Suicide prevention: Register now for live broadcasts

Live CE series is free of charge for the whole veterinary community

Wellbeing is one of the most critical issues facing our profession. Yet, how comfortable are we when it comes to discussing suicide and suicide prevention with friends, family members, and colleagues?

The truth is, candid, open discussions about mental health and suicide are vital to suicide prevention. And there are safe ways to talk about these important topics.

AVMA Axon has scheduled two special live broadcasts to explore the latest research and perspectives on suicide prevention. The broadcasts will examine practical steps we can take as individuals and collectively as a community to promote mental health and wellbeing. You’ll come away with new ideas about how we can work together to instill hope and help create lives worth living.

These live discussions are free of charge for anyone in the veterinary community and will be led by AVMA’s director of wellbeing initiatives.

Save the dates: September 21 and October 5

The first broadcast in the series—Suicide prevention 1: How we communicate matters—will take place at noon Central Time on Wednesday, September 21. The session will cover:

• Communication-based challenges to suicide prevention
• Better approaches to communicating about mental health and suicide prevention
• Action steps you can take today to facilitate effective conversations about mental health and suicide prevention, and serve as an agent of hope

The second broadcast—Suicide prevention 2: Lives built on hope—will be at noon Central Time on Wednesday, October 5. In this session, participants will learn about:

• Systemic challenges to suicide prevention
• Evidence-based approaches for reducing suicidal behaviors
• Characteristics of work cultures that predict higher rates of wellbeing and lower rates of serious psychological distress
• Steps we can take together to help create lives worth living

Each live broadcast offers 1 hour of CE credit and registration is free for all veterinary professionals.

Register today

We all have a role to play in preventing suicide. While research about suicide continues to evolve, we do know that suicide is complex and multifaceted. It’s not an inevitable outcome of someone experiencing pain or crisis in their life. Hope and healing are possible.

We encourage all members of the veterinary community to participate in these important learning opportunities.

More suicide-prevention resources

September is Suicide Prevention Month, and it’s a great time to reacquaint yourself with AVMA’s library of wellbeing and suicide-prevention resources. These include:

• Free suicide-prevention training– AVMA’s QPR (question, persuade, refer) training teaches how to identify and help colleagues who may be contemplating suicide. It’s available at no cost to all veterinary professionals, is conducted entirely online, and takes only about an hour.
• Workplace Wellbeing Certificate Program – This interactive CE program arms the whole veterinary team with crucial skills to support a culture of wellbeing in the workplace.
• How to handle cyberbullying – Learn how to prevent and combat cyberbullying and safeguard your own and your team’s emotional wellbeing.

Visit avma.org/Wellbeing to access AVMA’s full suite of wellbeing resources.