AVBC defines approach to handling mental health issues

At their recent November 2022 Council meeting, Australasian Veterinary Boards Council (AVBC) members agreed to formulate the definition of 'an impaired veterinary practitioner' to achieve consistency between the approach to mental health issues and substance abuse across all jurisdictions. This will help veterinarians and employers know what their responsibilities are, when they need to notify regulators and what resources are available to help navigate mental health issues.

The definition of an impaired veterinary registrant is someone with a physical or mental impairment, disability, condition, or disorder that detrimentally affects, or is likely to detrimentally affect the registered person's capacity to work as a veterinarian. 

AVBC members also agreed to improve outgoing communications to their registrants regarding this new definition, as well as improve access to resources that mitigate the root causes of impairment.

"It’s important to provide clarity to the profession about how veterinary standards are there to help them be the best vets that they can be,” said Sustainable Practice Committee (SPC) Chair Dr Zoe Lenard. “ Veterinary careers (like life) can be stressful, and veterinarians may suffer from physical or mental ill-health at any time. By being clear in the definition of impairment, we are encouraging the profession to seek assistance if they need it and not to fear their state or territory (or NZ) regulators. 

“The broader definition of “impaired veterinary registrant" gives clarity to the profession about when they need to seek help and we are encouraging the Boards to share resources and approaches to dealing with impairments, regardless of where the registrant lives.” 

AVBC members include nine of the ten veterinary boards in Australia and New Zealand, the Australian Veterinary Association, and the New Zealand Veterinary Association. Their role is to encourage co-operation between the veterinary boards in Australia and New Zealand, as well as standardise the quality of veterinary services, schools and courses, assess the suitability of veterinarians with foreign veterinary qualifications and define the required for veterinary registration. They aim to standardise the approach to handling health issues and achieve consistency across Australia and NZ.