The director of the Veterinary Area of Fundación Ciencia & Vida, who is also an academic at the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine and director of the Preclinical Research Center at Universidad San Sebastián, was invited by Universidad de la República to share experience and knowledge on professional wellbeing.
From May 27 to 30, Dr. Sebastián Valenzuela took part as an invited international speaker in the workshop “Professional wellbeing in work with animals”, organised by the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine of Universidad de la República (Udelar) in Montevideo, Uruguay.
During the workshop in Montevideo, Dr. Valenzuela addressed topics related to professional wellbeing in settings where people work with animals, including compassion fatigue, self-care, effective communication and emotional management in teaching, research, veterinary practice and work with laboratory animals.
In his presentation he stressed the need for preventive and institutional measures to strengthen the mental health and wellbeing of students, technicians, researchers and professionals, recognising that caring for people is an essential part of ensuring quality and responsibility in work with animals.
“The quality of work with animals also depends on the wellbeing of the people involved. Recognising the emotional challenges of this work and developing support strategies is essential to promote ethical and sustainable practices,” the academic said during his talk.
Field experience
As part of the complementary activities, he made technical visits to the University Animal Production Center (CUPAE) and the Animal Experimentation Laboratory (LEA), where he learned about their experience in management, animal welfare and the training of laboratory animal users. He also toured several units of the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine of Universidad de la República.
The agenda also included working meetings with Dr. Florencia Beracochea, of Universidad de la República, and Dr. Ana Paula Arévalo. These meetings covered topics of shared interest related to professional wellbeing, veterinary education and research on university teaching.
Among the main outcomes of the visit, Dr. Valenzuela highlighted stronger academic ties with regional institutions, the exchange of experience in professional wellbeing and animal welfare, the identification of opportunities for collaboration and the creation of spaces to reflect on the importance of caring for those who work with animals every day.
Original USS article (in Spanish).