Mental Health in Veterinary Medicine Part Six: Creating a Culture of Wellbeing and Becoming an Agent of Change with Dr. Jen Brandt

This excerpt is from the final episode in a three-part podcast series on mental health in veterinary medicine from the Tails From the Lab podcast, hosted by Brad Ryan (MSC, DVM, MPH), Senior Professional Services Veterinarian at Antech, in conversation with Jen Brandt (LISW-S, PhD), Director of Member Wellbeing Initiatives at the AVMA. 

In this episode, Drs. Brad and Jen talk about how overworking undermines wellbeing and how to become an agent of change.

You can listen to the full conversation here.

Dr. Brad Ryan: Dr. Jen Brandt has been working with veterinary students and veterinarians throughout her entire career. She’s currently AVMA Director of Member Wellbeing Initiatives and, previously, served as Director of Student Services at the Ohio State University College of Veterinary Medicine, which was the era of her life in which I first knocked on her door and we met face to face…

We did a deep dive in perfectionism in our segment on self-compassion. But one of the norms we didn’t hit in depth that can undermine wellbeing is overworking. The culture that I picked up on early is that a 60-hour work week is the sign of a committed veterinarian and something we should wear with pride — someone who really lives up to the honor of being in this profession. So many people applied for vet school, didn’t get in, yet here you are — you made it through, and now you’re a veterinarian and you’re practicing. How could you possibly complain about your never-ending caseload?

Docteur Jen : Yes—and that messaging has deep roots. We often treat overwork like a badge of honor, and many of us were taught that being “truly grateful” requires that you accept everything as it is—even when it isn’t sustainable.

I can be grateful for this profession and still recognize opportunities to improve how our systems and expectations are set up. I can value this work and still name when the pace, caseloads, or staffing models aren’t sustainable—or when the way we’re working doesn’t leave room for basic human needs.

We often see this mismatch between stated wellbeing values and lived culture show up in the way overwork gets normalized through “one-upping” conversations framed as jokes.

“I was so busy today I didn’t have time to eat.”
“Oh yeah? You think that’s bad? I didn’t even have time to go to the bathroom.”
“Well, I wear a diaper now, so I don’t even have to take a break—who’s hardcore now?”

We may laugh, but it points to a real norm: suffering has become equated with proof of commitment. We even bond over it and can become critical of those we perceive as not suffering enough. It can become an unhealthy part of our identity. And yes, sometimes people are rewarded for overwork—more recognition, more opportunity, sometimes more money. What we’re less aware of is the long-term cost: physical health, mental health, relationships, and burnout. The culture often rewards the behavior in the short term, even while the person, and eventually the organization, are paying for it over time.

Dr Brad : That’s the hardest part of this, isn’t it? Because at the end of the day, everybody wants to advance their career. Everyone wants to make more money, have more benefits, et cetera. And so the idea that if I set that boundary, if I push back on that, then somebody else is going to use that against me as a competitive advantage for themselves because they are willing to work until 9 PM, when technically the hospital closes at six.

Dr Jen: Absolutely. Sometimes doing the healthy thing—setting boundaries, modeling moderation, saying “I’m at capacity”—can come at a cost. If the culture rewards whoever overextends the most, then the person who says “no” can feel like they’re falling behind, or actually be disadvantaged in systems that reward overwork. Of course, not setting boundaries also comes at a cost. 

And that’s exactly why this can’t be solved only at the individual level. If wellbeing depends on people quietly sacrificing opportunity in order to survive, then the culture itself needs attention.

This wasn’t a formal study, but I recently reviewed approximately 100 mission statements for veterinary practices and organizations around the US. They were beautifully written, and most used similar key phrases: they valued patient care, evidence-based medicine, client service etc. We can all agree that these are very important. However, what I didn’t see included were phrases like valuing mutual respect in every interaction, care that is sustainable for both clients and teams, ou supporting the people who make excellent care possible. It’s not an either/or. It’s a both/and.

Now, to be clear—just adding those words doesn’t magically make them true. A mission statement alone doesn’t create a healthy culture. But naming what truly matters can start a different kind of conversation: If wellbeing matters here, what does that look like? What behaviors support it? What policies support it? What do we measure to know whether we’re moving in the right direction?

Even that shift in thinking, from “wellbeing is an optional extra” to “wellbeing is a fundamental part of what we’re here to build and sustain”, can help teams start making different choices.

Dr Brad : Right. And if we’re getting there, if we’re working towards that end and we’ve actually implemented these changes and we’ve fostered this culture, what are the tangible benefits and outcomes that we’re going to see as a result of that concerted effort being put towards this?

Docteur Jen : There are a lot of tangible outcomes. One of the biggest is retention—people are more inclined to stay. And along with that comes reputation. Word travels fast in our profession. If people are saying, “Yes, this is hard work, et the leadership quality is fair and consistent, and I would recommend this workplace to others” that’s huge.

It also improves recruitment, because you’re not constantly trying to fill a leaky bucket.

You see stronger team trust and better daily communication, because people aren’t operating in fear or an information vacuum. You also see stronger belonging, and often better equity across roles, because the question shifts from “Can this person fit this system?” to “How do we build a system where people can thrive?”

And you start getting better at defining roles and expectations. Some job descriptions basically require four people in one body. A culture of wellbeing asks, “What’s realistic? What’s sustainable? What resources do people actually need to do this well?”

And the biggest shift is that wellbeing becomes part of the operating system. It’s not a monthly pizza party or flavored waters. It’s embedded in how you ask questions, how you solve problems, how you handle conflict, how you schedule, how you train, and how you respond when things get challenging.

I haven’t seen a “perfect” version of this anywhere—humans and organizations aren’t perfect. But I’ve seen some organizations making real strides—and the positive impact on the people is palpable.

Dr Brad : I was going to ask you this in both of our previous segments. At the end of the day, we always come back to ourselves. What’s my agency in cultivating the pursuit of boundary setting, the pursuit of self-compassion and showing up at my hospital wanting to be that agent of change for the culture at large.

Docteur Jen : I love this question, because it holds both truths at once: yes, systems level approaches are essential —et personal agency still matters. A lot. We can forget that sometimes. Because “the system” feels like this big, nebulous thing,we often find ourselves waiting for someone “out there” to make it better. But we’re part of that system too. We are the someone we’ve been waiting for. Our choices, our language, what we model, what we tolerate—those things also have ripple effects.

On the individual level, agency can start very small. It might be as simple as practicing one sentence: “I’m at capacity right now.” Or “I can’t take that on today.” Or “I need help.” The point isn’t to say it perfectly—it’s to start interrupting the autopilot of automatically saying yes.

Sometimes the first step is private: reflecting on what parts of the work actually fit you and what you’re forcing yourself to do and be vs what you need in order to stay well. That might be a conversation with a friend, a therapist, a coach—someone who can help you process your thoughts. And sometimes it’s giving yourself permission to say, “I don’t love all aspects of this,” without telling yourself that means you’re failing or not cut out for the work.

At the team and organizational level, one practical starting point is gathering input—surveys can be helpful when they’re anonymous and safe. But the non-negotiable is follow-through. If you’re going to ask for feedback, you need a plan:

• Here’s when we’ll review it.
• Here’s when we’ll share themes back with the team.
• Here’s what we can address now.
• Here’s what we can’t address yet—and why.
• And here’s how we’ll revisit the results over time.

And also: the “decision makers” aren’t only the people with the most authority. The people doing the work have expertise about what will actually succeed—or fail—in real life. If you want change to stick, you need a range of perspectives and voices in the room throughout the process.

None of this is a quick fix. But transparent, honest conversations paired with tangible steps people can see and measure over time are how cultures can shift.

Dr Brad : Dr. Brandt, this has been so valuable, for me personally, and I know it will be for others. When I’m talking to you, I’m always curious what your own personal observations are in terms of the evolution of these topics over time. What are the things that you’ve witnessed that give you the most hope?

Docteur Jen : First of all, I love that you asked this—because when you’re living inside the work day after day, year after year, it can be hard to recognize that change is occurring. But when I zoom out, I can see that some of the shifts made over the last 10-20 years have been enormous.

Early in my career, there were essentially no conversations about wellbeing in the profession. It wasn’t something people openly talked about, and it definitely wasn’t embedded in training the way it is now. Now we’re seeing more open discussions, more professional development support, more emphasis on quality leadership and communication training, and much more awareness about the role of systemic factors.

And in workplaces, I’m seeing more teams asking questions that better get to root causes and contributors: “What are we doing that helps people thrive?” “What are we doing that drains people?” “What needs to change in our norms?” That too is progress.

I’ll tell you something else that gives me hope: every day, I meet people who genuinely love their career in veterinary medicine. They may not be on social media talking about it, so their voices aren’t always the loudest, but they’re very much there. And we know from research that so many veterinary professionals find meaning and fulfillment in their work. There are veterinary professionals around the world who are being the change and leading the change they want to see.

People have approached me and said “Jen, do you ever have that dream where you wake up and realize you forgot to turn in an assignment and somehow you didn’t really graduate?” And then they laugh and add, “If that had actually happened, I’d go back and do this again.”

There is so much love and respect for this profession. We don’t want a world without veterinary professionals in it—they play an essential role in our communities, our families, and our lives. We’ve come a long way, et there is still meaningful opportunity, and real responsibility, to keep building a profession where people can do this work with pride, purpose, and sustainability.

Dr Brad : This has been a wonderful journey with you. I am so honored that I’ve gotten to have these one-on-one conversations with you. I ask for anybody who’s reading this, to share this segment with your colleagues. The way we affect change is one conversation at a time, one mind shift at a time. So let’s start there and hopefully wake up tomorrow feeling better for it. So thank you, Dr. Brandt.

Docteur Jen : Thank you.