Blog Tag

What do you say if someone tells you they want to end it all? Important advice from psychologist Dr Nadine Hamilton... "Don't tell anyone, but I want to end it all". These are words none of us want to hear. Why? Because often we feel incredibly uncomfort...

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Given the range of experience levels and years in the industry present at Brudine, from new graduates to lifers, a lot of wisdom around personal care was offered. Dr Fiona Starr says what most staff seemed to think was essential: "the ability to compartme...

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Karen Connell (see previous article, Rate, Risk, Care) was keen to point out her study is just one of many around the world exploring mental health in veterinary services. She also felt it important to highlight that the research being done, and the growi...

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Cosmo's heartbreaking death continued to impact some of Brudine's staff beyond the moments, hours and days after. Dr Charlie Webb, who has handling Cosmo's case and who relayed the tragic events to Cosmo's owner, was replaying the events of the day, over...

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Love Your Pet Love Your Vet aims to raise awareness of veterinarian wellbeing, reduce the stigma in seeking help and provide support to veterinary professionals. Find out what they're experts at & how they can make your life easier......

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As good as a death can be through euthanasia, when the gift of giving it is taken away, it can be heartbreaking. It doesn't happen often, but it happened once while I was at Brudine and it was the most impactful event that I witnessed....

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The technical and clinical capabilities of veterinary care increasingly overlap with its human equivalent. While it's hard to imagine the former ever catching up with the latter, the former is far ahead when it comes to the end of life. Intrinsic to the n...

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Nothing medical is ever one hundred percent guaranteed, no matter how much some of use might think so. Arguably, some litigation against doctors arises (where there hasn't been malpractice) because of the mismatch between expectation and reality. Probably...

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Financial constraints on owners can create significant obstacles to animal care, requiring vets to seek more affordable clinical options that don't jeopardise an animal's health. The easiest way to see this is by considering the "gold standard". Dr Fiona...

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One prominent factor permeating dealings between practice staff and clients is cost. It was talked about a lot at Brudine, often in the context of affordability. It comes down to the inherent duality of veterinary practice as both caring service and priva...

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There are many important truths to working in veterinary practice. Dealing with people is first among equals. "You can't not be about people," says Brudine Practice Manager Bri Smith. "They are the entire basis of your business in the veterinary industry....

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There is little doubt that the veterinary practice someone works for can impact the quality and quantity of their career, sometimes beneficially, sometimes not. The importance of finding the right practice cannot be overstated, especially for new graduate...

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This time of the year can be tough for many people. Looking after ourselves is crucial if we want to maintain a healthy level of wellbeing - that doesn't just mean physically, but psychologically as well. Typically, the Christmas period can be a stressful...

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But it requires veterinary practices to be able to close at a reasonable time while also knowing that animal care will continue overnight. In the ACT, that overnight animal care is enabled through the region's veterinary services "night shift", which comp...

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The rhythm of a typical day at Brudine is dictated by an ongoing tussle between order and unpredictability. Setting order are the appointments schedule (for consultations) and the hospital board (for surgeries, diagnostics, observations and boarders). Lik...

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Holding a mirror to the veterinary industry to see the realities you work with every day. I came across Michael Weinhardt's 'So Many Other Things' photographic essay and accompanying articles a couple of weeks ago. I was drawn to the honesty in the photos...

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You may have a friend, family member or veterinary colleague suffering from mental health issues. But knowing what to say to offer help and support can be a challenge. You don&t want to say the wrong thing or something that may make them feel even worse....

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I'm starting to realise that the countdown to both Christmas and the end of 2017 is now upon us. And for those of you lucky enough to be taking a break from work and perhaps going away for a holiday it's also time to start thinking about that too. But wh...

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Have you got a bad habit going? Something that is not only failing to add anything to your life but may even be subtracting from it? Something you want to change but don't know how to? Follow this logical and science-backed approach to show...

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Why has our veterinary community been so quiet? First up I'm so sorry for seemingly disappearing for such an extended period. I realised I may have to take a break for a few weeks but didn't realise it would stretch out for as long as it has........

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Mind churn... it's a common occurence in the veterinary industry. You go to work, work hard, do your best and head off home to rest and recover in preparation for repeating the process the next day. You get home, change into clothes that don't smell ......

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Even though sometimes we may feel it, the fact is that none of us are superheroes. And we can't always achieve everything we think we should all the time. Sometimes we just need to say, "At this point in time, this is the best I can do." And be ok with it...

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Things are changing in the veterinary industry - but for some it's not changing fast enough. Many, maybe even most employers are cognizant of their duty of care to the physical and psychological health of their employees but there are a few recalcitrants...

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If you work in a veterinary practice, you'll know how diffcult it is to NOT take everything on.... There is a lovely little video on dvm360 where they use the analogy of loading more and more monkeys on your back as you go through your day. the monkeys re...

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In my simplistic view of the world, I consider people to be a lot like cars. We put fuel in our cars and this allows us to drive where we need to go. Similarly, practising self-care (think adequate sleep, good nutrition, exercise and supportive relations...

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Make lunch breaks the norm and take one small step towards a healthier workplace. Why is it that unhelpful habits form so easily? You have a busy week and get behind on your work, so you choose to skip lunch or maybe to eat it whilst you are doing ........

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Studying? It's that time of the year..... I've noticed lots of posts on social media with the hashtags #vetstudent #nosleep #sacrifice #examtime so I thought I'd ask Dr Cathy Warburton for some tips to help with study and exams...

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We can all be gatekeepers of each other's mental health in the veterinary industry. A Veterinarian in your practice seems a little different lately. She is quieter and you're noticing she is struggling to make quick decisions. Additionally, she has .........

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You can't teach an old dog new tricks a saying that is as old as the hills, but is it true? The first references to the concept of not being able to teach an old dog new tricks occurred back in the 1500's. This and the related saying, leopards can't chan...

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Working in veterinary practice is difficult enough but if you have a day where everything goes wrong what can you do? You know those days where everything you touch turns to stinky diarrhoea ? What do you do to get yourself back on track? We all have tho...

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How do we become, and stay, successful in veterinary practice? It has been said that success in veterinary practice comes when we have that sweet combination of clinical ability, interpersonal and personal skills. We in the veterinary industry are great a...

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Pets in the Park provides free veterinary care at monthly vet (health) clinics & quarterly desexing clinics for much-loved animal companions of people struggling with homelessness. .......

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We often hear about being more optimistic or resilient, but what does this actually mean? And are they just the same thing and derive from just thinking positive thoughts? The answer to this is no. While optimism is the basis of positive thinking, there...

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So what does your personality have to do with the way you work, communicate, or deal with stress? The answer to this is simply "quite a lot!". When you think about it, there are lots of different personality styles out there. Some people have an optimist...

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We talk about 'coping' and 'coping skills' all the time, but what do they actually mean - especially for those working in the veterinary industry?And is it possible to learn 'coping skills'?...

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Veterinarians have long been considered the guardians of animal welfare and health, however, their role has increasingly become more diverse, which is reported to increase pressure on this occupation. Additionally, the hardships of working within the vet...

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Compassion Fatigue has been described as the "cost of caring for others in emotional and physical pain. Compassion fatigue can be described as an emotional or spiritual exhaustion that takes over an individual. It is a state of tension and preoccupation w...

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There are so many aspects to the work of being a vet that it is so easy when you are on the outside to only see the awesome parts (such as the puppies or kittens) and think that the job is AWESOME, or to look at the sad parts (when a much loved family...

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There was so much information and experiences discussed by all the speakers at the '1st International Symposium for Veterinary Mental Health and Suicide Prevention' in Brisbane on Friday 29th May. I tested my tweeting skills and live tweeted throughout...

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I came across Nadine and her work via Twitter and was fascinated to hear about her role as a 'Wellbeing Coach for Vets' and I wanted to know more so I contacted Nadine & asked her a few questions.......

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