Wellbeing Comes First
It's as critical to care for your mental health now as it was during vet school. Here are some resources to help you thrive as a veterinarian in your first year post-graduation.
When You Need Help Now
You are a valued member of our veterinary community. If you’re struggling, here’s the phone number to get help immediately.
If you or someone you know might be in crisis, please get help immediately. Call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255, or text HOME to the Crisis Text Line at 741741 from anywhere in the U.S. to talk with a trained crisis counselor.
Helping Your Peers
Wellness gatekeeper training can be a critical tool to save lives—and it’s available free of charge to AVMA members.
Get Trained to Identify and Refer At-Risk Peers
Learn how to recognize signs that someone may be considering suicide and guide them to seek professional help. This training is not a substitute for professional assistance, but it can be a critical tool to save lives. Requires AVMA login.
Wellbeing 101
Self-care is as important as knowing the differential diagnoses for polyuria/polydipsia. Get the essentials to help make your first year as a veterinarian a healthy (and happy) one!
Start your journey to improved professional wellbeing with the Professional Quality of Life (ProQOL) Assessment.
Use this step-by-step guide to assess your wellbeing and understand how the nine dimensions of wellbeing (yes, nine!) add up to self-care.
Support Your Wellbeing by Understanding Your Mind and Cultivating Mindsight
Listen to Dr. Daniel J. Siegel, keynote speaker at the 2016 AVMA Convention, to learn the connections between your mind and body as well as a simple breathing exercise proven to increase both physical and mental wellbeing. Requires AVMA login
Learn how your peer, Dr. Dani McVety, takes an honest look at how’s she feeling and discovers her issue is NOT running out of compassion—but something else that’s just as important.
Handling ethical dilemmas is a common cause of poor wellbeing in veterinary medicine. Learn what moral stress is and how to tell if you may be suffering from it. Plus, there’s a list of helpful resources to go to for help.
From humor to mindfulness, there are many different ways to relieve stress. Check out a comprehensive list of stress reducing strategies, including playing with your pet!
If you say, “I’m stressed out!” as commonly as you say, “Let me check my phone,” it’s time to grab some coping tips from Dr. Pat Wohlferth-Bethke’s useful list.
See more helpful articles in the AVMA “A Working Diagnosis” career series here.
Work-Life Integration
Life, in many ways, is a balancing act—walking a tightrope while juggling work and your personal life. Learn how to maintain work-life integration so you can succeed in your first year post-graduation.
Practical Tips for Stress
This webinar offers techniques you can use immediately to improve your wellbeing, plus long-term planning tips like how to craft a personal stress management plan. Requires AVMA login.
Many early career veterinarians question whether they’re prepared to do the work they’re hired to do. This helpful guide shows you how to overcome the “impostor” feeling and recognize your strengths. (Though the guide is written for graduate students, the issue is the same for relatively new veterinarians.)
When difficult situations arise, you might have questions you’re afraid to ask. We’ve got your answers here, from veterinarians like you.
Sometimes the hardest part of a patient’s diagnosis is delivering the news to the client. The upside is that client communication is a procedure you can master and feel good about! In this brief article, learn how to use your words as medical tools and bond-builders with your clients.
This is about you—not your furry patient who needs a baby gate. Read why setting boundaries is essential if you want to be both physically and emotionally healthy.
Create a workplace that supports wellbeing development— where everyone can thrive! In this 12-page handout, get 100 tips that you can apply at the individual and organizational level to support a culture of wellbeing.