The Australian Veterinary Association

AVA President Dr Sally Colgan last week met with counterparts from the Fiji Veterinary Association in Suva. Collaborating with Australia's neighbours on animal health, biosecurity and veterinary education is critical to safeguarding animal and public health throughout the Pacific region. #fijiveterinaryassociation Fiji National University

The AVA welcomes the support of the South Australian Upper House in pushing for an Inquiry into wellbeing of veterinarians. The motion is now expected to go before the Lower House in November, marking a critical step towards addressing the urgent need for support and resources within the profession. The inquiry is in line with the AVA’s ongoing advocacy for better mental health resources for veterinarians. One of our focuses has been implementing the THRIVE Cultivating Safe Teams pilot program, delivering psychological health and safety awareness training to veterinary practices across Australia. Following the completion of the first phase of the pilot, with the 50th and final session now complete, the AVA is eager to celebrate its accomplishments and discuss the future of the Cultivating Safe Teams initiative. The AVA invites veterinary professionals to the THRIVE Cultivating Safe Teams Stakeholder Summit being held in Sydney on November 18, to share insights, experiences, and strategies to continue improving mental health support for all staff in veterinary workplaces. ➡ https://bit.ly/3NNVAdQ

An exciting opportunity to join a team dedicated to advocating for Australia's veterinarians. Please share with your networks! 👇 https://lnkd.in/ges2FaGf

It’s hard to believe what has been achieved since the launch of the THRIVE Cultivating Safe Teams pilot program in May2023! 🐾 50 workplaces from across Australia have participated in the pilot. 🐾 666 veterinary team members have received the 1-hour psychological health and safety awareness training face-to-face. 🐾 48 veterinary team members have received the 1-hour psychological health and safety awareness training online. 🐾 330 veterinary team members have taken the pledge to cultivate a safe and mentally healthy workplace! The Australian Veterinary Association would like to deeply thank each of the teams who have hosted a training in their workplace; we could not have achieved this without your support and commitment. https://lnkd.in/gXmEaRCR Thank you to all our industry partners who have pledged their support and to the Zoetis Foundation for funding this important initiative. To celebrate our achievements to date and discuss next steps for the Cultivating Safe Teams initiative, I would like to invite all veterinary professionals to join us for our Stakeholder Summit, 18 November at the Novotel Sydney Airport. For further details, https://lnkd.in/gnRSkftk #Vethealth, #THRIVECultivatingSafeTeams, #veterinarywellness, #veterinarymentalhealth

AVA Conference Research Day is back in 2025 and we’re calling all veterinary researchers to be part of this exciting day by submitting your abstracts! The abstracts can be recent research, clinical projects, or a case series or individual case report involving any aspect of veterinary science, with accepted abstracts competing for two $5,000 prizes. Submissions close at midnight on Friday 15 November 2024. Find out more 👉 https://lnkd.in/gaXCRRrz

An incredible effort, a valuable program & and some amazing people 🙌 Thank you Carly Webster for delivering the Cultivating Safe Teams pilot program to 50 vet clinics across Aus! Aspect Group | Psychology at Work

October is Mental Health Month, prompting us all to reflect on our mental health and wellbeing, irrespective of whether we’ve personally encountered mental illness. Through our THRIVE Cultivating Safe Teams Pilot Program, we are working with Aspect Group | Psychology at Work to deliver psychological health and safety awareness training sessions for all individuals working in the veterinary profession. For the Macarthur Veterinary Group, their biggest takeaway from the session is that we don’t and shouldn’t have to go through it alone. “We are a team, not just within our clinic but within the industry. Mental health affects us all, and there are lots of resources we can use to look out for one another.” #mentalhealthmonth #THRIVE #veterinarymentalhealth #veterinarywellbeing | Zoetis

AVA President Dr Sally Colgan is in Fiji volunteering for Vets Beyond Borders. Sally is just one of thousands of Aussie vets, vet nurses and vet techs who offer their time and resources, across Australia and internationally, to support our most vulnerable animals. Epitomising the importance of #OneHealth, Sally shares that the Animals Fiji team are in high demand, providing much needed contextualised care with no government funding ❤️ #vetprojectsinternational #murdochunivets Murdoch University #volunteers #veterinarians #animalwelfare #onewelfare #veterinarycommunity

The Australian Veterinary Workforce Survey 2023/24 results are in, highlighting some significant findings and shedding some light on the pressing issues Australia’s veterinarians face. Among the findings include: -          The median student debt for recent veterinary graduates has surged to $84,640 to far outpace the Consumer Price Index -         36.8% of veterinary recruitment vacancies took 12 months or longer to fill -         Almost half of respondents (41%) indicated that they undertook caring responsibilities, the majority of which are for young children. The AVA will use these insights to inform future workforce planning, and advocate for change and support for the veterinary profession. Read more: https://bit.ly/3BQfe6i

Dr Gemma Chuck, a Director of the Australian Veterinary Association today presented on a panel for International Day of Rural Women at the Rural Press Club of Queensland, alongside Dr Tess Salmond from Clermont Veterinary Surgery and Amanda Roughan from South East Country Vets. Focusing on the future of the veterinary profession, topics discussed were around feminisation of the profession and the crucial nature of the regional & rural veterinary workforce including childcare costs and lack of availability, HECS debt support and student recruitment to regional areas. The AVA was very pleased to contribute to this important discussion and thank you to Senator Susan McDonald, Senator for Queensland & Shadow Minister for Resources & Northern Australia and moderator Lucy Kinbacher, Editor at Queensland Country Life, for their contributions.