Practice culture: A team approach

“Growth mindset.” “Autonomy.” “Psychological safety.” These aren't just buzz words for positive psychology researchers. They’re important aspects of wellbeing, shown to be associated with higher employee satisfaction and reduced turnover. Learn how to assess whether your practice has these three elements—and cultivate them to improve the workplace environment. 

Growth mindset describes a way of viewing challenges and setbacks. Employees who have a growth mindset believe that even if they’re currently struggling with certain skills, their abilities aren't set in stone. They know their skills can improve with work over time. Autonomy gives people the freedom to innovate and take ownership of their responsibilities. Psychological safety is the ability to feel safe to share ideas, grow from failure, and be honest with empathy. The initial ingredients needed to create this environment are a sense of belonging, ability to be vulnerable, and strong interpersonal relationships. Learn how to assess the psychological safety of your team using a range of tools.

This session originally was presented at AVMA’s 2023 Veterinary Leadership Conference.

Learning objectives:

• Define psychological safety and discover tools to create it on your team. 
• Explore the organization’s role in preventing burnout. 
• Understand the factors that can create individual wellbeing. 
• Learn how to implement psychological health and safety management systems in your practice.

Dr. Phillip Richmond is the founder and CEO of Flourishing Phoenix Veterinary Consultants, and the medical director of a small animal hospital in Florida. He is passionate about positive culture, psychological health, safety, and wellbeing in veterinary workplaces. He works to implement tools and advocate for policies that help veterinary professionals thrive, especially at critical education and career points. He is involved in state, national, and international projects to advance wellbeing and healthy workplace culture in veterinary medicine. 

Dr. Richmond has served as chair of the Florida Veterinary Medical Association (FVMA)’s outreach committee and its professional wellness and wellbeing committee. He also has served as a member of or advisor to several national committees for workplace suicide prevention and veterinary wellbeing, including the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, and the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. Dr. Richmond is a published writer and speaker, and a frequent veterinary podcast guest. His honors include earning an FVMA Gold Star award in 2019 and being named FVMA Veterinarian of the Year in 2021. He holds certifications in the fields of applied positive psychology, workplace wellbeing, psychological health and safety, trauma-informed workplaces, resilience training, behavior change, and suicide prevention. 

Tasha McNerney is a certified veterinary technician and certified veterinary pain practitioner. She became credentialed as a veterinary technician specialist in anesthesia in 2015. She has worked closely with the International Veterinary Academy of Pain Management (IVAPM) to educate the public about animal pain awareness, and she has authored articles on anesthesia and analgesia topics for veterinary professionals and pet owners. She lectures internationally on anesthesia and pain management, and consults with veterinary hospitals around the U.S. on best anesthesia practices. She was named the VMX 2020 speaker of the year for veterinary technicians and hosts the podcast “Veterinary Anesthesia Nerds”.