addiction (examples: substance abuse, gambling, smoking, etc)
- Domestic violence
- Health issues
- Financial problems
- Retirement
- And many other issues!
Also, be sure to post the EAP’s contact information and hours throughout the practice, in addition to including in your employee handbook.
Emotional Wellness Checklist
This is an excellent PDF resource created by the National Institutes of Health with tips on how to:
- Brighten Your Outlook
- Reduce Stress
- Get Quality Sleep
- Be Mindful
- Cope With Loss
- Strengthen Social Connections
App Review/Recommendation
Reflectly
There are all kinds of apps geared towards health, wellness, and self-improvement. When it comes to mental health, Reflectly caught my attention as we entered the long days of quarantine in the spring of 2020. It is a journaling and daily inspiration app that can help you track your mood and write about your day. The format is easy to use and begins with a mood check-in. After rating your mood, Reflectly will ask a few questions, based on your mood response. The next step is to give your day a title, and jot down any thoughts. You can then add photos to complete your entry.
This app uses artificial intelligence to engage users in a more meaningful way. As you journal, the AI component poses questions based on your entries, to better guide you through the journaling experience. Over time, this helps users stay on track and dig deeper into their feelings about work, their stress levels, and what they are truly grateful for.
My favorite feature of the app is the daily inspiration notifications, which is found with the premium version of the app ($47.99/year). When you turn notifications on, the app will send you inspirational quotes throughout the day. I have found that these random quotes, pushing through to my Apple Watch really help keep my spirits lifted and on a positive note, even on my toughest work days.
– Brenda Tassava Medina, CVPM, CVJ, MVLCE
Employee Workplace Satisfaction Survey
Ever wonder how satisfied your employees are at your hospital? Do you struggle to get honest feedback from your employees? Our Employee Workplace Satisfaction Survey can take care of that!
Objective: To provide the management team with a better perspective of the hospital team’s satisfaction with the current state of the workplace; to discover areas of opportunity for change and improvement; and to provide the team with an opportunity to participate in development of the practice’s culture.
We have used our anonymous 13-question survey to help many practices understand and improve their employee workplace satisfaction. Employees answer each multiple choice question and are able to provide anonymous feedback for each question. You can ensure you will receive honest responses because employees will know that their identity will be unknown.
Once all employees have responded to the survey, VetSupport provides a detailed report and analysis of all responses. You will then receive a 1 hour phone consult from a VetSupport consultant to review the report.
Do you have a team of more than 70 individuals? We recommend choosing our Departmental Employee Workplace Satisfaction Survey, where each department will have their own survey (CSR, Assistants, Admin, Kennel, Doctors, etc).
Podcast Recommendation: Vet Med After Hours
Tune in to The Vet Med After Hours Podcast Season 4, Episode 5 – Swimming Upstream
Episode Description:
Are you exhausted? Does the thought of what you haven’t achieved over the last year bring you down? Our listener, Dr. Saye Clement shares with us what she just recently realized – we have all been swimming upstream. When you are swimming upstream you are working much harder than normal. Think about that and then give yourself grace – the grace to realize you have learned and applied so many new things this year and that means you have achieved great things. You have a right to be tired and you have a whole year’s worth of learning at your back. Yes, this past year (with all of its work) has prepared you to take on the next challenges with more strength than you had before. You got this – you matter!
Recipe: Lemon Tortellini
Serves 2-3 people
- olive oil
- 2 tbsp butter
- One package (approx. 9 oz) of your favorite tortellini
- 1 bell pepper, sliced in half
- 1 roma tomato, diced
- 1 lemon, zested and quartered
- 2 tbsp of plain cream cheese
- 2 tbsp of sour cream
- 1/4 cup of parmesan cheese
- 2-3 scallions, diced and separated by whites and greens
*I like to use Earth Balance Butter, Kite Hill Vegan Tortellini, Kite Hill Vegan Cream Cheese, Tofutti Sour Cream and VioLife Parmesan for a delicious veganized version. I typically have most of these ingredients on hand in my fridge!
Directions:
1. Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees. Place both halves of the bell pepper on a baking sheet and drizzel with olive oil, pepper and salt. Roast on the top rack of the oven for about 20-25 minutes (until tender).
2. Begin to bring a pot of salted water to a boil (this will be for the tortellini)
3. In a large pan, melt 1 tbsp butter over medium heat. Once melted, add scallion whites and cook for about 1 minute.
4. Add diced tomato and stir, cooking for about 2 minutes.
5. Add cream cheese and 1/3 cup of water. Stir until incorporated and then bring to a boil. Once boiling, reduce to a low simmer and cook for an additional 2-4 minutes until the sauce has thickened a bit. Season with salt and eppet and turn off heat until stpe 8.
6. Once the water in the pot is boiling, add tortellini and cook according to package directions. Reserve 1/2 cup of pasta water before draining!
7. Once bell pepper is done in the oven, thinly slice on a cutting board.
8. Heat the pan with sauce back on medium-low heat. Stir in tortellini, sour cream, 1/2 of the parmesan, 1 tbsp of butter and lemon zest and lemon juice (adjust to your liking of lemon – I like a lot!)
9. Cook until cheese has melted and pasta is coated. Stir in bell pepper and season with salt and pepper. If sauce becomes too thick at any point, stir in a dash of the reserved pasta water from step 6.
10. Plate tortellini with a sprinkle of scallion greens, remaining parmesan and a squeeze of lemon juice.