title: The Life of Meaning: A Model of the Positive Contributions to Well-Being from Veterinary Work.
abstract: We present a veterinary model of work-derived well-being, and argue that educators should not only present a (potentially self-fulfilling) stress management model of future wellness, but also balance this with a positive psychology-based approach depicting a veterinary career as a richly generative source of satisfaction and fulfillment. A review of known sources of satisfaction for veterinarians finds them to be based mostly in meaningful purpose, relationships, and personal growth. This positions veterinary well-being within the tradition of eudaimonia, an ancient concept of achieving one's best possible self, and a term increasingly employed to describe well-being derived from living a life that is engaging, meaningful, and deeply fulfilling. The theory of eudaimonia for workplace well-being should inform development of personal resources that foster resilience in undergraduate and graduate veterinarians.
authors.forename: Martin A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Cake
authors.forename: Melinda A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Bell
authors.forename: Naomi
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Bickley
authors.forename: David J
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Bartram
mesh_terms: D004520:Education, Veterinary; D006801:Humans; D007588:Job Satisfaction; D008960:Models, Psychological; D006113:United Kingdom; D018634:Veterinarians / Q000523:psychology*
keywords: eudaimonia; job satisfaction; positive psychology; resilience; well-being