158: Psychological Safety For Vets: Why The Job Might Need Fixing, Not The People. With Dr Rebecca Faris

"Maybe we're just picking the wrong people to be vets."

You've probably heard some version of that line. Maybe you've even said it. 'The new grads can't cope. The younger generation is too soft. If this profession isn't working for you, maybe the profession isn't the problem - maybe you are.'

But what if that's the wrong conversation entirely? Maybe it's not the people who need to change - but the job itself.

That's the question at the heart of this conversation with Dr Rebecca Faris, the lead of the Australian Veterinary Association's Thrive programme - an industry attempt to figure out how we make veterinary medicine a profession people can actually stay in and enjoy.

You'll learn:

• Why a full-time working week in veterinary medicine probably shouldn't be 40 hours - and the official position from Safe Work Australia that will surprise you
• The difference between psychological safety and psychosocial safety (one is a vibe, the other is the law - and if you own a practice in Australia, you need to know which is which)
• What the new psychosocial safety legislation actually requires of practice owners
• Why "playing to your strengths" isn't the same as avoiding the hard stuff - and how to have that conversation with your employer without sounding like you're asking for special treatment
• The invisible emotional labour tax you're paying on every consult - and why recognising it changes everything
• What genuinely great veterinary workplaces are doing differently, and why the "squeaky wheel" narrative is drowning out stories of practices that are getting it right
• Why "I can't hack full-time" might not mean there's something wrong with you - and the self-compassion case for rethinking what a sustainable vet career actually looks like
• How to get involved in shaping the future of this profession instead of quietly checking out

If you've ever felt wrecked at the end of a perfectly normal day and wondered whether it was you or the job - this one's for you.

Resources mentioned:

• The Thrive Programme and 2025 Wellbeing Survey: ava.com.au/thrive
• Cultivating Safe Teams training (AVA)
• 2026 Thrive Wellness Symposium at the AVA Conference, Brisbane, 19 May 2026
• Safe Work Australia - psychosocial hazards guidance

This episode is not an ad. We're not paid to feature Thrive or the AVA - we just think this is a conversation the profession needs to be having. If you've got thoughts, pushback, or your own story about thriving (or not) in practice, drop us a line at info@thevetvault.com.

For our clinical content, show notes, and our full back catalogue, head to thevetvault.com.

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00:52 Rethinking the 40-Hour Workweek

03:03 Flexibility and Job Crafting

04:57 Are We Picking the Wrong People?

06:05 Playing to Strengths vs Business Needs

12:39 Psychological vs Psychosocial Safety

15:55 The New Laws: Employer Obligations

17:51 Identifying Psychosocial Hazards

20:40 Cultivating Safe Teams Training

24:45 Workload and Emotional Labor

32:34 Vets on Tour Break

34:27 Should Full-Time Be 30 Hours?

36:12 Inside the Thrive Initiative

39:31 Mental Health First Aid

41:35 Empathy for Difficult Clients

44:13 Wins and Optimism

46:27 How to Access Thrive

51:27 Closing Advice: Get Engaged