We often talk about career routes and every time it brings a smile to my face imagining what younger Lacey would think if she could see me now.

I’d been a good student in school, worked hard and got on well with everyone often driving projects; yet growing up in the Valleys I’d been told “not to aim too high”. Reflecting now fills me with pride and frustration in equal measure. Why should little girls be expected not to dream? To me, dreams were merely plans we had yet to figure out a roadmap for.

I subsequently spent the following years feeling like a square peg in a round hole. Not quite fitting the ideals of what career growth should look like and often feeling there were no seats at the table. What if I were too bold, too curious, too passionate and too ambitious? What if the careers advisors had been right?

The years that followed were full of grit. More rollercoaster than mono-rail. I pinballed around the system via 3 different nursing colleges finally obtaining my precious green uniform and wearing it with pride. I WAS a Registered Veterinary Nurse. Everything I had dreamed of, and yet when I got there I realised that to me I had only scratched the surface. I wanted to experience all corners of the profession and to explore the potentials once again of asking “what if”. I enjoyed meeting and joining new teams, adored teaching and mentoring, the range of clinical settings. The community. Instead of asking for seats at tables, I began to ask why not?

Why can’t RVN’s define their own roadmaps and decide where and how they want to get there? In truth, I realised the option was there all along, but we didn’t talk about squiggly careers. As I began to sit in boardrooms full of brilliant people, I realised they were exactly that. People. Each with their own road maps, some destination undefined. Each measuring success in different ways and that is absolutely ok. Better than ok, it should be championed.

RVNs have such a wealth of transferrable skills that it’s time to delve into how we can use them and utilise them for the better and so, in a career pivot, here I am. Working for the RCVS in a more formal role that young Lacey would never have imagined. In a role that meets my values and marries up my passion of Veterinary medicine and nursing with interest of improving mental wellness and care of the profession that nurtured me as I grew. One that challenges the image of how socio-economic diversity should limit how we approach that glass ceiling and smashes through preconceived ideas of what neurodiversity limits.

I am Lacey Pitcher. I am not a square peg in a round hole.

I am a round peg in a square hole with room to grow. Boundaries undefined. Potential uncapped. Squiggly career and destination unknown. I am proud to say young Lacey would now grin, but I am even more excited to explore the possibilities of what could be if curious minds were nurtured and empowered to drag their own seat to the table. Better still, to be invited as equals. A table where we may ask, why not?

Abi Hanson started working as the Mind Matters Initiative Officer in June 2021. She graduated from The University of Bristol in 2018 with a 2:1 in French and Italian before taking a year out to see the world. In 2019, she landed an internship at a public relations agency and later moved on to work in international corporate events. Mental health, animal welfare and conservation have always been close to Abi’s heart and, before landing her role at the RCVS, she started writing her own blog to encourage others to be more open about their experiences with mental health. Abi is delighted to be working as a part of the Mind Matters team and is determined to use her combined passion for people, animals and wellbeing to drive positive change within the veterinary profession.

On Tuesday 6^th July 2021, I had the privilege of attending the Courageous Conversations Conference run by the University of Surrey School of Veterinary Medicine in collaboration with the British Veterinary Ethnicity and Diversity Society (BVEDS). The conference was launched last year to provide a platform for students and colleagues championing equality and diversity within veterinary education. As the new Mind Matters Initiative Officer, I was keen to learn as much as possible about the challenges facing minority groups within the veterinary profession, and what is being done to create a more diverse and inclusive workforce.

The conference was opened by Issa Robson of BVEDS, who warmly welcomed each and every one of us. It was clear from the start that this was going to be a safe space free of judgment where everyone could feel comfortable speaking honestly and openly about their experiences. She introduced the programme which included topics such as Neurodiversity, Decolonising the curriculum, GRT (Gypsy, Roma, Traveller) Inclusivity in Veterinary Education, and student facilitated workshops for ADHD, Autism & Dyslexia. There were also interactive workshops run by British Chronic Illness Society (BCVIS) and British Veterinary LGBT+ (BVLGBT+).

Progress…one year on

After Issa’s welcome speech, attention then shifted to the panel, who shared just some of the fantastic work which had been achieved since last year’s Courageous Conversations Conference.

Widening participation:

First to reflect was Kate Oliver from the Royal Veterinary College (RVC) who helped create the Widening Participation (WP) Vet School Network after meeting likeminded professionals at last year’s conference. WP aims to make the veterinary world more accessible to students from underrepresented backgrounds who may not otherwise consider applying to vet school.

WP are currently running several successful projects, including a scholarship programme and summer school programme, which provides in depth courses for underrepresented groups on how to get into vet school. These programmes have proven to be highly successful, with almost 80% of recent participants reporting an increase in confidence in becoming a vet.

BVA good workplaces:

Next up was Daniela Dos Santos from the BVA who introduced us to the findings of the BVA Good Workplaces Report. This work was a joint venture from the BVA and VetFutures who recognised that people need to feel valued, accepted and have access to role models if they are likely to stay in the profession. Creating an inclusive, supportive working environment where people feel comfortable to be themselves is hugely important when it comes to staff retention.

The BVA are asking practices to commit to their Good Veterinary Workplaces Voluntary Code which aims to address the challenges encountered in veterinary workplaces. The code includes 64 practical recommendations for employers on how to create a more supportive working environment. There is also a workbook which employers and employees can look through together to see how they can work towards a becoming a better workplace.

Additionally, the BVA are currently running a webinar series in collaboration with VDS training to discuss key workplace challenges.

BVCIS:

Then it was over to Claire Hodgson from BVCIS who spoke about her work supporting those with chronic illnesses. The BVCIS is in the final stages of becoming a registered charity and has already done lots of amazing work to help those suffering with chronic illnesses feel more supported in the profession.

Over the past year, the BVCIS ran two community groups allowing likeminded people to come together to discuss the barriers facing those with chronic illness in the veterinary world. Key themes included feeling like an outsider, the inability to attend social events due to the assumption that everyone is able-bodied, the expectation and pressure of working long hours, and the need for greater understanding of what support is available to chronically ill students.

Claire also ran a panel session and workshop at this year’s Courageous Conversations Conference on how to navigate university, knowing your rights and what resources are available to you as a chronically ill student and how to apply for your first job.

Personal reflections…

Despite not having attended any of the workshops (these were more student-focussed), I attended two panel discussions which were thoroughly insightful. The first was ‘Neurodiversity and Disability: from class to clinic’, and the second the ‘BCVIS Chronic Illness and Disability Panel’. Both sessions were delivered by both colleagues and students. This was a particularly effective set-up as it allowed the audience to become fully engaged in the topics being discussed – everyone felt represented. The students were willing to speak out and give first-hand accounts of the difficulties they had experienced at university and the colleagues were there to listen and discuss ways in which to make vet student life more inclusive (many of the colleagues themselves had also had to overcome similar challenges whilst at university which made the whole event much more relatable). It was an open collaborative learning experience which was highly productive for everyone involved.

I personally found demystifying the disability assessment process and student disability allowance particularly useful. Having been diagnosed with ADHD myself during my final year of university, I could relate to how difficult it can be when it comes to the difficulties in knowing what support is available to you and how to access it. Then there’s the stigma…the voice in your head saying “what if people think I’m just trying to cheat?” “What if I just need to work harder and I’m not worthy of the extra support?” “How do I access support in the first place?” “What forms of support am I eligible for?” This can be stressful for anyone, let alone for those who are already vulnerable and slowly drowning in the immense workload of being a veterinary student! (It’s worth noting that I didn’t study veterinary, so I can only imagine how tough it must be for those with chronic illnesses to try to keep up with the physical demands of the training along with all the studying). The panel offered practical advice on how to access support and opened the floor to questions.

Across all discussions, there was one common theme that kept arising: the need to break down stigmas. Many students expressed they hadn’t previously wanted to seek support because they were afraid of being perceived as incapable. They therefore had no idea about the kind of resources they could access. As one student rightly pointed out, it ultimately all comes down to clear communication. People need to feel confident enough to communicate their needs and learn not to be ashamed of the things they can’t do, but rather celebrate the things they’re brilliant at. The profession needs to make it clear that they will be heard without judgement.

Life would be boring if we all acted in the same way, saw things in the same way and had the same ideas which is exactly why diversity should be celebrated. We cannot hope to advance the profession or society without it. We all have value, and all bring something different to the table. Courageous Conversations has provided the perfect launchpad for change. There were so many people involved in the conference from so many different backgrounds, but everyone was working towards the same goal. There is strength in being “different” and that should always be celebrated.

Final thoughts moving forward…

My main takeaway from my first ever veterinary event is that there is still a lot of work to be done to make the veterinary world a more inclusive, accessible and diverse place. However, so much more can be achieved when we work together and that’s exactly what is being done with the students, colleagues and organisations involved in Courageous Conversations. We have to support each other as change can’t be created alone.

As the Mind Matters Initiative Officer, I’m working more specifically on improving mental health in the profession, but that alone isn’t enough to make lasting positive change. It’s essential that we all gain a solid understanding of the interconnectedness and complexity of creating a happy, healthy and productive community. Mental health, physical health, diversity, and inclusivity may seem like separate entities, but we cannot hope to move forward unless we work together to abolish the stigma that being so-called “different” is bad…because “different” isn’t bad. It’s essential. “Different” drives positive change.

Charlotte Wood is a newly qualified Registered Veterinary Nurse who qualified with her degree from University Centre Sparsholt in Hampshire. She is a student council member on the British Veterinary Nursing Association’s (BVNA) council and is currently undertaking her BSc top-up degree. Charlotte enjoys spending time with her dog, cat, horse and family in her spare time. 

On 21 November 2020 VetKind hosted its third annual online wellbeing webinar event designed and created by the Association of Veterinary Students (AVS) and SkillsTree professional development, with support from the RCVS Mind Matters Initiative (MMI). It was a free virtual event for veterinary and veterinary nursing students in the UK and Ireland. On the day there were over 100 participants that attended VetKind.

VetKind is an interactive and student-led programme, looking at positive psychology and neuroscience and how this applies to being a student. They use evidence-based research and information to look at challenges that students face and provide strategies to students to try to cope with these challenges. This event comprised of lectures, as well as tasks and resources; some of which were provided prior to the event. A ‘take-home toolkit’ was also provided after the event, as well as access to the recordings of the sessions and lectures that took place during the event.

The whole event provided key information and guidance to students, whilst also keeping a fun and informal feeling. There was lots of chat from all attendees, who were involved and interactive with the discussions throughout.

This year there were three incredible speakers, Jenny Moffett, Jenny Lynden and Ru Clements, all of which provided with lectures throughout the morning, there were four lectures in total with these talks on: Building emotional agility, Finding your “yes” and “no” voice, Imposter syndrome: a coaching approach and Dealing with conflict.

The afternoon consisted of an interactive online VetKind Escape Room! These entailed students breaking out into small groups to tackle the escape rooms collectively, which enabled them to see if they could escape by working through tasks and exercises. Prior to attempting the escape room, the small groups got to know each other and explained their backgrounds – a great way of networking and getting to know your veterinary professional peers!

The ‘chatter’ throughout the event was lively and buzzing, with comments and ideas from veterinary students and veterinary nursing students combined. Common themes emerged which all students could resonate with and it was clear that many of them were feeling the same. Attendees continued to share their experiences and coping strategies throughout the day, focussing on how to cope with certain feelings and emotions; there was a real sense of community throughout the whole event. At the end of the day all attendees were asked to share the ideas, tips and practical strategies that have got them through 2020 so far. The idea voted as the ‘top tip’ by the AVS team was “Don’t waste valuable energy on people that don’t give you the same energy back”, which is something I am sure we can all relate to and take on board.

Looking ahead, a poll carried out during the event asked what topics students would like to hear from about from Mind Matters, which resulted in 68 of students asking for more about ‘managing balance in your life’.  However other themes also included: resilience (44 votes), tools for positive reflection (40 votes) and mental health awareness (27 votes).

There was an abundant sense of support for each other and positivity throughout the day,  even with the given circumstances that students are facing in these times. The event was thoroughly enjoyable throughout and from the post-event survey, 100% of participants would recommend VetKind to a friend or colleague. Personally, I could not recommend this event enough and I am very excited for the next VetKind event!

Charlotte Wood RVN, BVNA Representative

Fergus Mitchell

Half a year, or so, has passed since I wrote part one of this blog for MMI. It’s safe to say that sunny July feels like a distant memory! But within the whirlwind of a year that 2020 has been, I wrote my dissertation focussing on the importance of exercise for veterinary students’ mental wellbeing. The study was kindly supported by MMI, without whom it would not have been possible to conduct.

For those reading now who were enjoying a lockdown-free(?) summer when the first blog was published, then here is a little summary of what our project at the University of Nottingham consisted of:

We invited first year, female vet students, who self-identified as exercising less than the NHS minimum physical activity guidelines for adults, to participate in the study. We offered the students a free, eight-week exercise programme including three sessions of activity per week.

The three sessions included:

1. A circuits session led by the same instructor weekly.
2. An intro to sports session led by individuals from already established sport societies on Sutton Bonington campus (ie netball, badminton, football). The sport changed weekly.
3. A stretch/ reflect session led by myself and another student.

We had 12 participants and each were given a questionnaire at three stages during the programme. Eleven participants fully completed all three questionnaires. We were only  forced to cancel two sessions and a life coaching session was offered too.

Questionnaire 1 (before the programme) consisted of:

• 14 point Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Wellbeing Scale (c) University of Warwick, 2006, all rights reserved.
• Open response questions

Questionnaire 2 (mid-way through) consisted of:

• 14 point Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Wellbeing Scale (c) University of Warwick, 2006, all rights reserved.
• Open response questions
• 5-point Likert Scale Survey focussed on students’ motivations for participation in the programme

Questionnaire 3 (at the end) consisted of:

• 14 point Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Wellbeing Scale (c) University of Warwick, 2006, all rights reserved.
• Open response questions
• 5-point Likert Scale Surveys focussed on:
  • Students’ motivations for participation in the programme
  • Whether the programme met the expectations the students had
  • The impact of the programme on the students

A final wellbeing questionnaire was used six months after the programme, but this was not included in my dissertation due to time.

I represented the quantitative data graphically, and measured the difference in individual’s WEMWBS* scores from the start to the end of the project. I thematically analysed the open response questions and made a thematic map to represent the findings (see Figure 1).

I’d like to highlight the main findings from the study and have chosen three points to focus on in this blog.

1. Exercise and mental wellbeing are positively linked

Ok… so this statement is not revolutionary and I doubt it will come as a surprise to anyone. However, what this programme reiterated is that exercise is beneficial for mental wellbeing. The majority of the participants’ individual wellbeing scores increased (see Table 1) and five increased unequivocally (in accordance with the WEMWBS guide). The 14 point WEMWBS scores can range from 14 to 70 (higher score = better wellbeing).

We cannot dismiss the fact that changes in wellbeing will have been affected by other factors too. As made clear by some of the open response questions, factors such as academic stress, housing issues and other stresses all contributed to increases or decreases in some participant’s mental wellbeing. Yet many commented on how the exercise programme directly impacted their mental wellbeing positively, supporting the positive changes in WEMWBS scores.

Exercise can come in many forms, as illustrated by our programme. Whether it be fully fledged team sport, individual or group exercise, stretching and yoga, a simple walk or even in a consult room, as suggested by the VetFit team! And that it the great thing about it. There are many options (in normal times) to explore exercise and what suits you best.

2. Community matters

The second point is that community was a very important factor for the participants, and it was clear that the exercise programme provided a community for them in which they felt comfortable. Many participants felt as much of an obligation to their peers as they did themselves to complete the programme, demonstrating the importance of the community created.

It is ironic that I’m writing this at a time when community, in its physical form, is very much restricted. However, in the future I believe that it is incredibly important that maximum effort is continued to make  the profession a supportive community for all. Initially, as a first-year vet student, due to an array of stresses from academic to transitional, not everyone lands on their feet with a great sense of community. Although it may happen for some, we should continue to focus on how community can play such a vital role in students’ mental wellbeing. Exercise groups are a great way to aid this. However community is not limited to sports teams, classes, running buddies and so on. Any community within the profession or at universities can help the wellbeing of students, even virtual communities too.

One definition of community from the Oxford Dictionary is:

“The condition of sharing or having certain attitudes and interests in common.”

For me, this definition encapsulates the notion that anything and everything can lead to a community, all that is required is people with commonalities. And that is where the sense of community prevailed in this programme; 12 veterinary students who had a common interest in wanting to participate in an exercise programme and explore how it could impact them.

It is admittedly vague putting the onus on ‘community’ to help achieve better wellbeing, but I believe it is something that should be kept in the back of everyone’s mind as we move forward.

3. Stress

Finally, I wanted to touch on the S word: stress. It is a word bandied about frequently within the profession. In a range of ways it was often referred to by our participants or inferred from their responses when they were asked to comment on their perceived state of wellbeing. Finding a healthy work-life balance, even at such an early stage of a veterinary career, is evidently hard and although this isn’t a new issue, I believe it’s still important to highlight.

The responses from all the questionnaires were submitted before Covid dominated our lives, although it was on the horizon. Therefore, the stresses mentioned do not represent the exacerbated stress reported due to the pandemic. However, on the flipside, despite the many negative effects of the pandemic, there is reason to believe that it may have made us more in-tune with our mental health and what is important to us too. So, we may see a general change in behaviour with regards to wellbeing and mental health on the other side of Covid – but that is purely a hope of mine!!

As a profession we must continue to acknowledge common stresses and continue further research into ways of coping with them. Many participants commented on how the exercise programme gave them structure and a means to combat some of those stresses, which was encouraging to see.

Overall, hopefully my research and two blogs have reiterated the power exercise has to benefit our mental wellbeing. Additionally, I hope they have illustrated the power of community too and as we progress through to the light at the end of the Covid-tunnel, both exercise and community can be of paramount importance for the veterinary profession.

I’d like to take this opportunity to thank everyone within the profession who is making and has made the time to focus on wellbeing and mental health. Exercise for me is a great way to help my mind and body, and I hope that the exercise programme at Nottingham helped a few of my peers see the benefits too.

Unfortunately we were unable to run a parallel programme with members of the first-year, April cohort at Nottingham but I hope similar studies will take place at other universities in the future.

Once again, I’d like to extend my thanks and gratitude to the RCVS Mind Matters Initiative team for help with funding and publishing the blogs, the UoN Sports staff for allowing us to use their facilities at a reduced rate, all the sports societies’ presidents and captains for giving up their time. Georgie Bladon, Sabine Tötemeyer and Amy Sansby who were brilliant support and Caroline Quarmby for her volunteering to lead the circuit sessions. A big thank you to the VetFit team for their inspiration and support too. And of course, thank you to all the participants for giving their time and energy to the programme! 

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Figure 1. Thematic map

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change in score from Q1-Q3 (points)	Wellbeing change	Number of Individuals
8+	Unequivocally meaningful positive wellbeing change	5
3-7	Possibly meaningful positive wellbeing change	2
0-3	No meaningful change	3
(Negative) 3-7	Possibly meaningful negative wellbeing change	1

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*WEMWBS was developed by the Universities of Warwick, Edinburgh and Leeds in conjunction with NHS Health Scotland.

I think everyone can agree that lockdown has been a massive shock to the system. But it has also been a steep learning curve. During these rollercoaster times, I have not only learnt more about society and how we can work together to support each other, but also about myself and how to be kind to myself as well as others.

When lockdown was first announced, I (like many of my fellow students) returned home, assuming it would only be for a few weeks. However, what was presumed to be a relatively brief few weeks, was now likely to be closer to months.

Whilst adapting to this new normal brought about by the Coronavirus pandemic, many students were still trying to revise for upcoming exams, myself included. This period, saw many exams across universities postponed, while others were moved online. How different would this prove sat at home, perhaps in front of open books? Initially, like many others, I struggled to work out how to revise and adapt my learning in order to best to tackle these changes. Although, I soon realised that these exams, while still stressful and difficult, were no different to the exams I had sat many times before, just under different circumstances and that it was my attitude toward them that needed to change above anything else. It was from this epiphany that I realised I needed to be kinder to myself and give myself a break. Exams, while still important, are not worth disregarding your own mental health and wellbeing. The premise of striving towards the tough task of passing any vet school exam is difficult at the best of times while juggling life. Given we are not in wholly conducive circumstances, amidst uncertain times, the usual standards and benchmarks we set may not be attainable or realistic in our new ‘normal’.

Moreover, we must not disregard the mammoth achievement of the 2020 graduating class for successfully completing vet school, during a pandemic, to become what is likely to be the first in a long line of the most adaptable vets to date. The end of vet school is usually heralded by a day of graduation gowns, champagne and dad’s trying to hide their tears. However, this has had to adapt and change, as with most events this year. Across the UK and Ireland, graduation ceremonies have been held in gardens, on beaches and in forests, with home-made caps and gowns and a virtual ceremony. While many will be disappointed that they were not able to attend the traditional graduation, I see this as a feat of ingenuity of the 2020 graduating class. Not only have they conquered one of the toughest and most demanding university courses, but they have also made a graduation day for themselves that they will never forget, with their
friends and family able to sit through the whole thing with them. It is unlikely that any other graduating class will have an experience quite as individual as they have, and that is something that should be cherished, not begrudged.

In these ever-changing times, we must look to the future and think what we can take to improve ourselves from this experience. If nothing else, the past few months have taught me just how resourceful and adaptable we can all be as a profession. It would have been all too easy to stick to the old ways and struggle to stay afloat, but we have adapted and taken this as an opportunity to improve. Realising that it is OK to have a break, to be kind to yourself, to talk to others is as much a survival skill as any. Learning to change our ways of learning and living only proves to hone our problem solving skills as vets. Every situation, even a pandemic, has its positives if you dare to look close enough, and changing to a more positive outlook is the first step to finding these opportunities.

Isobel Arthur, AVS president 2020-21

Ami Sawran, veterinary surgeon

When I’m looking at all of this as a calm and rational person, lockdown is a situation in which I can truly take stock of the things I have taken for granted in my professional and personal life. It is also a catalyst for reaffirming just how grateful I am for the good things in my life; for example, the fact that neither my partner nor I have been driven up the wall by the other’s constant presence, typing, or thinking too loudly, the fact that my dog is truly hilarious, and that my shed really did need a good tidy-out. I’ve painted all my kitchen furniture, built the dog and obstacle course, and I’ve also learned to knit, which I think is fascinating, but I can see that people are going to get bored of my enthusiastic creations very soon.

I’ve found that connection and communication can be both a blessing and a curse in this time. Conversation is wonderful, but I must be in the mood for it, hence appearing ‘always available’ because we cannot go anywhere can feel a little overwhelming. It has also been difficult to distance myself from work because my office is about 5 metres from my bedroom. I’ve had to set firmer boundaries about my ‘free’ time and work time, because they’re not delineated by a commute anymore. Social media has also been an absolute riot – I love watching people do kind, community spirited things, but I also have quickly come to hate watching bored people bitch at each other or get into verbose competitions about who is doing lockdown better. I have to take my social media time in short bursts, or I can lose a day to mindless and frankly depressing chatter about nothing at all. Again, when I’m being fair and rational, I can see that many people are just scared and looking to blame someone for their feels, but in the moment, it can be a bit much. But I have to say, groups such as Vets: Stay Go or Diversify have been really fun, and my (non-vet) friend has started a venture called ‘Quiz Nights for the Quarantine’, which has kept me entertained. I have also taken a weird few days of annual leave, which saw me planted firmly in front of Netflix for eight-hour long stretches, and I’m not even remotely sorry for that. It was great.

This has not all been a lesson in how grateful and lucky I am; I’ve had my down times. Sudden restriction on anyone’s freedom is bound to make them feel things ranging from ‘a bit out of sorts’ to downright depressed, anxious and insecure and frightened. I recognise that with a stable home and job, I am one of the lucky ones. Nevertheless, I’ve had days where I have had a big cry and mourned the (seemingly irrelevant) things I was looking forward to which have been cancelled. I’ve had a cry solely dedicated to fear of getting sick myself, or loved ones being ill. I’ve also had days where I just felt entirely flat, without being able to pinpoint a real reason. I feel like this fluctuation in mood and hopefulness is normal, at least, that’s what I am telling myself. Boring as it sounds, I am helped by simply taking each day as it comes, because I genuinely don’t have any choice but to.

My anxiety generally flares in situations where I can’t make plans or get things done in an agreeable (and potentially unreasonable) timescale. Luckily, from the outset, my company (VetPartners) was incredibly proactive in collating information and providing guidelines to support our daily activities.  Thus, I’ve been able to surrender myself to the mysterious inevitability of it all. We had good boundaries in place and fora in which to ask questions. Vets immediately started to work from home, and luckily, we have good enough IT to make remote working very easy. This helped settle me personally, so then I, with the help of the rest of Westpoint’s wellbeing group, decided to create a resource that would help other people adjust to working from home, westpointwellbeing.com. The site is open to contributors, but for the most part I have been posting daily work-from-home workouts, and linking to good procrastination outlets, free CPD, and tips for productive work from home. I started a VetPartners run club on Strava, to coax some running motivation too. We also had some excellent resources disseminated by our wonderful marketing manager, who provides a social round-up every week.

In terms of managing my team, we are incredibly lucky to be a close-knit and team-spirited group. Our Whatsapp game has been upped considerably, and we are using video chats to get together at least once a week to check-in. I’ve had to make our in-office positives board (where we record good feedback and achievements) more of a virtual thing now, but it redoubles my efforts to relay great feedback to the team. I already knew that I worked with a nice group, but being in this difficult situation has truly meant that we have pulled together and every single person has made a demonstrable effort to make other teammates lives easier, the days run more smoothly, and keep the impact on clients as minimal as possible. We may even be communicating with them more than ever now. Clients have also been very helpful in maintaining social distancing – our company policy on this is firm and repeated often to keep us safe. I’ve been dutifully watched from afar when tending to sick animals without their usual handler (sometimes with retrospectively hilarious results). I’ve gotten very good at utilising random objects for safe restraint. Though it can be difficult to safely work around large animals at the best of times, our clients have been kind and thoughtful in their approach to our visits.

In fact, lessons have been learned about how we can still all connect while apart, and I think we will carry those forward into the future normality – whatever that looks like.

Schwartz Rounds provide a safe, reflective forum for clinical and non-clinical staff to come together and discuss the emotional aspects of their job. Following the success of Schwartz Rounds in the NHS, the Mind Matters Initiative is currently developing a pilot to explore their effectiveness in a veterinary context.

Here, Amy Martin (pictured) writes about how a Schwartz Round helped identify and address themes of guilt and anger among colleagues at her veterinary hospital group.

Amy Martin BSc (Hons) RVN, DipAVN, DipHE CVN NCert(BusDev) MBVNA General Manager.

Amy is a Registered Veterinary Nurse with 12 years management experience. Her passion is the wellbeing of staff, it is her belief that happy staff deliver phenomenal patient care.

Addressing the emotional impact of veterinary practice

Back in 2017 we decided that Schwartz Rounds would be useful for our organisation, a veterinary hospital group of three practices. Schwartz Rounds are a unique forum that enables clinical and non-clinical staff to come together to discuss the emotional and psychological impacts of our work. As an organisation focused on the wellbeing of its staff this seemed like a good fit for us.
This Round, our fifth, was called ‘Bad Endings’ – a title that was sure to inspire a powerful Round, but just how powerful was a surprise to me. The stories were very different but it quickly became apparent during the group discussion that many of us had not reflected on our emotions with regards to euthanasia and death in our patients. Operating as we do in a busy first opinion practice, taking both emergencies and referrals, it can be hard to take any time between cases to examine the emotional impact what we have just witnessed has on us as people.
Themes emerged, such as guilt over calling the right time for euthanasia, anger with the situation and ultimately sadness that we had to let another one go. Deep bonds are formed with our patients over many years. We first see them as babies and let them go as (mostly) as old pets. What also emerged was the bonds we also form with the owners of our patients and when we lose a patient this can often mean saying goodbye to old friends.
All our staff, clinical and non-clinical, have been invited to Rounds and we have had good attendance from all disciplines. It has helped us to see our work from one another’s point of view and has already begun to effect change in our organisation as a ripple from the issues discussed during Rounds.
Facilitating is not an easy job and this time I found myself swept away remembering stories from my own clinical practice and shed tears along with a number of other staff members. The great thing about this is that I didn’t feel awkward, I felt as though I was among friends. Hopefully showing my vulnerability has helped to indicate that no matter what your position these feelings are normal, can and should be discussed and acknowledged.
We have noticed during other Rounds, in our short history of running them, that euthanasia is a topic which has been revisited many times and we have a feeling this will continue in future Rounds. It will be important to keep exploring this to enable us to continue to be compassionate caregivers. The support and encouragement from The Point of Care Foundation has been invaluable as we embark on being the first veterinary practice to offer Rounds to its staff.

Amy Martin, August 2018

 

What are Schwartz Rounds?

Schwartz Rounds are a safe, confidential, voluntary, reflective forum for all staff, both clinical and non-clinical to come together to discuss the emotional and social aspects of their jobs. Rounds follow a standard model determining how they should be run, ensuring that they can be replicated across different settings. They normally take place once a month, for an hour at a time, usually at lunch time with food provided. The basic format of a Round is that a panel of three or four staff members from different disciplines present stories of personal experiences, based on a topic or case. After the stories have been told, two trained facilitators open the discussion to the audience, inviting audience members to reflect on the stories and their own experiences. Rounds are purely reflective, and the intention is that outcomes or solutions are not discussed.

The Rounds are licensed by The Point of Care Foundation who provide assistance and training in embedding Rounds with organisational practice.

For more information on Schwartz Rounds contact schwartz@pointofcarefoundation.org.uk