Tag: mental health
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Learning to speak out about pregnancy loss
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This week (9-15 October) sees Baby Loss Awareness Week in action. It’s a time to reflect, remember, and discuss our experiences to help others to feel less alone. After experiencing two early miscarriages this year in February and June, I found talking about my experiences to help others was the best way to work through…
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‘Big change starts small’ – working together to improve mental well-being
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Much has been written about the impact of working during COVID-19 on the mental health of nursing staff. Intensive therapy unit (ITU) nurses have consistently reported a range of symptoms of PTSD, having had to manage up to four or five critically ill patients who really necessitated one on one care. Ward nurses have struggled,…
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Vets in crisis: the perfect storm
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Working in veterinary at the minute is hard… We thought it was tough last year, but there always seemed to be a light at the end of the tunnel (staff coming back from furlough, the vaccine rollout, etc). We hoped by now that 2020 would just seem like a bad dream. But no. If anything,…
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Online learning vs the university experience
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With education secretary Gavin Williamson recently coming forward to suggest that universities should reduce their fees if they choose not to return to face-to-face teaching, the question is being asked once again if online teaching can really hold its own against the real thing? Loneliness One of the main trials of the vet course has…
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Hormones in practice, part 1: breaking the hormonal taboo
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Did you know more than half of women find their hormones affect their work? In a profession with an increase proportion of females, that’s a hefty impact. But wait, I’m not supposed to talk about “women’s problems”. We’re supposed to just get on with it – after all, it’s a natural part of being a…
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Hormones in practice, part 2: common conditions
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In part one, we broached the taboo of “women’s problems”. A bit of reading about Endometriosis Awareness Month in March and I was staggered about the huge impact our hormonal fluctuations can have on us as individuals, business and the economy. As the editor of Veterinary Woman, it’s my aim to support women in the…
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Silver linings in a blue January
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With altered plans and festivities limited to just one day in England, it feels like Christmas came and went even more swiftly than usual this year – so perhaps the post-Christmas blues may not be so noticeable. However, it is these – together with the poor weather, failure to stick to New Year’s resolutions and…
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A Christmas cheer
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This year has had, at least from my peculiar and very Western perspective, a peculiarly narrative structure; specifically, the classic narrative structure of a disaster movie (although at times it has felt more like a 10-season box set). It started, as many good stories do, right at the start of the year with dark rumours…
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Could COVID-19 close the door to the veterinary course?
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It has long been a fear – among those inside the profession and outside – that university places to study veterinary medicine are not as accessible as they should be. There is a perception the course, if not the vocation, is slightly elitist – not helped by the impression of most clients that the medical…
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Unintended consequences
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I just wrote a blog about the schools returning and what a relief it was for those home-schooling. Now, I don’t especially want to wade into the debate over the risk to teachers and families versus the risk to education and mental health of those caught up in the lockdown; however, it’s interesting to see…