Join us Tuesday, Sept. 19, 2023 at 12pm for our webinar Combating Fatigue & Burnout: Cultivating Compassion for Professional Satisfaction in Veterinary Medicine with Dr. Sonja Olson. Veterinary caregivers describe work-related distress and holistic exhaustion as compassion fatigue and burnout. Social neuroscience and self-care studies demonstrate that compassion does not fatigue but is in fact neurologically rejuvenating. We will clarify compassion fatigue as a caregiving concern and syndrome and explore the important concept of ‘empathic distress fatigue.’ This distinction is key in that the strategies to mitigate and address caregiving fatigue include effective self-care, self-compassion, and other compassion practices. Healthier, more resilient veterinary caregivers and teams are then fortified to provide quality, safe, and compassionate care to patients and are more likely to experience professional satisfaction (instead of burnout!).
Dr. Sonja Olson grew up and was educated in Maryland. She graduated from Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine and enjoyed over 25 years of practicing clinical small animal and exotic emergency medicine in both private and corporate practice environments. The myriad of opportunities to mentor and to lead individuals and teams during these years were deeply fulfilling and inspirational. Concurrently, personal and professional experiences led to an increased awareness of the far-reaching need for veterinary well-being awareness and healthy coping strategies. Her lived experience and desire to contribute to thriving veterinary teams led to her dedication to a new professional path that supports the holistic health of veterinary caregivers and safe, compassionate practice environments. Her current full-time role is Veterinary Wellness Educator for the BluePearl Health & Well-being Team, working alongside licensed mental health professionals. In 2022, she also founded her wellness platform, Heartstorming Wellness to support well-being speaking/collaborative/writing endeavors globally (www.heartstorming.co). Dr. Olson is certified as a Mental Health First Aid Instructor, as a Compassion Fatigue Educator, and as a Certified Mindful Meditation Teacher. Her recently published book “Creating Well-being and Building Resilience in the Veterinary Profession: A Call to Life” was released in March 2022 through Routledge Publishers (Amazon – Creating Wellbeing and Building Resilience in the Veterinary Profession: Olson, Sonja A.: 9780367418793: Books).
All monthly webinars are free for members. They’re recorded and made available on-demand, accessible through the WSVMA website under CE Events/DVM Masterclass. Recorded webinars provide a link to take an exam at the end so that credit can be received for non-live CE.
Whether you can join us live or later, don’t miss this important webinar. Register online at the WSVMA website. See the full Masterclass calendar here. We’re bringing timely topics in a convenient format meant to benefit you and your practice.