If you read the news and social media, you've likely seen the messages about mistreatment of veterinary clinic staff by clients. Threats, abuse, social media rants, bad reviews, and warnings signs on clinic doors — it seems like the industry is under fire. Pet ownership is up to an unprecedented high and the skills shortages are affecting most roles in the veterinary team. Clinics are under immense pressure and clients have run out of patience, and manners.
Similar consumer behaviour is being seen in other industries. The pandemic has heightened our threat system, our fight instincts are triggered, fear, frustration, illness, and lockdown separations have made for fraught social interactions. No matter how we look at it, we have experienced unprecedented changes to our social structure, with many of us facing traumatic, life-altering disruptions in our jobs and families.
In many sectors, more people are changing jobs than in any other time in our generation. It's a job seeker's market. We want better conditions, we want more pay, we want work–life balance, we want some control over our futures. Amid all of this, students entering the veterinary sector face a mountain of challenges starting with a shortage of mentors and coaches simply as a result of skills shortages and unusually busy workplaces. How will these graduates help us out of this difficult situation? The challenges seem insurmountable.
With such disruption in our jobs and lives, and the problems around every corning in the veterinary sector, it can be hard to find the mental energy to think about a better future. However, with disruption, come opportunities and now, more than ever, we have a real chance to level up. Rude clients have given us clarity about our boundaries, making sure our expectations are clearly mapped, and prioritising how we look after our staff. Skills shortages are opening the door to discussions about veterinary nurse practitioners with delegated authority, not only to fill in for a deficit of veterinary surgeons but also to provide real opportunities for veterinary nursing career advancement. People leaving the field are highlighting cultural problems in our organisations that need to change.
More than ever before, to realise these changes we need leadership in our veterinary nursing profession, transformational leadership. We need advocates for promoting and clarifying our professional identity. We need leadership to highlight the value of nurses as leaders in clinical governance, measuring clinical effectiveness, promoting excellence and value in animal healthcare. We need visionary leaders looking at the challenges and opportunities in healthcare profession and helping us to carve out our own niche. We need more people to model growth and emotional literacy so that we can coach and mentor the next generation of students in these interpersonal skills that are increasingly in demand in our evolving and dynamic workforce.
Within all of these challenges and opportunities, it can seem like too much on top of everything else, but with balance, anything is possible. If we embrace the value of finding purpose outside of work, we can build our resilience as and personal wellbeing as parents, caregivers, friends. Indeed, growing as a leader starts with our own personal growth, to enable us to care for people we lead, and encourage them to be the best they can be. It is those people to whom we will pass the baton when we are done, because while we may be changemakers, we are but temporary guardians of our professional vision. Now with so much turmoil, our leadership to carry this vision is more important than ever. If you've ever thought about stepping up, now is the time. Join a committee, write an article for the journal, take someone under your wing. Anything is possible.