Identity, environment and mental wellbeing in the veterinary profession

Area of Science:

• Veterinary Medicine
• Psychology
• Professional Identity

Background:

• Growing concerns regarding mental health and career dissatisfaction within the veterinary profession.
• Limited exploration of the impact of professional identity on veterinarian psychological wellbeing.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the influence of professional identity on the psychological wellbeing of recent veterinary graduates.
• To identify distinct veterinary identity variants and their relationship with career satisfaction and emotional health.

Main Methods:

• Employed narrative inquiry to explore the identities of twelve recent veterinary graduates.
• Utilized a private social media discussion group for data collection.
• Analyzed participants' stories to extrapolate identity priorities.

Main Results:

• Identified two primary veterinary identity variants: 'diagnosis-focused' and 'challenge-focused'.
• Diagnosis-focused veterinarians experienced frustration with contextual challenges hindering definitive care.
• Challenge-focused veterinarians derived satisfaction from overcoming challenges, including client engagement and business aspects.
• General practice environments better supported challenge-focused identities, correlating with better emotional wellbeing markers.

Conclusions:

• Veterinary professional identity significantly impacts psychological wellbeing and career satisfaction.
• A 'challenge-focused' identity appears more adaptive to the realities of general veterinary practice, promoting better emotional health.
• Addressing environmental factors and supporting diverse identity expressions may mitigate mental health issues in veterinarians.