AVA Veterinary Wellness Roundtable
Wednesday 26 October, Novotel Sydney International Airport.
The purpose of the roundtable is to discuss how to effectively work together as one veterinary community; with the outcome of holistically supporting veterinarians and veterinary staff to lead satisfying, prosperous and healthy careers.
The roundtable discussion will focus on the following topics and will be answered in an open debate format.
- What does a thriving and sustainable future for the veterinary profession look like? What are we missing?
- Explore 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?
Our moderator for the day is Jorgen Gullestrup.
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.
Please note: This is an invitation only event limited to 35; a list of participants will be updated here once RSVP’s have been received. We will also publish a full report of the proceedings in due course. Planning is also underway for further stakeholder meetings in early 2023.