158: Psychological Safety For Vets: Why The Job Might Need Fixing, Not The People. With Dr Rebecca Faris

About this episode

This episode discusses the need for changes in the veterinary profession to improve job satisfaction and psychological safety for vets.

"Maybe we're just picking the wrong people to be vets." You've probably heard some version of that line. Maybe you've even said it. 'The new grads can't cope. The younger generation is too soft. If this profession isn't working for you, maybe the profession isn't the problem - maybe you are.' But what if that's the wrong conversation entirely? Maybe it's not the people who need to change - but the job itself. That's the question at the heart of this conversation with Dr Rebecca Faris, the lead of the Australian Veterinary Association's Thrive programme - an industry attempt to figure out how we make veterinary medicine a profession people can actually stay in and enjoy. You'll learn: Why a full-time working week in veterinary medicine probably shouldn't be 40 hours - and the official position from Safe Work Australia that will surprise you The difference between psychological safety and psychosocial safety (one is a vibe, the other is the law - and if you own a practice in Australia, you need to know which is which) What the new psychosocial safety legislation actually requires of practice owners Why "playing to your strengths" isn't the same as avoiding the…

People in this episode

Host: Dr. Hubert Hiemstra

Guest: Dr Rebecca Faris

Topics covered

• psychological safety
• veterinary profession
• workplace culture
• mental health
• job satisfaction
• legislation

Keywords

• veterinary medicine
• psychosocial safety
• work-life balance
• emotional labour
• practice owners
• new graduates

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Australian Veterinary Association, Safe Work Australia

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