Resilience of veterinarians at different career stages: The role of self-efficacy, coping strategies and personal resources for resilience in veterinary practice

Background The aim of this study was to determine the effect of demographic and psychological factors on resilience in new graduate-, mid- and late-career veterinarians working in Australia. Method An online cross-sectional survey of 800 veterinarians collected demographic and descriptive data in two stages from late 2015 to 2017, such as gender, average hours worked per week, type and region of practice and intention to leave veterinary medicine. Psychological factors were measured utilising the Brief Resilience Scale, the Veterinary Resilience Scale-Personal Resources, the Brief COPE and General Self-Efficacy measures. Results Using a full-factorial univariate General Linear Model, no significant difference in general resilience was evident between the three career-stage groups (p > 0.05). However, higher self-efficacy, higher personal resources for resilience in veterinary practice, and lower problem-focused, higher emotion-focused and lower dysfunctional coping strategies were related to higher resilience. In the model for mid- and late-career veterinarians, a weak positive relationship existed between higher average hours worked per week and higher resilience, while intention to leave veterinary practice was also related to lower resilience in mid- and late-career veterinarians. Conclusion This study supports the value of personal resources, rather than career stage, gender or region of work, as influential in developing veterinarian resilience.

Automated summary

The study found that personal resources were more influential in developing veterinarian resilience than career stage, gender, or region of work. Higher self-efficacy, stronger personal resources for resilience in veterinary practice, and specific coping strategies were related to higher resilience levels. Intention to leave veterinary practice was also associated with lower resilience in mid- and late-career veterinarians.