By Lilian Wong, Carlson College of Veterinary Medicine
A 2019 Centers for Disease Control (CDC) study showed that veterinarians are between two to four times more likely to die by suicide than the general population. Given the mental health epidemic in my profession, resiliency is something my students, colleagues, and I think about on a very regular basis. How do we avoid becoming a statistic? How do we support our staff when we have to make difficult decisions for people’s beloved animals? How do we avoid burnout? How do we teach our students everything they need to know and also nurture them to become strong individuals ready to face the reality of practicing veterinary medicine?
Given the grim CDC statistic and less than Kevin Bacon degrees of separation between myself and those lost to this sad statistic, it’s not surprising that resilience is a recent hot topic in the veterinary research space. It has been shown that expressing empathy, sleeping, practicing mindfulness, exhibiting self-compassion, and implementing resilience-specific training can ultimately impact the resiliency of health care students, including veterinary students. Resilience has been lauded as a valuable trait for health care professional students and veterinary practitioners given the benefits to overall mental health. And yet, the irony–here I am, a researcher, a veterinarian, and an educator still seeking out further understanding of resiliency. Here I am at midnight, not following the advice to sleep, and instead writing a blog for a course I voluntarily signed up for to better understand why I am so drawn to the concept of resiliency and how to teach in a manner that will set myself and my students up for success.
When I envision resiliency in teaching, I imagine educators evolving with their students to create a dynamic back and forth of teaching and learning, learning and teaching. The reason why I left clinical practice to become an educator was in hopes to learn more about the art of teaching and help influence the decision-making process of a future veterinarian. It is so easy to memorize the list of recommended diagnostic tests necessary to diagnose a cat with diabetes; but, historically, it was never part of the curriculum to consider the owner’s financial constraints, religious beliefs, or other limitations to providing medical care for their animal. If a cat adamantly declines being poked with an insulin needle daily, it becomes more challenging to diagnose and ultimately manage a diabetic feline patient.
Meeting pet owner and animal expectations while providing quality medical care is a form of resiliency I developed while practicing medicine. Over time and some tears of frustration, I realized that not everyone wants to, or can afford to, follow the expert’s recommendations for each disease process. My teaching goal, and reason for being so invested in Center for Teaching and Learning content, is to help minimize the frustrations felt by new graduates. As I venture along in my academic journey, I hope to remain nimble and learn from my students while I navigate a profession filled with compassionate individuals all working towards sustained resiliency.
About the author: Lilian Wong, DVM, MS is a Clinical Skills Instructor at the OSU Carlson College of Veterinary Medicine. She is a small animal veterinarian who teaches animal handling, clinical skills, communication, and ethics.
Editor’s note: This is part of a series of guest posts about resilience and teaching strategies by members of the Fall ’24 Resilient Teaching Faculty Learning Community facilitated by CTL. The opinions expressed in guest posts are solely those of the authors.
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