470194 - Compassion Fatigue Strategies, Plus

Course Description

Today’s animal welfare and veterinary medical professionals are pushing the boundaries of what’s possible for animals, people, and the organizations that heal, connect, and protect them. If that’s you, it’s easy to feel like nothing you do is ever good enough. The work feels never-ending. Taking care of your own needs might seem impossible. Transforming empathic distress (aka compassion fatigue) is absolutely possible for you and your staff. That’s why the Shelter Medicine Program at the University of Florida is once again offering its Compassion Fatigue Strategies online course with certified compassion fatigue educator Jessica Dolce.

This course will help you recognize signs and symptoms of compassion fatigue, burnout, and vicarious trauma, learn how to reduce stress injury, increase your self-care and team-care practices, build compassion satisfaction, restore resiliency, and make successful changes in your life and in your organization. Students typically spend an average of 2 hours per week (15-20 minutes a day) moving through the 4 learning modules of this online course. This equates to about 1 module every 2 weeks, for a total of 8 weeks. Designed for busy professionals, this online course is available 24/7 and self-paced for the flexibility you need. You’ll have access to all of the class materials on day 1 and then you can do the work at your own speed. Ongoing access to all course materials will be available for 2 months after the interactive portion of the course is completed.

Fall 2023 Course runs from 10/13/2023-12/10/2023

• Early registration: 1/30/23 -- 9/15/23 $299
• Early group rate (10 or more): 1/30/23 -- 9/15/23 $269
• Regular registration: 9/16/23 – 10/23/23 $349
• Regular group rate (10 or more): 9/16/23 – 10/23/23 $314

Click here to visit our course website

Course Outline

Module 1: Understanding Empathic Strain aka Compassion Fatigue and Other Work-Related Stressors

Module 2: Addressing Stress and Developing Authentic Self-Care

Module 3: Building Compassion Satisfaction and Resiliency

Module 4: Taking Action and Committing to Change

Learner Outcomes

By the End of Class You’ll:

• Have multiple evidence-based strategies to help you do the work you love, reducing empathic strain and burnout, so that you can feel more energized and satisfied.
• Know which specific self-care and stress management practices work best for you at work and at home
• Develop a personal mission statement so that you have clarity about why you do this work even when it’s challenging
• Understand how to build small, sustainable habits so that you can make lasting changes in the areas of your life that need attention, like sleep, friendships, and social media.
• Experiment with simple mindfulness, self-compassion, and grounding practices, to help you feel more calm and clear
• Understand how and when to get professional mental health help, without shame
• Know how to collaborate with your staff and coworkers on these issues so that you can all benefit from what you learned in the course

Notes

Class size: This course has a limited enrollment class size and may be filled prior to the course start date.

Refund Policy: Refunds are not available, but we are more than happy to substitute another participant. We require this to be requested in writing 1 week prior to the first day of class (10/06/2023 for Fall 2023).

Continuing Professional Education Credits: This course is eligible for 15 credits of continuing professional education for veterinarians in Florida. Veterinarians from other states should contact their licensing board for guidance. The course has been approved for 15 hours of continuing professional education by Certified Animal Welfare Administrator (CAWA) and National Animal Control Association (NACA). Participants may download a Certificate of Completion after completing all course requirements.