Competence to confidence a ritual of strengths

Abstract

Veterinarians will face continuous challenges throughout their careers. Despite thousands of hours of professional training and experience, challenges will arise. In veterinary medicine these challenges range from diagnostic mysteries to complex business decisions. Inevitability, these events will result in fail­ure to some degree. How the professional processes these chal­lenges, confidence wise, will determine the level of competence they are able to apply to future problems and their career.

Professional athletes represent a similar model of trained and challenged professionals who can help veterinary profession­als understand how to ease recovery and accelerate growth through a challenge. Athletes’ use of regular rituals in training, preparation and recovery are an example of what veterinary professionals should seek to mimic. These rituals avoid ac­cumulations of physiologic and psychologic stress; protecting the athlete’s confidence in their own competence. This results in less stress on the individual, more motivation, and a higher degree of flourishing at their craft. Using the science of saluto­genesis, we propose a “Ritual of Strengths” or an interventional model based upon providing the practitioner the skills neces­sary to respond in a near perfect way to these challenges; build­ing confidence in their own competence. This model will allow high performing veterinary professionals to feel prepared for any challenge they come across.