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24.01.2022 Choose compassion not empathy in the face of loss - its better for you. I have been feeling overwhelmed by the devastation and loss wrought by the fires burning across Australia. And in that way that you can do when you are a by-stander rather than being personally involved, I have been building a wall, and bricking myself in not engaging with the coverage because I dont want to feel distressed by empathising with the suffering too strongly. Building this protective wall... is exactly what we can do as clinicians when witnessing suffering in our clients and their animals. But the problem is that it is not that helpful for us or for them. What works better is to add action to the empathy and create compassion. Compassion is a positive feeling bringing warmth, loving kindness and the courage and determination to help. So, what is the one action you are going to take? Maybe you could; 1. Donate some time to care for affected animals 2. Phone a vet friend that is working in an affected area to listen to and support them 3. Donate some money to help with rescue and rebuilding 4. Check out the newly formed Vets for Climate Action Group and donate money and/or time to amplify your voice in climate action initiatives. (https://www.vfca.org.au/home) Go on take action. You cant solve or prevent all the problems, but you can do one thing to help. One thing is manageable and good for everybody, including you, and me.
24.01.2022 Delicious Delegation As you move into the New Year, it may be a good time to reflect on the year that was and to think about how you can enhance your balance and work/life satisfaction in 2019. Effective delegation is one way to increase your output without increasing the number of hours you spend at work.... Sound good? But how do you get past the idea that nobody does it as well as me? Find out how you can start delegating deliciously at https://makeheadway.com.au//delicious-delegation-clawing-/
23.01.2022 Thanks to Jack and Cam at Flynns talk for the recent opportunity to record an interview with them. Our care-giver role in the veterinary industry means that we spend a lot of time listening to our clients concerns. Giving the veterinary profession the chance to talk about themselves and their concerns for a change is something that both Make Headway and Flynns Walk and Talk have in common. You can find the interview at https://podcasts.apple.com//flynns-talk-ep-1/id1510105118. Tune in to the analogy around the wall as this may be helpful for you. And why dont you listen to some of the other episodes whilst you are there?
23.01.2022 Cathy, Natasha and myself at the International Positive Psychology Association World Congress. Were grateful that they chose Australia this year so that we can share all the latest wellbeing tips with our Make Headway family.
22.01.2022 There is more to mentally healthy workplaces than an employee assistance program. -
22.01.2022 Thanks to Jack and Cam at Flynn's talk for the recent opportunity to record an interview with them. Our care-giver role in the veterinary industry means that we spend a lot of time listening to our clients concerns. Giving the veterinary profession the chance to talk about themselves and their concerns for a change is something that both Make Headway and Flynn's Walk and Talk have in common. You can find the interview at https://podcasts.apple.com//flynns-talk-ep-1/id1510105118. Tune in to the analogy around the wall as this may be helpful for you. And why don't you listen to some of the other episodes whilst you are there?
21.01.2022 This is so true. In my youth I truly believed the top one; now with the wisdom of age (and a lot of further education ), I know the bottom is the truth.
19.01.2022 Cathy talks about the upcoming Navigating Difficult Clinical Encounters workshop - to be held in Sydney in October. Enhance your communication enhance your life - at work and at home!
19.01.2022 I love you right hand! Six weeks after breaking a metacarpal in my right hand, I have graduated to driving, riding my bike and being splint-free. You beauty! As the weeks progressed and I slowly got function back, I realised just how much I love my right hand and how much I normally take it for granted. The joy of being able to dress myself! The exquisite feeling of water running over my hand in the shower! The dazzling speed at which I can type/write with my right hand cf m...y left. I am telling myself that I won't take my right hand for granted any more. But I know I will. Once the hand has normal function, I will start to forget that there was ever a problem and I will start taking it for granted. This is what our brains do in a process called hedonic adaptation. It is good to take the time regularly to pause and reflect on the little things in your life that you are grateful for and which you may be taking for granted. I wonder what that is for you? See more
19.01.2022 An opportunity for Vets to try out an on-line Balint Supervision Group. Join us for an on-line Sunday afternoon "Taster Session" of a Balint Group. Balint groups are small (8-10 vets), supportive reflective groups that focus on exploring challenging relationships in our work.... They are non-judgemental and facilitated by 2 trained leaders - Cathy and Renske (a NZ-based doctor and psychotherapist). For more information, please email [email protected] with the subject line Balint Taster and we will send you the flyer along with a PDF of the article on Balint we recently wrote for the NZ publication, VetScript. Date:17 May 11.00-14.30 pm via ZOOM Discounted cost: $60.00
18.01.2022 Welcome to 2019! January is almost finished - when did that happen?? To kick start everyone's wellbeing journey for this year, we are once again running a Make Headway exclusive Ritualize month long quest. The beauty of this App is that it creates small daily habits that improve our physical and mental health - there's no marathon to run, or crazy diet to adhere to - just simple changes that all add up day by day. From our wonderful participants who trialled this program l...ast year, we had some great feedback. "kept me accountable and motivated" "learnt that 30 active minutes adds years to my life and makes me feel good" "love the box breathing" "liked seeing the impact of my choices" "cold showers made me think outside of the box" In the previous quest we saw people drop their bioage and improve their mental health in just 4 weeks. It's not too late to get on board with our latest quest in February, and get your wellbeing journey started for 2019. Sign up here and all of the information to take part will be emailed to you. https://app.acuityscheduling.com/catalog.php
18.01.2022 As many of you know Cathy and I recently attended international conferences on Emotional Intelligence and Positive Psychology - the so called soft skills. We really dont like this term as it implies that these skills are not valuable, or are less important than technical skills in the Veterinary world. Research is in fact showing that these skills may indeed be more important to a successful veterinary career than our university training and practical skills. Simon Sinek p...uts it beautifully - these are human skills that we can all benefit from working on. Skills like effective communication, conflict resolution, resilience, stress management, emotional intelligence and self compassion. Recent studies with the Australian army has shown that emotional intelligence training improves the job performance and stress reduction in special forces soldiers - imagine what it could do for your busy veterinary staff. If you would like to chat with us about a human skills training workshop at your workplace, comment below and well schedule a call. https://youtu.be/3T71qvIPCto
15.01.2022 Choose compassion not empathy in the face of loss - it's better for you. I have been feeling overwhelmed by the devastation and loss wrought by the fires burning across Australia. And in that way that you can do when you are a by-stander rather than being personally involved, I have been building a wall, and bricking myself in not engaging with the coverage because I dont want to feel distressed by empathising with the suffering too strongly. Building this protective wall... is exactly what we can do as clinicians when witnessing suffering in our clients and their animals. But the problem is that it is not that helpful for us or for them. What works better is to add action to the empathy and create compassion. Compassion is a positive feeling bringing warmth, loving kindness and the courage and determination to help. So, what is the one action you are going to take? Maybe you could; 1. Donate some time to care for affected animals 2. Phone a vet friend that is working in an affected area to listen to and support them 3. Donate some money to help with rescue and rebuilding 4. Check out the newly formed Vets for Climate Action Group and donate money and/or time to amplify your voice in climate action initiatives. (https://www.vfca.org.au/home) Go on take action. You cant solve or prevent all the problems, but you can do one thing to help. One thing is manageable and good for everybody, including you, and me.
15.01.2022 Are you ready to create some new healthy habits? -
15.01.2022 I just saw this on a Veterinary site and it made me giggle so I wanted to share. How many of you have made plans after work with your fingers crossed?
13.01.2022 So you are about to graduate? What does your happily ever after look like? As the bulk of this years graduates are moving into the workforce, Cathy asks the questions that new grads could ask themselves - the questions that guide people towards their own personal version of happily ever after.... You can read the full post here - https://makeheadway.com.au//from-graduation-to-happily-ev/
12.01.2022 Are you coming to the Global Veterinary Career Summit which is on later this week - 24-28th June 2020? There are some amazing sounding sessions and inspiring speakers in the line-up. You will find me (Cathy) chatting with Natasha Wilks around the Camp-fire this Friday at 8.30pm AEST. We will be discussing coaching in veterinary professionals why you might use a coach or want to become a coach. And I also have a presentation on the use of mindfulness in our veterinary careers called "The Mindful Path" which you might want to look up. What you can't see live, you can watch back later. Find out more and nab your ticket here: https://buytickets.at/globalveterinarycareerssummit
11.01.2022 Many of our clients ask about why they should try one on one coaching. This 2009 study conducted by PWC illustrates just some of the benefits. 80% of coaching clients saw an improvement in their self confidence and self esteem, regardless of what they were being coached on. Additional to the 8 benefits show below, clients also saw an improvement in - interpersonal skills (71% of respondents); wellness (63%); career opportunities (62%); personal organisation (61%). The median... ROI for individuals undergoing coaching was 3.4x. For companies using coaching for employees the ROI was 7x. The beauty of coaching is that you choose what you want to work on, and during the process there are bonus benefits. If you want to learn more, talk to us during a complimentary 20 minute coaching experience. (PM here to sign up) https://makeheadway.com.au/home/individual-coaching/ See more
11.01.2022 Want to find out WHY you should invest in the well-being of your veterinary team - the research-backed reasons that go beyond the angst, the time and the grey hair? Are you a team member wanting the evidence to facilitate conversations in this area? This research has been swirling around us for some time and now it is all captured into a short document. You will find it here - https://makeheadway.com.au/home/resources/.
11.01.2022 Would you like more energy and enthusiasm for life in the veterinary world? Researchers at the Mayo Institute (Dyrbye et al 2019) recently conducted a pilot randomized clinical trial on providing physicians a series of six coaching sessions. Physicians receiving the coaching had; Significantly increased quality of life and resilience AND Significantly reduced emotional exhaustion and burnout ... The scale of the changes was substantial and considered to be likely to result in a meaningful difference in adverse outcomes. Anecdotally, this is also what we see in our veterinary coaching clients. So, if veterinary work is sapping you or a colleague or an employee, why dont you give it a go or recommend/support others to do so? The cost is under $1000 for 6 x 1 hour sessions with one of our veterinary coachs. And this is nothing compared to the savings in terms of suffering, lost productivity or loss from the workplace/industry. You can find out more about coaching here: https://makeheadway.com.au/home/individual-coaching/
11.01.2022 Happy New Year and congratulations to all our friends in who have been working or on call over Christmas/New Year. You are now on the other side! Those who have had some space and time to reflect may have decided to run your lives a little differently in 2020 - maybe living life a little slower and calmer. You may have even made a New Years resolution. Habits, systems and accountability are what transforms the dream of a NY resolution into reality. To learn more about the science behind creating a healthy habit, see this post I wrote for Vetanswers - http://www.vetanswers.com.au//5-steps-to-creating-a-he/612. It was posted back in 2017 and remains relevant and up-to-date. Here's to a healthier and more sustainable 2020!
11.01.2022 A really interesting ted talk on the value of teamwork and connectedness. If you feel your workplace has a "survival of the fittest" mentality, I suggest you all sit down together and watch this.
11.01.2022 Simple, but significant changes to improve wellbeing.
11.01.2022 What do Cheryl and Cathy have in common with the lady in this photo?? Well, we too are SUPER EXCITED because we are both heading over to Perth for the Emotional Intelligence for Professionals conference next week. AND, backing it up with the International Positive Psychology Conference in Melbourne. We can't wait to put all the knowledge and connections to good use in the veterinary industry. NB: The point of difference between us and this lady is that we plan to wear clothes and not have a towel on our head whilst attending. Have a great week!!
10.01.2022 Spare a thought for the new graduates! I broke my fourth metacarpal on my right (dominant) hand a couple of weeks ago. I was playing hockey and fell with all my body weight on this one finger - it was never going to end well! Ok - so I have a broken hand which makes tasks somewhat challenging - but how does this link back to new graduates?? Well, when your dominant hand is out of action, you need to find workarounds. So each time I wanted to do something, anything (!), I had ...to think about whether I could do it and how I could do it or who I could ask to do it for me. And it was so, so EXHAUSTING. We are all neuroplastic, we can create new neural pathways - but I had forgotten how hard it is to be forced to create so many in a short space of time. And that is what got me thinking about new graduates. Do you remember what it was like to have to think through every case, every drug dose, where everything was etc? My empathy for new grads and the exhaustion they often feel in the first days, weeks and months of their career has increased exponentially. And I also feel for people starting in a new workplace or coping with a new software program or managing significant change in anyway. I feel your pain. The good news is that I have just entered week 3 and it is getting easier. IT WILL GET EASIER FOR YOU TOO. Hang in there. See more
10.01.2022 "The number 1 predictor of wellbeing is time we spend with people we care about and who care about us" Tal Ben-Shahar When will you next spend time with, or talk to a loved one or dear friend? If you don't know - maybe plan some time to catch up.
09.01.2022 Here is a simple, once a day practice, that can improve your mental health. For anyone to do anywhere - just get started.
09.01.2022 Festive greetings to all and letting you know that either myself or Cheryl will be around over the school holidays. Please get in contact if you feel the need for a coaching session and we will get back to you within 2 working days.
09.01.2022 Its R U OK day today. Please take the time to check in with your work mates and to really listen to their answer. Listening is such a gift. It is not your job to "fix" other peoples problems - but maybe you could encourage or support them to take one step to improve things. Joining up together for the Ritualise Ignite quest is one tanglible step you could suggest.
09.01.2022 Are your thoughts and mindset affecting the way you view your world? The halo effect has actually been occurring for me recently as I way up an investment opportunity. Time to look at the situation without that bias I have (because I like the person involved). What about you - what bias do you have??... https://www.weforum.org//24-cognitive-biases-that-are-war/
08.01.2022 Why are vets leaving clinical practice? We all know that experienced vets are thin on the ground out there creating an employees market. But why is this so? Alejandra Arbe-Montoya and her colleagues from Adelaide Uni are investigating this question. If you have worked in clinical practice for 6 months, please contribute to the answer by completing the 20-30min survey you will find at - http://murdochbus.au1.qualtrics.com//fo/SV_3IQHVixE6pBQBhj.... Ale's research to date suggests that the answer is multifactorial with personal factors and work experiences creating the impact on people which leads them to exit the clinic. I wonder what this survey will uncover? And how it will help us to create the systemic changes that will support veterinarians to stay in practice?
07.01.2022 Is experience really the best teacher? There is no doubt that we are all shaped by the experiences that we have. But a 10 year vet or vet nurse could have 10 years of experience or may have had the same year of experience repeated ten times. The difference between these two is reflection and learning from what has happened in order to inform and improve the future. Experience + reflection = growth... Are you making time in your day for reflecting on what has happened and making sense of the experience? Or do you feel similarly stumped or challenged when faced with the same angry client, ethical challenge or sad situation? Are your friends or family finding it difficult to understand what you are going through? Create a time and a safe space for reflection on your work in the veterinary industry by joining our Weds evening Share and Care group in 2020. The group meets monthly on-line between February and November. You will find more information here - https://makeheadway.com.au/home/share-care-groups/ or to sign up, contact us on [email protected].
06.01.2022 Exciting news! Cathy is working with the AVA to introduce a group learning format called "Reflect and Grow". Please take 2.5 mins to watch this clip and find out how it can help you have more joy and less stress in your work. It really is achievable! Go to the AVA web-site for more details and to register - https://www.ava.com.au//education-and-event/event-detail/.
06.01.2022 Can Nathan Buckleys transformation teach the veterinary world something? I am not a footy fan and if I were going to go for an AFL team, it wouldn't be Collingwood (sorry Cheryl) - but something drew me to read the article by Jake Niall in todays Age. Have a read if you have time today and I would be interested to hear what messages you think the veterinary world could take from his story. (You can find the article here - https://www.theage.com.au//buckley-s-self-discovery-takes-)
06.01.2022 Coping with COVID and Curious about Coaching? Try a free coaching session. The curve has flattened, vet has been deemed an essential service and many clinics have embedded the changes to routine associated with contactless consulting. Are you now finding yourself with time on your hands and wondering what to do with it? How could you make something positive out of the COVID situation?... Maybe now is the time for self-reflection and to work on that thing that has been holding you back, but that you have never made time for. Make Headway is offering a 30 minute FREE coaching session for all new clients. Coaching curious? Book in with; Cheryl at https://app.acuityscheduling.com/schedule.php?owner=13418340 OR Cathy at https://makeheadway.as.me/?appointmentType=13997442
05.01.2022 Are you in Melbourne? Could you get to Ashburton on Tues evening the 20th August? Would love to see you at this family violence awareness training for people in animal industries. It could help make a difference to a vulnerable person and their animals.
05.01.2022 It's R U OK day today. Please take the time to check in with your work mates and to really listen to their answer. Listening is such a gift. It is not your job to "fix" other people's problems - but maybe you could encourage or support them to take one step to improve things. Joining up together for the Ritualise Ignite quest is one tanglible step you could suggest.
04.01.2022 Are you tired of putting out fires in your practice? *Are you finding it hard to keep good people? *Are you running yourself ragged trying to do the same amount of work with less people?... Would you like some help to make it different? Want to find out HOW to create a mentally healthy workplace? In conjunction with Boehringer Ingelheim, Cathy will be presenting a webinar on this topic at 8pm AEST on Tuesday the 30th May. Interested? Register at www.animalhealthacademy.com.au using the access code myAcademy or contact Boehringer
03.01.2022 Feeling inspired after 2 days of learning at the MAVALT symposium at Uni Melb. It is so motivating to be around a bunch of like-minded people from Australia, NZ and the US who want to educate and support vets so that they enjoy being in the profession for the long term. And to see recognition for the idea that changes are needed at the industry, business/workplace, university and individual level to better train and support vets. Loved Liz Tudors reflections on the yarning circles that Australia's first people have used for thousands of years - circles where everybody is seen, everybody is equal and everybody learns from each other. It seems that Share and Care groups are not new!
02.01.2022 Welcome to 2019! January is almost finished - when did that happen?? To kick start everyones wellbeing journey for this year, we are once again running a Make Headway exclusive Ritualize month long quest. The beauty of this App is that it creates small daily habits that improve our physical and mental health - theres no marathon to run, or crazy diet to adhere to - just simple changes that all add up day by day. From our wonderful participants who trialled this program l...ast year, we had some great feedback. "kept me accountable and motivated" "learnt that 30 active minutes adds years to my life and makes me feel good" "love the box breathing" "liked seeing the impact of my choices" "cold showers made me think outside of the box" In the previous quest we saw people drop their bioage and improve their mental health in just 4 weeks. Its not too late to get on board with our latest quest in February, and get your wellbeing journey started for 2019. Sign up here and all of the information to take part will be emailed to you. https://app.acuityscheduling.com/catalog.php
01.01.2022 What does reading the death notices say about me? - https://mailchi.mp//what-does-reading-the-death-notices-sa
01.01.2022 Welcome to the Make Headway page. We are excited to be able to connect with the Veterinary world and share all the latest news and discoveries about wellbeing and mental health. We encourage dialogue in the comments on this page that are kind, supportive and respectful to all. We will remove posts or people that we feel are not in line with the culture of Make Headway. If you would like to discuss a particular topic on this page, please send us a private message and we will... get a post started. We will endeavour to answer all messages ASAP - please send us your questions, even the challenging ones. The private messages will always be considered confidential, so it is a safe place to ask about that awkward topic. We look forward to building a great resource on wellbeing, together with all of you. Cathy and Cheryl See more
01.01.2022 Fancy trying something new and different for your CPD in 2020?? Has your CPD dollar and time been heavily weighted towards learning new clinical skills or updating clinical knowledge? When did you last do some learning in the field of your non-technical competencies and actively aim to grow your resilience, communication or emotional intelligence, or challenge your mindset for example? These non-technical competencies are hugely important to satisfaction, success and sustaina...bility in the veterinary industry. Next year, why dont you make a commitment to your personal growth and satisfaction; Sign up for a series of coaching sessions OR Join a Share and Care reflective practice group You can find out more about coaching here: https://makeheadway.com.au/home/individual-coaching/ and/or Share and Care groups here; https://makeheadway.com.au/home/share-care-groups/.
