**Due to Unforeseen Circumstances, This Event is Postponed to May 23rd**

My Role as a Veterinary Social Worker

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Veterinary social work is an emerging field within veterinary medicine. Veterinary social work tends to the human needs in the veterinary industry. Kathleen Dunbar, who runs the Tender Tails program at a small animal hospital in the eastern part of Canada, will discuss her path to social work. Kathleen will review the origins and model of veterinary social work and discuss her role at her place of work. Kathleen will examine the benefits of having a veterinary social worker in practice, talk about the range of concerns that pet parents may experience during a pet health crisis, and describe how veterinary social work can help the veterinary team with challenges such as stress, burnout, and moral injury.

Approved for one hour California Statutory CEU

Speaker: Kathleen Dunbar MSW, RVT

Bio: Kathleen is the veterinary social worker with the Tender Tails program at Carnegy Animal Hospital in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. Kathleen has a Master of Social Work and has worked in the mental health field for twenty-five years. Before becoming a social worker, she worked as a Registered Veterinary Technician for a decade and a half. She obtained her Veterinary Technician Specialty (Clinical Practice- Canine/Feline) in 2016 and has served as a contributing author to two veterinary technician textbooks and many other veterinary publications.

Kathleen is dedicated to supporting grieving pet parents and veterinary team members who cope with the unique challenges of the industry. She is particularly interested in death, grief, and end-of-life support. Kathleen provides individual and group counselling to pet parents and veterinary team members on the east coast of Canada.