Why female farm vets need a better system - Dr Rebecca Faris

It can be hard to attract and retain professionals in the regions and vets are no exception. Entering the eighth year of a regional vet shortage, our guest Dr Rebecca Faris wants to curb it. 

Having worked as a vet in South West Victoria for many years, Rebecca transitioned to focus on helping students move into the workforce and then eventually vet wellbeing at the Australia Veterinary Association. 

Rebecca shares that vets experience high rates of poor mental health, one of the reasons behind the high turnover in regional areas. 

As the workforce becomes more feminized, issues like childcare shortages, lack of upskilling and ability to find housing are among some of the reasons vets and young professionals move away from the regions. 

But vets face further challenges such as inflexible work hours with long on-call periods, difficulty making vet businesses profitable and struggling to prove their experience to farmers. 

Rebecca shares her hopes for the industry and changes that can be made to both improve wellbeing and retention of rural vets across regional Australia. 

 Complete the Vet Wellbeing survey here. 

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