Although I am a veterinary surgeon, my veterinary training doesn’t define me anymore. As well as being a vet I’m a positive psychology coach, a speaker and a workplace conflict mediator who strives to provide a holistic approach to taking care of the mental wellbeing of vet professionals. Most importantly though, I am a curious, sensitive human being, a friend, a significant other and a daughter who lives far away from her family in eastern Europe. 

Currently, my main role is working as a clinical wellbeing coach – supporting a company that owns multiple veterinary practices in Ireland, as well as consulting with other veterinary workplaces in the UK, Australia and New Zealand. These companies care deeply about the mental wellbeing of their employees and welcomed me with open arms onto their teams.

You may wonder how a vet turned into a coach. Isn’t veterinary medicine about treating animals, rather than talking to people?

It starts to make much more sense when we realise that actually it is people who are at the heart of vet practices and our own welfare has a remarkable impact on the treatment outcomes of our animal patients.

Vet turns coach 

My original career goal was to become a specialist in small animal surgery. On my path towards achieving this, I visited many referral centres, completed surgical externships in the UK, Canada and Australia, and did a couple of internships in the UK. I was willing to do anything to make the next step towards specialisation. Once, I flew from London to Toronto for a 24-hour trip to visit veterinary hospitals that offered residency programmes. At the time, I thought I was determined and kept following what seemed to me to be the right career path, but now I recognise that I was over-enthusiastic and suffering from tunnel vision. I ended up exhausted and the longer I stayed on that path, the more miserable I became.

A pivotal moment came when I completed my second internship and realised it was time to get a residency. It was now or never, and that thought terrified me. I felt pressured by time, the expectations of others, my own ambition and by social comparisons. 

On my learning journey, I met many wonderful people, as well as some ‘difficult’ colleagues. I also fell in love with someone who struggled with severe mental health issues and, for the first time in my life, I personally experienced the destructive power that an unhealthy mind can have on others. In simple terms, my personal and professional paths turned out to be remarkably similar.

I found that my anxiety was raging. I needed to transform myself and I realised the only way to do that was to turn to my parallel interest – psychology. I needed to understand the storm in my head and find a way out of it. 

'I learnt about the human psyche and behaviour - the more I understood, the better I felt'

So, I reached out to my books and materials on the human psyche and behaviour. The more I discovered and understood, the better I felt. Not only that, but the further away I got from my surgical ‘dream’, the calmer and happier I became. 

It was at this point that I discovered positive psychology – a science of happiness and discovering the best in people, which perfectly matched my true self. Once I found my place, I became my real self. I finally felt at peace.

A second key realisation was that throughout all those years, I had already been supporting other people – vet professionals I met on my career path – subconsciously knowing how to listen to them and what to ask in order to help them. We shared the same dreams, feelings and struggles and I realised we are all in this together. I found that there are many other vet professionals around the world who need and deserve mental health support. Now, helping my colleagues and providing them with the support that I had been missing has become my true mission. I finally developed an ambition that was not only healthy and true to me, but could also benefit others.

Even though my surgery-related travels did not result in the diplomas I thought I sought, they gave me something even more precious. They exposed me to various cultures, personalities and environments, which, with time and psychological education, allowed me to recognise the common and fundamental aspect of vet professionals around the world – their human nature.  

No matter whether you work in a vet clinic in Europe, North America, Latin America or Oceania, someone else shares your hopes, dreams and concerns. At our core, we all have the same basic psychological needs: safety, appreciation and self-actualisation, among others. 

Equipped with knowledge of positive psychology and clinical experience, I began a new career journey. I created the Vet Gone Real platform and focused my career on supporting those who save animals. I sometimes joke that instead of delving into animal bodies, I switched to looking into human minds...and I love it! I’m naturally an inquisitive person and asking the right questions is key to my work.

During a typical week, my days are filled with individual and group meetings. I speak with every member of the team to find out more about their needs and hopes for their personal and professional lives. 

Together, we plan how to improve their work engagement and life satisfaction. I also investigate the intrateam relationships and help strengthen them, and I mediate on areas of conflict. I work closely with the company’s leaders to help them to understand their teams. 

It is fascinating and enlightening to observe groups of people.

'The here and now can be a new beginning'

On some days, I work with the individual coachees whom I help long term. I also assess the levels of psychological safety in large teams and support veterinary practices through lectures and workshops. 

I enjoy sharing my experience and techniques, which is why I talk at various international congresses. Finally, I work as a GP vet or an emergency vet – I consult and operate, just like my vet colleagues. However, every clinical shift is also an opportunity to get to know new teams. I learn every day from every person I encounter. 

My goal is simple – to take each of my coachees with me on an ascending journey to help them grow and accept themselves. I promise to lift them up and show them that no matter how deep and dark they may currently feel, the here and now can be a new beginning. 

Olivia's CV

• 2021: Clinical wellbeing coach for Village Vets, Dublin, Ireland
• 2021: Masters in Applied Positive Psychology, Anglia Ruskin University, Cambridge 
• 2021: Certificate in Workplace Mediation, ACAS
• 2020: Positive psychology life coach, vetgonereal.com  
• 2020: North American Veterinary Licensing Examination
• 2016: Qualified as a vet from the University of Environmental and Life Sciences, Wroclaw, Poland