It has been a busy year so far for the Royal College of Veterinary Surgesons' Mind Matters Initiative (MMI) — presenting at events, welcoming more ambassadors to our joint &me anti-stigma campaign with the Doctors' Support Network, and once again joining with the Society of Practising Veterinary Surgeons (SPVS) to open up the Vet Wellbeing Awards. I joined the Mind Matters team as Manager in May, and it's been amazing to get involved with so many wonderful projects!
Early on in the year Mind Matters teamed up with Dr Elinor O'Connor, Senior Lecturer in Occupational Psychology at Alliance Manchester Business School at the University of Manchester, to publish ‘A Guide to Enhancing Wellbeing and Managing Work Stress in the Veterinary Workplace’. This was launched at the SPVS/Veterinary Management Group (VMG) Congress from 25–27 January 2018 in Newport, and provides some really practical tips for increasing wellbeing in the veterinary workplace. If you'd like to download a copy, it's available digitally on our website (www.vetmindmatters.org/wellbeingguide).
Next up was the British Small Animal Veterinary Association (BSAVA) Congress, held this year from 5 to 8 April in Birmingham. These events are always a wonderful opportunity to talk to the professions about mental health, and our Chair Stuart Reid chaired two sessions featuring talks from Elinor, Lizzie Lockett, Mind Matters Director, and Anne-Marie Svendesen Aylott, Leadership Coach at PurpleCat Coaching.
There was also an ‘&me Live’ event chaired by Lizzie, talking about the joint Mind Matters and Doctors' Support Network (DSN) mental health campaign, &me. The campaign was launched in January 2017 at the House of Commons with the goal of encouraging senior people within the healthcare professions to come forward with their stories about mental health, and show how it didn't stop them from achieving leading roles in healthcare. Three of these ambassadors, together with Dr Louise Freeman, whose brainchild &me was, talked about their own experiences, and it was truly a wonderfully supportive atmosphere — if you'd be interested in coming forward as an ambassador please do drop a message to Dr Louise Freeman, Co-Chair of the DSN, at vicechair@dsn.org.uk.
Lizzie and I then journeyed to VetFest for the first time, this year held from 8–9 June in Loseley Park, Surrey. Lots of people turned out to Lizzie's talks on Mind Matters and wellbeing in practice, with plenty coming to the stand afterwards to pick up a copy of the ‘Guide to Enhancing Wellbeing’ (and to play our ‘hook a duck’ game!).
Finally, we're pleased to say that the Vet Wellbeing Awards will be running once again this year, with the nomination period opening at WellVet Weekend in Cambridge from 24–26 August. Jointly launched in 2016 by MMI and the Society of Practising Veterinary Surgeons (SPVS), the Awards highlight those practices that truly value wellbeing, implementing management systems and initiatives that motivate and engage their staff.
Entries are accepted across three practicesize categories and can be from either branch surgeries or whole practices, so if you're interested, check out the Wellbeing Checklist on the website www.vetwellbeingawards.org.uk. There will also soon be interviews with last year's winners published on the RCVS podcast, so do keep an eye out on www.rcvs.podbean.com! As well as jointly opening the Vet Wellbeing Awards with Nichola Walker, Executive Director at SPVS, Lizzie and I will also have a stand — do drop in to say hi if you're attending.
We will also soon be launching a new round of our popular mental health awareness training sessions — these are full-day courses designed to help you support those around you. To see the dates and venues, and to learn any more about any of our projects, please do keep an eye on our website at www.vetmindmatters.org, and we hope to see you at one of the events!