Cumnock's Amy Munro calls focusing on mental health, gender equality for vets

Dr Munro was acknowledged at the Australian Farmer of the Year Awards last month and she now wants to utilise her platform to continue her positive impact on the industry, including a focus on mental health and gender equality and diversity.

The work she's already done, including for the peak body Australian Women in Agriculture, was a huge factor in her award win, making investigations into gender as an experiential influence while at Charles Sturt University.

"One of my main findings was that both men and women experience sexism in the workplace," she said.

"Whether it's a man being asked to lift heavy things, or a woman being asked to do some kind of domestic task, there is sexism in the industry, and it can affect people's mental health.

"I think it's important we talk about it."

Communication, Dr Munro said, is the key to understanding and address that gender inequality and all the challenges veterinarians face, the latter of which are demanding and various, changing day-to-day.

"I think there is increasing awareness in the public eye of the mental health issues experienced by vets and the day-to-day struggles and challenges of the profession, but I think part of those issues come from a lack of client understanding," she said.

"I think there needs to be more communication and positive storytelling when it comes to mental health and the challenges of the profession, so people respect vets that little bit more and understand the next level effect of some things - including what clients do - that can really impact vets.

"I want to lead by example in the industry and do my best in the profession by sharing my story, helping people to understand or learn certain things about the profession, and just really encouraging everyone to communicate."

Since graduating from Charles Sturt in June last year, Dr Munro has since secured a job in Cohuna in Northern Victoria where she spends a lot of her time working with dairy cattle while working as a mixed practice vet.

With mixed practice, you have got to switch between different species and different client personalities. It can be pretty challenging, especially when it's an emergency," she said.

"One of the biggest things as a new graduate that I needed to learn was to try and moderate my amount of emotional energies, so that I still had a bit left for myself. Within the first few months, I learned pretty quickly that that's what I had to do to look after myself first, so that I could help."

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