"We recognise how important the mental health of veterinary nurses is, not just for their own wellbeing, but for the good of the workforce too" - Alex Taylor, BVNA president.

MMI, BVNA and VetLed team up for a series of new initiatives. 

A new collaboration that aims to tackle incivility in the workplace and make employee wellbeing a priority has been launched by the RCVS Mind Matters Initiative (MMI), the BVNA and skills training provider, VetLed.

The first activities of the collaboration will explore how to address civility in the workplace - and the impacts incivility can have across the whole veterinary team. The training comes after an investigation by MMI found that 96 per cent of students and recently-graduated veterinary nurses said that bullying and incivility were serious problems in the profession.

BVNA and MMI are also collaborating with VetLed on the forthcoming 'Safe to Speak Up' campaign.' Launching on 2 May, the campaign aims to empower veterinary team members to talk openly about their mistakes, concerns and new ideas by raising awareness of the importance of psychological safety.

The third part of the collaboration is a series of four veterinary nurse 'Think Tanks' – a series of 90-minute interactive discussions covering key Human Factor themes, including values and identity, everyday leadership, innovation and problem-solving and the importance of a Just Culture. 

Lisa Quigley, MMI manager, commented: “We have listened carefully to the feedback from our surveys and consultations to ensure we continue to deliver resources that tackle the wellbeing issues that VNs have concerns about. We are pleased to have partnered with two brilliant organisations that are as passionate about improving the mental health and resilience of the profession as we are. 

"Every single vet nurse should feel comfortable and psychologically supported in their role, and we hope that the training and awareness campaigns that we are running over the upcoming year will ensure that more VNs will feel empowered to talk about their mental health and wellbeing at work.”

Alex Taylor, BVNA president, said: “The BVNA are so pleased to be part of the Civility Training, Think Tanks, and Safe to Speak Up Campaign, especially as these fall in line with our current theme of 'building resilience'. We recognise how important the mental health of veterinary nurses is, not just for their own wellbeing, but for the good of the workforce too. 

"We are very much looking forward to working alongside MMI and Vetled who will help to provide support and guidance on these important areas for veterinary nurses over the next year.”

For more information about the upcoming training sessions, visit the Vet Mind Matters website.