Creating Wellbeing and Building Resilience in the Veterinary Profession

A Call to Life aims to help veterinary caregivers increase self-efficacy, decrease unnecessary suffering, and increase sustainability in their mission to support animal health around the world. The veterinary profession is powered by dedicated, bright, and selfless individuals. Unfortunately, the long-standing and dysfunctional culture in classrooms and practices around the world expects veterinary caregivers to be ready to sacrifice everything – their time, their health, their personal lives – in the name of being deemed qualified and ‘worthy.’

Integrating real-life stories from a range of veterinary caregivers with evidence-based theory, practical activities, discussion and reflection points, and insights drawn from the author’s own experiences, the book empowers veterinarians by showing that they have the ability and the control to choose a healthier way forward for themselves and for their profession. It describes how to:

• Normalize the conversation around mental and emotional health challenges in caregiving environments
• Discuss and collaboratively create systemic solutions that promote healthier ‘ecosystems’ for vets to work within
• Develop the skills of reframing, mindfulness, and self-care strategy implementation supporting holistic veterinary well-being
• Collectively choose to shift the framework of professional conversations towards psychological safety, optimism, and purpose-driven experiences.

Creating Wellbeing and Building Resilience in the Veterinary Profession: A Call to Life uniquely combines shared experiences (personal stories) with academic research into the contributing factors of compassion fatigue and how to counter these. Normalizing the conversation in the profession, it provides a wide array of possible solutions to build resilience and to shape a culture of collaboration and support where caregivers can flourish.

Dr. Sonja Olson grew up with her human and animal family members mostly in Maryland, but every summer included time with family in Wisconsin as well. She graduated from Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine with a focus on exotic animal medicine. Her professional path led to over 25 years of practicing clinical small animal and exotic emergency medicine in both private and corporate practice environments. The myriad of opportunities to teach, mentor, and lead that arose during these years were deeply fulfilling but there was also an increased awareness of the far-reaching need for veterinary well-being awareness and skills. This combination fostered Sonja’s passion to better understand, and then support, the holistic health of the veterinary caregivers. She is now focusing her energy on being a health & well-being trainer for veterinary associates through her current work role, podcasts, writing, and collaborative efforts with other like-minded souls. Creating awareness, heightening knowledge, and building compassionate communities will serve as the foundation for a thriving future veterinary profession. Re-energizing for herself comes from enjoying play time with her husband and furry kids, dark chocolate, yoga, running, and deepening her vipassana meditation practices.