Developing a veterinary wellbeing framework

The life of every individual matters, whether they are animal or human, and it makes sense to strive for the very best working environments and lives for those working in the veterinary profession. We want the people in our industry to thrive, prosper and perform at their best.

To work towards that goal, VCNZ is running a project to create a veterinary wellbeing framework. Our aim is for the framework to lay the groundwork (set out the “what, why, how and who”) for a whole-of-profession initiative to improve veterinary wellbeing.

For the sake of discussion, a draft purpose for that initiative is:

“Better understanding the complexities of psychological health in the veterinary professions and promoting wellbeing to see better outcomes for veterinary teams, animals and the public”.

We are initiating and facilitating the creation of the framework and we’re looking for input from the whole profession. Our hope is that the profession takes ownership of the framework and the next phase (the initiative) because it’s in all of our interests to work together for the wellbeing of veterinary professionals.

At this stage, we are looking for input from all veterinarians and others interested in veterinary wellbeing in New Zealand. We’re asking that you read our discussion document and give us your feedback via a SurveyMonkey form.