who needs a coach?

Originally published in The Ontario Veterinary Medical Association Magazine

Volume 42, No. 1 January/February 2023

Veterinary teams are struggling to keep up with client demands, feeling increased stress, compassion fatigue, and some members are experiencing burnout and needing to pause their careers or choose a different path altogether. We are all starting to realize how important well-being is to the enjoyment of our everyday practice and personal life.

Research shows that a key requirement for veterinarians seeking employment is mentorship1. It is rare to see a DVM wanted ad without the promise of mentorship. Experience of in-clinic mentorship has been less than ideal, prompting some clinicians to change employment or look for support from third party companies that offer virtual mentorship and leadership training. A few veterinary corporations have formalized a new graduate mentorship program with some success. But, with the rapid increase in corporatization as owners step back or retire, in-clinic leadership has declined[2]. And, with staff shortages and an increased demand for services, well-intentioned mentorship programs have been glossed-over to a thin veneer [3]

One corporation has introduced a professional development coaching program to complement its mentorship program. This program is using ICF-certified coaches[4] to work with recent graduate veterinarians over 6 months as they transition into a new role. The goals of the program are to support mental wellness, manage workplace expectations, facilitate moral, ethical, and client concerns, and to encourage self-care.5 Personal well-being and emotional support – especially early in a career - can be an important step in making the practice of veterinary medicine more enjoyable and sustainable 5,6,7

Unlike mentorship, coaching is not advice-driven; instead, a coach listens closely to the concerns of the client, encourages self- reflection, identifies limiting beliefs, and helps the client establish next steps8. The intention is to overcome career obstacles, set new goals, take positive action, and move toward a healthier present and future. Coaching can enhance emotional resiliency, develop a positive mindset, and bring clarity to any challenge one may face. Coaching is a natural complement to mentorship training.

One set of limiting beliefs routinely encountered when coaching veterinarians is the result of a hyper-achiever mindset. The hyper-achiever is a Saboteur9 because it promises us the misguided belief that hard work and excellence will bring success in our role as well as recognition and praise from our peers, co-workers, and clients. We are hard-wired for this belief after years of schooling based solely on getting good grades in a highly competitive environment. This is conditional success based on constant performance and achievement. Does this sound familiar? When trials and busy clinic life mount up, the perfectionistic hyper-achiever finds it harder to find the meaning and purpose in their work. Imposter Syndrome can show up as one becomes self-critical and experiences feelings of self-doubt and low self-esteem. And as stress increases, burnout and psychological distress can occur.10 Even as the negative consequences of over-work and stress become intolerable, hyper-achievers are slow to enlist help from others due in part to the negative stigma associated with mental health concerns.10 The hyper-achiever is just one of several Saboteurs that can interfere with our everyday life challenges and contribute to our stress and unhappiness.9 Once a Saboteur and its limiting beliefs is exposed for what it is, we can learn to move away from the negative emotions that are keeping us stressed and unhappy.

Coaching should be made available to all team members: to become more confident, emotionally agile, and more engaged in their personal and professional lives. Coaching can bridge the gap between the professional skill development that in-clinic mentoring offers and the softer skill development that self-awareness, self-care, and emotional well-being can bring to overall job satisfaction.

I can readily look back over my career and see where a coach could have helped me to navigate overwhelm and burnout, difficult workplace decisions, approach career transitions, and become more emotionally resilient and self-aware. In earlier years, burnout was an unspoken truth - now it is on all of our minds. Work-life balance is being taught in our veterinary institutions, and, as awareness increases, the emotional and economic toll of burnout is becoming an avoidable casualty in our profession. Coaching is an opportunity to get help, to build our emotional agility, to help us better manage our stress, and to reconnect with the passion and purpose in our personal and professional lives.

After a long and successful career as a small animal veterinarian I have become an ICF certified coach with the intent to bring mental wellness to the veterinary community. My practice is based on the theories of Positive Intelligence9 which explore three cornerstones: the Sage, the Saboteur and developing mental fitness, all with the goal of shifting us from surviving to thriving.

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References

1 Brick, Troy A. Student Expectations for their first veterinary job. AABP vol53 - no2 - September 2020. [2] Elwood, Clive. Leadership in Veterinary Medicine. United Kingdom, Wiley, 2021. 3 Showers, Annie. An Exploration of Veterinarians’ Perspectives on Corporatization. VIN Foundation 413 F Street, Davis, California 95616. 4 International Coaching Federation. 2365 Harrodsburg Rd. Suite A325, Lexington, KY 40504. 5 Moses L., Malowney M.J., Boyd, J.W. (2018) Ethical conflict and moral distress in veterinary practice: A survey of North American veterinarians. Journal of Veterinary Internal Medicine, 32(6), 2115-2122. https://doi.org/10.1111/jvim.15315. 6 Volk J.O, Schimmack U, Strand E.B, Lord L.K, Siren C.W (2018) Executive summary of the Merck Animal Health Veterinary Wellbeing Study https://doi.org/10.2460/javma.252.10.1231. 7 Reinhard AR, Hains KD, Hains BJ, Strand EB (2020). Are They Ready? Trials, Tribulations, and Professional Skills Vital for New Veterinary Graduate Success. Frontiers in Veterinary Science. doi:10.3389/fvets.2021.785844. 8 Carson J, Smith J, Crawford J, and Hanson B, Mentoring Challenges During a Pandemic. SEM vol108, p7-8, November 2021. 9 Chamine, Shirzad. Positive intelligence: Why only 20% of teams and individuals achieve their true potential and how you can achieve yours. Greenleaf Book Group, 2012. 10 Olson, Sonja A. Creating Wellbeing and Building Resilience in the Veterinary Profession: A Call to Life. CRC Press, 2022. Author: Dr. Bill Hanson ACC, BCC DVM, Diplomate ABVP (canine, feline)