The RCVS has revealed the recipients of its 2025 mental health research grants.
Two projects evaluating reasonable adjustments for student veterinary nurses and workplace wellbeing have been awarded a share of £20,000 of funding from the RCVS Mind Matters Initiative (MMI).
A £5,000 Discovery Grant was awarded to a project evaluating the implementation of reasonable adjustments in addressing mental health and neurodivergence for SVNs during clinical placement.
The project is being carried out by Dr Heather Imrie MRCVS, Dr Lauren Cooke MRCVS, Dr Gregory Steele MRCVS and Nicola-Jayne Johnson RVN, at Nottingham Trent University.
Professor Elinor O’Connor from the University of Manchester, and Dr Kevin Teoh from Birkbeck, University of London, were awarded a £15,000 Impact Grant for their project researching interventions to support veterinary wellbeing in the workplace.
RCVS director for the advancement of the professions, Angharad Belcher, said: “Research has an essential role to play in creating evidence-based support, which can then go on to directly support veterinary professionals and the wider sector.
“Since 2019, through Mind Matters we’ve provided over £155,000 of funding to a wide range of veterinary mental health research projects focused on contemporary challenges and are proud to be supporting work which has tangible outcomes.”
Discovery Grant recipient, Dr Heather Imrie, said: “We are delighted and grateful to receive this grant, which will allow us to explore the challenges of mental health and neurodivergence faced by student veterinary nurses in their clinical placements.
“As a pro-active educational institution, with many years’ experience of training student veterinary nurses, we at Nottingham Trent University plan to shine broader light on this under-represented but essential group within the veterinary community.”
Impact Grant recipient Professor Elinor O’Connor, added: “Our project will develop evidence-based, practical guidance for veterinary workplaces on identifying and implementing effective interventions to support staff wellbeing. In particular, the focus will be on interventions that address systemic sources of stress, such as workload, rather than interventions that rely largely – or solely – on individual coping skills.
“This shift in approach has the potential to foster healthier workplace cultures, reduce burnout, and enhance staff engagement and retention in the veterinary sector.”
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