Wellbeing for the Veterinary Profession
While wellbeing is difficult to define, it is generally thought of as the presence of positive emotions and moods, the absence of negative emotions, positive functioning and feelings of satisfaction and fulfilment. Wellbeing is a state in which people feel they have the tools, support and environment they need to be themselves and to build and sustain lives worth living. Working in the veterinary profession can be varied, enjoyable, and immensely fulfilling. However, it may also come with challenges and pressures that can lead to stress, anxiety, depression, burnout, and compassion fatigue. Contributors to and impediments for the wellbeing of veterinary teams are receiving more attention and research than ever before.
This collection brings together articles published in the New Zealand Veterinary Journal over the last 6 years on the topic of wellbeing in the veterinary profession. It opens with an editorial on the future of veterinary caregiving by Sonja Olson, a former veterinary clinician and now a health and wellbeing trainer, published in the November 2022 issue of the Journal. Also from the November 2022 issue are two articles reporting on approaches to improve wellbeing amongst veterinary personnel. The collection is anchored by a review published in the January 2020 issue of the Journal regarding the psychological wellbeing of veterinarians. The collection also contains articles reporting the experiences of new graduate vets, preferences for new-graduate support programmes, workplace bullying and an editorial with advice for surviving clinical errors. As a whole this collection reflects the recent increase in interest in the field of veterinary wellbeing and contributes to the development of a body of knowledge regarding how to mitigate the challenges of a caregiving profession allowing all veterinarians to thrive.