Veterinary Students' Perspectives on Resilience and Resilience-Building Strategies

Abstract

In recent years, resilience has been lauded as a valuable, even necessary, facet of an effective veterinary practitioner. This study describes a mixed-methods research exploration of the impact of a self-care and mental well-being teaching intervention on the self-reported resilience of 105 first-year veterinary students enrolled at the School of Veterinary Medicine, University of Surrey, UK. Quantitative data were obtained through a questionnaire, the 10-item Connor–Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC 10), which students completed before and after the teaching intervention. The median total score on the scale increased from 27 (IQR=25–30) to 29 (IQR=26–32) (p<.001), a medium effect size (r=−0.28). Student focus groups were held to allow qualitative data analysis of the students' perspectives on the teaching intervention and on the topic of resilience in general. The results of this study suggest that appropriate training in resilience-building strategies can help veterinary students build greater awareness of resilience, and potentially support their development of a more resilient approach in their personal and professional lives. In this study, veterinary students felt that resilience training was a valuable addition to the veterinary curriculum, and that resilience likely plays an important role in achieving a successful veterinary career. The study also suggested that veterinary students utilize a variety of different resilience-building strategies, including drawing on past experiences, seeking help from support networks, and developing an ability to change their perspectives.