BVNA is currently supporting Charlotte Bullard, Education Manager, in completing her final year of the MSc Veterinary Education with the Royal Veterinary College. For her MSc research project, Charlotte will be investigating the potential relationship between RVNs’ mindset and resilience, and how these factors may affect their approach to challenge within the veterinary workplace.

Here, Charlotte explains more about her research and how those who are interested can get involved.

The events of the past 12 months have arguably tested the resilience of the veterinary profession more than ever. However, even under more normal circumstances, within the fast-paced veterinary workplace it is crucial for RVNs to be able to embrace and adapt to change.

A growth mindset has been found in existing studies on veterinary and medical professionals to have beneficial effects on psychological wellbeing, stress, anxiety levels, and fear of failure or perfectionism traits. However, little is currently known about mindset typing specifically in RVNs, and this is an important first step in understanding their capacity to remain open to learning under challenge within the workplace.

Resilience largely involves the adoption of strategies which enable individuals to navigate challenge more successfully, and bounce back from stressors more quickly. The next step in this research is to identify any relationship between mindset typing, and the capacity of RVNs to respond to, and recover from, challenges faced at work in a healthy way. Finally, I will also be investigating what it is that some RVNs are doing to successfully respond to significant challenge at work that others are not, and identify whether this is something which can be taught.

The goal is that identifying a proven link between growth mindsets, high resilience scores and demonstration of a positive and optimistic perception of workplace challenge would encourage educators to begin to develop these important elements of career resilience early in the RVN curriculum. Additionally, educational practices that encourage the adoption of a growth mindset will empower RVNs to approach challenge optimistically, gaining more satisfaction rather than demotivation from challenging scenarios, and ultimately improving their wellbeing and sustainability during training, clinical practice and beyond.

I am inviting all RVNs who are currently working in clinical practice to take part in my research – whether full or part time; in first opinion, emergency or referral practice; all are welcome to get involved.

The survey can be accessed here: https://rvc.onlinesurveys.ac.uk/mindset-resilience-and-perception-of-workplace-challenge.

Thank you in advance for your participation. If you should have any queries, please do not hesitate to contact cbullard7@rvc.ac.uk.