The RCVS Mind Matters Initiative (MMI) are relaunching their training programme and have opened the tender process that prospective providers interested in helping develop and deliver the new training sessions can apply for. The updated mental health training programme will provide participants with a broader range of topics to attend training on, including some new […]
Abi Hanson started working as the Mind Matters Initiative Officer in June 2021. She graduated from The University of Bristol in 2018 with a 2:1 in French and Italian before taking a year out to see the world. In 2019, she landed an internship at a public relations agency and later moved on to work […]
The joint Society of Practising Veterinary Surgeons (SPVS) and Mind Matters Initiative (MMI) Practice Stars Awards have opened up again for 2021 and are looking for those members of staff who have helped keep up morale during a difficult year. All members of the veterinary team are eligible to be nominated for a Practice Star […]
An 81-year-old retired veterinary surgeon has won the Mind Matters Initiative’s Mental Health Awareness Week photo competition, launched in May this year to celebrate the theme of nature and its positive impact on mental health and wellbeing. Australia-based Dr Ralph Slaughter submitted a collection of photographs called ‘Why I Am a Gardener’ in which he […]
Starting next month we are launching a new series of webinars, which examine some of the mental and physical health and wellbeing issues that can affect veterinary professionals. Each of these sessions is delivered by people who have expertise in the issues discussed, and many of the sessions will include practical tips and advice on […]
Today (25 June 2021) we’ve launched a new survey to help inform its future work with the veterinary nursing profession. The survey is specifically aimed at student and newly-qualified (in the last two years) veterinary nurses, as well as the clinical coaches responsible for their practical training at RCVS-approved training practices (TPs). The survey, which […]
Mind Matters has awarded £20,000 to a research project that will investigate the various workplace stressors that affect autistic veterinary professionals and present ideas for adjustments to address the identified stressors. The funding comes from our Sarah Brown Mental Health Research Grant, which was set up in memory of RCVS Council member Sarah Brown, who […]
This Mental Health Awareness Week the Mind Matters Initiative (MMI) is launching a photo competition on the theme of the links between the natural world, and our mental health and wellbeing. Mental Health Awareness Week runs from Monday, 10 May to Sunday, 16 May and is organised by the Mental Health Foundation. This year’s theme […]
The RCVS Mind Matters Initiative (MMI) is calling on researchers from the UK and beyond who are working in the areas of mental health and wellbeing in the veterinary professions to submit their research papers for the upcoming Mind Matters Mental Health Research Symposium this autumn. The event which will be taking place entirely online […]
Dr Kirstie Pickles graduated from Glasgow Vet School in 1996. Following a year in practice, she completed a residency and PhD at the University of Edinburgh and then became a Senior Lecturer in Equine Medicine at Massey University, New Zealand. She returned to the UK in 2008 and has since worked in both private practice […]
Debbie Martin SVN I’m Debbie and I’m a second year SVN from Bath. I’m the owner of two cats, one of whom was born without a functioning pituitary gland and so has multiple conditions including pituitary dwarfism. She keeps me very busy with lots of medication and vet trips. Her team of vets and nurses […]
The RCVS Mind Matters Initiative (MMI) has started a new programme of ‘Campfire chats’, informal online conversations led by members of the professions on some of the key issues affecting veterinary surgeons, veterinary nurses and other members of the vet-led team under the current circumstances. The free programme of events kicks off on Wednesday 26 February from […]
MMI Manager Lisa Quigley is available to host lunch & learn events for veterinary practices or organisations that are interested in finding our more about the Mind Matters Initiative, how it works, what it does and how you can get involved. These sessions will also look at some of the recurring themes and issues in […]
Charlotte Wood is a newly qualified Registered Veterinary Nurse who qualified with her degree from University Centre Sparsholt in Hampshire. She is a student council member on the British Veterinary Nursing Association’s (BVNA) council and is currently undertaking her BSc top-up degree. Charlotte enjoys spending time with her dog, cat, horse and family in her spare […]
The Mind Matters Sarah Brown Mental Health Research Grant, which has already funded three ground-breaking research projects, is now open for further applications for £20,000 grants for research on all aspects of veterinary mental health. The grants were launched in 2019 in memory of elected RCVS Council member Sarah Brown who tragically passed away in […]
Dr Kate Stephen is a behavioural scientist at Scotland’s Rural College (SRUC). In 2019 she was the recipient of the inaugural Sarah Brown Mental Health Research Grant to fund research into mental health in the farm animal veterinary sector with the aim of identifying how to better promote job satisfaction and break the cycle of […]
The joint Society of Practising Veterinary Surgeons (SPVS) and Mind Matters Initiative (MMI) Practice Stars Awards saw 50 members of the veterinary team nominated as ‘Practice Stars’ in recognition of their contribution to staff wellbeing and morale during an incredibly difficult year. The 50 people nominated for the awards included veterinary surgeons, veterinary nurses, student vets & […]
Fergus Mitchell Half a year, or so, has passed since I wrote part one of this blog for MMI. It’s safe to say that sunny July feels like a distant memory! But within the whirlwind of a year that 2020 has been, I wrote my dissertation focussing on the importance of exercise for veterinary students’ […]