AVA Veterinary Wellness Roundtable to be held during Mental Health Month

As part of the AVA’s THRIVE Initiative, which promotes veterinary wellness and the wellbeing of all veterinary practitioners, the Veterinary Wellness Roundtable is to be held on 26 October 2022.

Independent research conducted in 2021 by the AVA demonstrated that veterinarians have higher rates of personal mental health issues than the general population. Over half (66.6%) of veterinary respondents mentioned they have or are experiencing a mental health condition (compared to 61.8% nationally). 41.6% of respondents to the survey indicated that they had experienced a mental health condition in the past 12 months.

The purpose of the roundtable is to discuss how to effectively work together as one veterinary community, supporting veterinarians and veterinary staff to lead satisfying, prosperous and healthy careers. It will be moderated by Jorgen Gullestrup, a leader in workplace mental health and suicide prevention. The roundtable will feature participants from a cross-section of the veterinary profession, including employers, mental health experts, veterinary associates and support staff.

“We are excited to have a diverse group of stakeholders involved in this discussion. Our guests include industry experts in the field of mental health, veterinary professionals from a range of disciplines and our newly-formed AVA Veterinary Wellness Steering Group,” said AVA president Dr Bronwyn Orr.

Key focus areas to be explored during the roundtable: 

• What does a thriving and sustainable future for the veterinary profession look like?
• Review of existing programs that can help build a thriving and sustainable veterinary community.
• Case study of a successful Australian mental health and wellbeing program.
• What is the best approach for collaboration to achieve our aim of preventing harm, promoting the positive, and protecting those experiencing mental ill-health?

The roundtable, as well as a new steering group, form part of AVA’s focus on veterinary wellness now and into the future. Earlier this year, the association launched the THRIVE Initiative, that seeks to formulate overarching industry frameworks that will protect the wellbeing of all veterinary practitioners.

Meet the moderator of the Veterinary Wellness Roundtable

Jorgen Gullestrup describes himself as a plumber and suicidologist.  A plumber by trade he migrated to Australia as part of his recovery from mental ill-health.  After working on several Queensland construction sites, he became a trade union official with the Queensland Plumbers Union and led the Union for a period of 6 years.  He was the founding CEO of the workplace mental health and suicide prevention program “MATES in Construction”.  Jorgen is currently the Interim CEO of Mental Health Lived Experience Peak Queensland, Lived Experience Advisor to Suicide Prevention Australia, Suicide Prevention Advisor to LivingWorks Australia, Chair of the Queensland Workplace Health and Safety Board, member of Queensland’s Mental Health and Drugs Advisory Council.  Jorgen holds an Associate Diploma in Labour Studies, a Diploma in Social Welfare and Community Development, a Master of Suicidology and is currently a PhD candidate at Deakin University researching Help-Offering amongst Men in Suicide Prevention.  Jorgen was a 2017 Churchill Fellow studying “Workplace Approaches to mental health and suicide prevention globally” and was awarded Suicide Prevention Australia’s 2018 LIFE Award for Leadership to the sector.  Being grounded as a plumber with lived experience of mental ill-health, practical experience of industry leadership and informed by evidence and academic knowledge Jorgen feels he is well placed to support industries developing their own paths towards mentally healthier workplaces.

For more information on THRIVE, the AVA's wellness initiative, visit the AVA’s THRIVE website.