‘I wish I was someone else’: complexities in identity formation and professional wellbeing in veterinary surgeons

Abstract

BackgroundThere is widespread concern surrounding veterinarians’ mental health. Upon entering the profession, early career veterinary surgeons encounter colleagues with diverse and conflicting identities, manifesting in their differential prioritisation of definitive clinical treatment, interpersonal interactions or the commercial success of the practice. In other professions, poor wellbeing arises from confusion between these conflicting identity discourses, as new professionals attempt to identify role models aligned with their own identity beliefs. New veterinarians’ wellbeing may thus depend on their negotiation of different identities, as they construct their own sets of professional values and determine the type of veterinarian they wish to become.MethodsIdentity formation was explored narratively using veterinarians’ social media stories.ResultsPoor professional wellbeing appeared to arise from identity confusion: failure to consistently commit to either the dominant diagnosis-focused discourse valued by academic role models, or a relational discourse, emphasising working through contextual challenges such as varying client needs. Workplace stress appeared to magnify the dominance of academic priorities in self-identity understanding, worsening identity confusion. Also concerning was the positioning of the client ‘as enemy’, obstructive to veterinarians’ identity goals. Social dialogue, intended to provide support during veterinarian–client conflict, potentially reinforced rejection of the client from the veterinary professional identity, strengthening a context-inappropriate, non-relational identity. This worsened identity confusion between the prized ‘diagnostic identity’ and the locally valued relational identity and was detrimental to wellbeing.ConclusionsInterventions are required, within veterinary education and postgraduate continuing professional development, that encourage reflection on identity and reinforce the value of relational identity attributes.

Challenges to exotic disease preparedness in Great Britain: The frontline veterinarian's perspective

“…Moving towards a relationship‐centred communication approach would increase the likelihood of achieving any desired behaviour change 38‐40 . The competition between veterinarians and other influential sources can conflict with an individual's professional identity, because it positions clients as ‘frustrating obstacles’ to transferring their veterinary knowledge 41 . Communication strategies tailored to specific clients might allow veterinarians to reach an agreed solution with those who are initially less receptive 42 .…”

“…[38][39][40] The competition between veterinarians and other influential sources can conflict with an individual's professional identity, since it positions clients as 'frustrating obstacles' to transferring their veterinary knowledge. 41 Communication strategies tailored to specific clients might allow veterinarians to reach an agreed solution with those who are initially less receptive. 42 Owners who trust their veterinarian are more likely to prefer them to other available information sources, 43 so strategies aiming to strengthen the veterinarian-client relationship could mitigate veterinarians' perceived lack of influence and lead to positive change.…”

As if you were hiring a new employee: on pig veterinarians’ perceptions of professional roles and relationships in the context of smart sensing technologies in pig husbandry in the Netherlands and Germany

“…This requires a constant adaptation of the veterinarian’s skills and self-reflection on their role. If the changing professional demands exceed the adaptative capacity of the individual veterinarian, this can result in identity confusion and incoherence (Armitage-Chan 2019 ). The present account of the veterinarian as advisor is coherent within individual veterinarian’s responses and across the group of participants.…”

Perceptions of the impact of the RCVS Certificate in Advanced Veterinary Practice on the careers of its graduates

“…The reasons for this discord may be that, while the CertAVP helps to develop academic, clinical and professional aspects of an individual's career, and thereby perceptibly ‘advancing’ it, industry recognition of the qualification via traditional employment measures of advancement such as pay and job title is currently lacking. Although this is speculation, the importance of industry recognition for postgraduate qualifications such as the CertAVP can be considered from the perspective of each postgraduate individual's professional identity, as presented in a recent paper considering UK veterinary graduates, 24 whereby inclusion in a new professional community (CertAVP holders in this case) aids the formation of an individual's professional identity. There may be negative psychological consequences for individuals who do not experience an expected level of recognition after joining such a community, 24 so appraisal of the opinions of the wider industry stakeholders with respect to the CertAVP qualification would be a useful next step in enquiry, with the potential to inform the expectations of prospective postgraduate students.…”