4 Sept 2017
From the Vet Times archives – Colin Mitchell explains an initiative adopted by the clinic he works in that promotes good mental health among veterinary staff.
Colin Mitchell
Job Title
The dancers, judges and compère at the Strictly Come Dancing dinner dance fund-raiser for Royal Agricultural Benevolent Institution.
Scott Mitchell and Associates Veterinary Surgeons is one of a network of independent veterinary practices that work collaboratively as XLVets to support and help each other grow.
The “Top tips to help you thrive in practice” – or five-petal poster, as it is colloquially called – is on display throughout our Hexham-based practice to encourage team members to embrace good mental health and well-being through five actions:
This initiative is part of the XLVets Thriving in Practice programme, launched at the beginning of the year. The five petals suggest simple ideas under their headings that can be carried out in veterinary practice to help boost feelings of wellness, and combat stress and anxiety.
“Put five minutes aside to find out how someone is” and “go for a walk at lunch” are just some of the many suggestions that can easily be adopted. The “hold a group activity”, however, is one our team has relished getting stuck into.
Following a tradition of fund-raising in the practice, we organised a Strictly Come Dancing dinner dance event, complete with judges, dance routines and plenty of glitz. Our practice manager, Jayne Longlands, helped get the event off the ground by encouraging everyone in the practice to play a part – whether that was decorating the hall, sourcing sponsors and raffle prizes, or selling tickets. Between us, we raised more than £5,000 for the Royal Agricultural Benevolent Institution, which helps people in need in the farming community.
This close community connection was very much in evidence on the evening. Six dancing couples – each consisting of a practice member paired with a client – undertook routines including the tango, cha-cha and swing. The 220-strong audience were a mix of clients and staff, who all had a hand in voting, together with the judges. Highlights can be found on YouTube.
Our team operates from the same building, with 11 vets among a staff of 40. I like to think a real sense of togetherness exists at the practice. Staff are encouraged to come up with ideas the team can take forward, which adds to a feeling of warmth and social connection. Ideas in the past have included a charity fun run, a charity cake stall at the local market and regular keep fit sessions (currently a mini boot camp) once a week after work, by our financial controller and triathlete, Brendon Jackson.
A new plant committee has also been set up, springing from another of the five petal ideas that plants make people happy. The committee has been enthusiastically selecting greenery, which will be dotted around the building for the pleasure of the team and our clients.
The “strictly” evening idea came from practice partners Roger Scott, Lee-Anne Oliver and the author. I am involved at executive level with the XLVets group, representing my practice, and last year, I attended the inaugural workshops for leaders and managers. These continue this year and will be complemented by workshops for team members. Driving the programme from the top down, so to speak, is a central tenet in the Thriving in Practice programme’s philosophy. Practice leaders – via training and materials, and support from XLVets and each other – are helping to create a culture where everyone knows well-being is important. Teams are encouraged to be open and talk about wellness and mental health without judgement.
Initially, I wanted to benchmark where we were with our well-being, which we did via a staff survey. This questioned team members about various aspects of their working lives – what they thought about their training and development opportunities, ideas they had for practice development, ideas on how we may be a better employer, and whether they would recommend the practice as a place to work. In their answers, thankfully, our team rated the practice as a strongly caring environment.
It is important, to myself and as a practice, that our team is encouraged to develop personally and professionally. We support clinical CPD, of course, but also encourage other hobbies, activities or exercises that help each team member in being happy and well-rounded – whether that is joining a book group or learning the cha-cha.
Personal development is vital to our practice’s sustainability. Thriving in Practice has helped us put those aspirations into a framework – the five petals – and encouraged us and reaffirmed we are going about things the right way.
