Downloaded from http://veterinaryrecord.bmj.com/ on June 22, 2015 - Published by group.bmj.com
News & Reports
BVA Congress
A positive approach to stress With stress-related issues increasingly being recognised as a problem in the veterinary profession, a session at the recent BVA Congress focused on ways of improving mental wellbeing. Laura Honey reports ‘Stress is the adverse reaction people have to excessive pressures or other types of demand placed on them at work.’ So said Rosie Allister, a director of the Veterinary Benevolent Fund (VBF), quoting the Health and Safety Executive’s definition of stress. Speaking during a BVA Congress session at the London Vet Show on November 22, she explained that stress was determined by the level of demand or the level of difficulty of the task faced by the individual, how much control or say that individual had of the issue, and the support and resources accessible to them. She reported that 40 per cent of work-related illnesses in the UK each year were attributable to stress and that 10.4 million working days were lost, with an average of 24 days being taken off by those suffering stress. Focusing on the veterinary profession, she said that it had a high suicide rate, about three to four times higher than that of the general population and, in the past, this had 538 | Veterinary Record | December 7, 2013
been attributed to the fact that vets had easy access to means of suicide. However, studies over the past five years had found that there were other factors contributing to these high suicide rates, including higher levels of anxiety and depressive symptoms displayed by vets compared to the general population, and lower levels of positive mental wellbeing. Discussing some of the specific risk factors for stress in vets, Ms Allister said that these included ‘managerial aspects of the job, long working hours, client relations, performing euthanasia and delivering bad news’, to name a few. She also explained that, compared to the general population, vets found it particularly stressful to change careers or leave the profession. Stress could be identified at an individual level by observing changes in eating, drinking or smoking habits, as well as, social withdrawal, mood swings, changes in attendance and loss of motivation. At a practice level it could be identified by noticing
an increase in staff/client turnover, an increase in complaints or grievances against people and difficulty in attracting new staff. She discussed the services available to those suffering from stress, as well as to family and friends of sufferers. These ranged from charities such as the Samaritans, to helplines that could help with legal problems such as those run by the BVA and the Veterinary Defence Society (VDS). She also described the four arms of the VBF; the Vet Helpline, the VBF itself, the Veterinary Surgeons’ Health Support Programme and Vetlife. Ms Allister said that it was important to be proactive in asking for help. For those offering support to colleagues and friends, it would be important to decipher the support that was best suited to the person at that time and also to listen to them and let them know that they wouldn’t be judged. To overcome stress, a person needs to reach a state of mental wellbeing, which
Downloaded from http://veterinaryrecord.bmj.com/ on June 22, 2015 - Published by group.bmj.com
News & Reports
Rosie Allister: it is important to be proactive in asking for help with stress and other mental health issues
is ‘essentially about feeling good and functioning effectively in a sustainable way’, said David Bartram, founder of the International Veterinary Professional Wellness Network and the second speaker in the debate. Things that contributed to overall mental wellbeing included ‘positive emotion, self-esteem, resilience and positive relationships’. He also pointed out that ‘mental wellbeing can lead to an enhanced physical health’, giving the example of cardiovascular problems related to stress. Discussing 10 things that could be done to improve mental wellbeing, Mr Bartram said that the most important factor affecting
happiness was ‘relating’, that is, connecting with people and developing close, secure and supportive relationships. He added that people who were happiest tended to have between four and five people with whom they were very close. Other factors included ‘giving’, that is, doing random acts of kindness for others; undertaking moderate exercise; getting six to eight-and-a-half hours of sleep each night; and ‘trying out’, that is, continual learning and challenging oneself to do new things. Expanding on this last point, he said that individuals should try to enter a state of ‘flow’ – a state of mind where they completely lost track of time – everyday for as long as they could afford. After the presentations, in response to a question about whether the problems with stress were unique to the UK veterinary profession, Ms Allister said that, on the whole, it was a global problem, but that suicide rates were low in male vets from New Zealand and vets from Denmark. She said that it was not known why this was the case and more research was needed to find out what these countries were doing differently. Another question from the floor concerned the number of calls received from new graduates worried about making mistakes in practice. Mr Bartram said that it was very common for helplines to receive calls of this nature, but that they were often
David Bartram: relating and making close connections with others is the most important factor affecting mental wellbeing
regarding minor mistakes. It was important in these cases to reassure and support new graduates so that their confidence was not knocked. Bringing the session to a close, Ms Allister said the ‘key message should be to develop and maintain close, confiding relationships’. doi: 10.1136/vr.f7146
December 7, 2013 | Veterinary Record | 539
Downloaded from http://veterinaryrecord.bmj.com/ on June 22, 2015 - Published by group.bmj.com
A positive approach to stress
Veterinary Record 2013 173: 538-539
doi: 10.1136/vr.f7146 Updated information and services can be found at: http://veterinaryrecord.bmj.com/content/173/22/538
These include:
Email alerting service
Receive free email alerts when new articles cite this article. Sign up in the box at the top right corner of the online article.
Notes
To request permissions go to: http://group.bmj.com/group/rights-licensing/permissions To order reprints go to: http://journals.bmj.com/cgi/reprintform To subscribe to BMJ go to: http://group.bmj.com/subscribe/
News & Reports
BVA Congress
A positive approach to stress With stress-related issues increasingly being recognised as a problem in the veterinary profession, a session at the recent BVA Congress focused on ways of improving mental wellbeing. Laura Honey reports ‘Stress is the adverse reaction people have to excessive pressures or other types of demand placed on them at work.’ So said Rosie Allister, a director of the Veterinary Benevolent Fund (VBF), quoting the Health and Safety Executive’s definition of stress. Speaking during a BVA Congress session at the London Vet Show on November 22, she explained that stress was determined by the level of demand or the level of difficulty of the task faced by the individual, how much control or say that individual had of the issue, and the support and resources accessible to them. She reported that 40 per cent of work-related illnesses in the UK each year were attributable to stress and that 10.4 million working days were lost, with an average of 24 days being taken off by those suffering stress. Focusing on the veterinary profession, she said that it had a high suicide rate, about three to four times higher than that of the general population and, in the past, this had 538 | Veterinary Record | December 7, 2013
been attributed to the fact that vets had easy access to means of suicide. However, studies over the past five years had found that there were other factors contributing to these high suicide rates, including higher levels of anxiety and depressive symptoms displayed by vets compared to the general population, and lower levels of positive mental wellbeing. Discussing some of the specific risk factors for stress in vets, Ms Allister said that these included ‘managerial aspects of the job, long working hours, client relations, performing euthanasia and delivering bad news’, to name a few. She also explained that, compared to the general population, vets found it particularly stressful to change careers or leave the profession. Stress could be identified at an individual level by observing changes in eating, drinking or smoking habits, as well as, social withdrawal, mood swings, changes in attendance and loss of motivation. At a practice level it could be identified by noticing
an increase in staff/client turnover, an increase in complaints or grievances against people and difficulty in attracting new staff. She discussed the services available to those suffering from stress, as well as to family and friends of sufferers. These ranged from charities such as the Samaritans, to helplines that could help with legal problems such as those run by the BVA and the Veterinary Defence Society (VDS). She also described the four arms of the VBF; the Vet Helpline, the VBF itself, the Veterinary Surgeons’ Health Support Programme and Vetlife. Ms Allister said that it was important to be proactive in asking for help. For those offering support to colleagues and friends, it would be important to decipher the support that was best suited to the person at that time and also to listen to them and let them know that they wouldn’t be judged. To overcome stress, a person needs to reach a state of mental wellbeing, which
Downloaded from http://veterinaryrecord.bmj.com/ on June 22, 2015 - Published by group.bmj.com
News & Reports
Rosie Allister: it is important to be proactive in asking for help with stress and other mental health issues
is ‘essentially about feeling good and functioning effectively in a sustainable way’, said David Bartram, founder of the International Veterinary Professional Wellness Network and the second speaker in the debate. Things that contributed to overall mental wellbeing included ‘positive emotion, self-esteem, resilience and positive relationships’. He also pointed out that ‘mental wellbeing can lead to an enhanced physical health’, giving the example of cardiovascular problems related to stress. Discussing 10 things that could be done to improve mental wellbeing, Mr Bartram said that the most important factor affecting
happiness was ‘relating’, that is, connecting with people and developing close, secure and supportive relationships. He added that people who were happiest tended to have between four and five people with whom they were very close. Other factors included ‘giving’, that is, doing random acts of kindness for others; undertaking moderate exercise; getting six to eight-and-a-half hours of sleep each night; and ‘trying out’, that is, continual learning and challenging oneself to do new things. Expanding on this last point, he said that individuals should try to enter a state of ‘flow’ – a state of mind where they completely lost track of time – everyday for as long as they could afford. After the presentations, in response to a question about whether the problems with stress were unique to the UK veterinary profession, Ms Allister said that, on the whole, it was a global problem, but that suicide rates were low in male vets from New Zealand and vets from Denmark. She said that it was not known why this was the case and more research was needed to find out what these countries were doing differently. Another question from the floor concerned the number of calls received from new graduates worried about making mistakes in practice. Mr Bartram said that it was very common for helplines to receive calls of this nature, but that they were often
David Bartram: relating and making close connections with others is the most important factor affecting mental wellbeing
regarding minor mistakes. It was important in these cases to reassure and support new graduates so that their confidence was not knocked. Bringing the session to a close, Ms Allister said the ‘key message should be to develop and maintain close, confiding relationships’. doi: 10.1136/vr.f7146
December 7, 2013 | Veterinary Record | 539
Downloaded from http://veterinaryrecord.bmj.com/ on June 22, 2015 - Published by group.bmj.com
A positive approach to stress
Veterinary Record 2013 173: 538-539
doi: 10.1136/vr.f7146 Updated information and services can be found at: http://veterinaryrecord.bmj.com/content/173/22/538
These include:
Email alerting service
Receive free email alerts when new articles cite this article. Sign up in the box at the top right corner of the online article.
Notes
To request permissions go to: http://group.bmj.com/group/rights-licensing/permissions To order reprints go to: http://journals.bmj.com/cgi/reprintform To subscribe to BMJ go to: http://group.bmj.com/subscribe/
