Battling Burnout in Veterinary Emergency Care Providers

Marie Holowaychuk

DVM, DACVECC

Dr. Marie Holowaychuk, DVM, DACVECC, is a board-certified specialist in small animal emergency and critical care and a passionate advocate for wellbeing in the veterinary profession. She lives in Calgary and travels worldwide as a speaker and locum. Marie has a diversity of experiences in veterinary medicine including time spent in general, specialty, and academic practice. One thing that Marie feels is consistent no matter the veterinary setting is that all members of the profession are susceptible to experiencing moral stress, compassion fatigue, and burnout. As such, Marie facilitates wellness workshops and retreats and online wellbeing programs for veterinary care providers that include lectures, yoga, meditation practices, and one-on-one coaching. She is a certified yoga and meditation teacher and has completed a mindfulness-based stress reduction course for professionals. She also has Compassion Fatigue Training from the University of Tennessee School of Social Work, Mental Health First Aid Training from the Mental Health Commission of Canada, Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training from the Centre for Suicide Prevention, and a Life Coaching certificate. Marie’s favorite self-care activities include strength training, practicing yoga, rollerblading, watching movies, and hiking in the Rocky Mountains.