W6b Wellbeing and Resilience Flashcards
what is resilience?
the human capacity to thrive after extremely adverse or traumatic events
is resilience the same as recovery?
no, recovery refers to the period of time after disruption til an individual returns to normal functioning , resilience is the ability to maintain equilibrium through adversity
how might you build yourself to be a resilient professional? describe at least 3 ways:
- accept and manage uncertainty through discussion of tolerance and evidence based outcomes with colleagues
- attend to self care, make home a sanctuary and place to help balance your work-life balance (Rowe and Kidd 2009)
- reflect on your situation and identify small achievable things you can do differently to improve this, then do it
- invest in strong relationships especially with family and friends to create a supportive network (Rowe and Kidd 2009)
what are adaptive coping mechanisms?
adaptive acts to reduce stress and promote long term benefit, these are usually strategies that actively deal with the stress
what are maladaptive coping mechanisms?
maladaptive coping mechanisms may reduce levels of stress for short term but can affect physical and psychological health in the long term, these are normally avoidant strategies
what are some examples of maladaptive coping strategies?
drugs, alcohol, smoking, harmful behaviours such as binge drinking, using food to feel better, self-isolation, wishful thinking, detachment, procrastination
what are problem focused vs emotion focused coping strategies?
problem focused has potential to be adaptive, it may be maladaptive when using these in a situation that is unchangeable, these involve facing the problem head-on and taking action to resolve the underlying cause
emotion focused has potential to be adaptive as well, these strategies involve regulating your feelings and emotional response to the problem instead of addressing the problem directly
what are stress events?
any stimuli causing alteration in homeostasis to afford adaptation to the environment
what is acute stress vs chronic stress?
acute = sudden onset or short term stress
chronic = long term or persistent stress
what is burnout?
a psychological syndrome emerging as a prolonged response to chronic interpersonal stressors on the job AND/OR emotion and behavioural impairment that results from the exposure to high levels of occupational stress
what are the three dimensions of burnout?
- overwhelming emotional exhaustion
- cynicism (depersonalisation)
- sense of reduced personal accomplishment (or professional efficacy)
what is compassion fatigue characterised by?
emotional and physical exhaustion leading to a diminished ability to empathise or feel compassion for others
what can be considered rewards in the veterinary profession?
meaningfulness - sense of purpose
helping animals and people
problem solving
life-long learning
sense of accomplishment from clinical outcomes
relationships with colleagues and clients
what can be considered stressors in the veterinary profession?
high client expectations
high workload
long hours
client complaints
unexpected clinical outcomes
difficult conversations
lack of personal support
lack of/low ability to perform coping strategies
what is the job demands-resources model?
a model HR uses to predict employee engagement, it compares low and high levels of both resources and demands to compare levels of strain and motivation e.g. low resources and high demand = high strain and low motivation, high resources and low demand = low strain and high motivation
