New stress management guide released by RCVS
The guide is the first of MMI's Applied Mental Health Science series.
The Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons’ (RCVS) Mind Matters Initiative (MMI) has launched a new guide to support veterinary professionals and employers with understanding and managing stress.
Understanding stress in the veterinary workplace includes information on managing workplace stress, explores the role of leaders and line managers, and discusses how to speak to a colleague about their wellbeing.
The guide is a revised edition of information previously published in 2018, now updated with new evidence-based research on stress management. Developed by Elinor O’Connor, professor of occupational psychology at the University of Manchester, it is available free for veterinary organisations and individuals.
Prof O’Connor said:“We know that veterinary work can be stressful, and that stress can have negative impacts on wellbeing and mental health, and it is of utmost importance that individuals and organisations are equipped with the tools to manage stress effectively. In the 2024 RCVS Surveys of the Professions, 91% of veterinary surgeons and 93% of veterinary nurses, of those surveyed, agreed that their work is stressful.
“Our new Understanding stress in the veterinary workplace guide builds on an original edition published in 2018 to ensure that the evidence-based advice remains up to date, effective, and relevant.”
Its release coincides with Stress Awareness Month, an annual event which highlights the causes and effects of stress. It seeks to promote effective stress management techniques, encourage open conversations and provide useful resources and support.
This year’s theme, ‘#LeadwithLove’, calls for everyone to ‘approach ourselves and others with kindness, compassion, and acceptance, no matter the challenges we face’.
The guide is the first of MMI’s Applied Mental Health Science series, designed to support veterinary professionals and workplaces to understand mental health topics through evidence-based research.
Rapinder Newton, MMI lead, said: “For us, working with qualified professionals who are up to date on the latest research is essential. We have therefore worked alongside Elinor, who has practised as an occupational psychologist in a range of sectors, to help us create an evidence-based guide which can be used by practices and individuals alike to help understand and manage stress in the veterinary workplace.
“Most recently Elinor has been conducting a programme of applied research on work-related stress and wellbeing in veterinarians. She has used this knowledge to help create this guide, which is free to download and available to all those working in the UK veterinary sector.”
Understanding stress in a veterinary workplace can be downloaded for free on the Mind Matters Initiative website.
Image © RCVS
Defra has published guidance for the vet sector ahead of a proposed UK-EU Sanitary and Phytosanitary agreement.
