The closing date for a mental-health survey of veterinary professionals – the first of its kind in the country – is approaching. The Veterinary Council of Ireland (VCI) is calling on vets and veterinary nurses to complete the survey by June 25.
The research is being carried out in partnership with the National Suicide Research Foundation (NSRF) and the National Office for Suicide Prevention (NOSP).
The study has been designed by an independent research team from the NSRF, ethically approved by University College Cork, and the VCI hopes to use its findings to “inform its approach and policy in this area”.
Previous research conducted by the VCI in 2019 showed that 79% of registrants believe that supporting mental health and wellbeing is the most important issue facing the veterinary professions today which they would like to see the VCI work to address.
In a statement, the VCI said it hopes to gain a better understanding of the factors impacting the health of veterinary practitioners and veterinary nurses in Ireland and to help establish what can be done to support them.
The survey asks participants for feedback on areas such as:
- Rating their stress levels;
- Indicating the stress factors they are exposed to;
- How many hours a week they work;
- As well as other topics indicating the state of their mental health; their awareness and willingness to access any supports available to them; and their own attitudes towards their mental health.
Niamh Muldoon, CEO and registrar of the VCI said: “The topic of mental health is an extremely important one to the veterinary professions, and one of the key strategic objectives of the Veterinary Council of Ireland is to support the health and wellbeing of our registrants.”
The CEO said that while the topic of mental health has previously been examined on an international level, this is the first major piece of research being conducted within an Irish context.
“We hope that this will help to inform our decision making in this area and will provide some insights on how we can best work to support our veterinary professionals.”
In November 2020, the Veterinary Council launched the Safevet Smart handbook, an evidence-based practical guide to managing stress and building resilience for members of the veterinary professions.
The survey for all veterinary practitioners and veterinary nurses can be accessed here and will run until Friday, June 25.
All responses are anonymised and issue directly to the NSRF.