Dr. Peter Conlon – Influencing the Future Generation of Veterinary Professionals to Improve Their Mental Resilience

“Ask for help if you feel you need it, it’s the courageous thing to do…because you matter.”

Dr. Peter Conlon graduated from the Ontario Veterinary College in 1980 and was in mixed animal practice for two years before returning to the College to complete a PhD, and then join the faculty in 1986. He is now a Professor in the Department of Biomedical Sciences where he coordinates, and teaches in, the Art of Veterinary Medicine I course in first year. His research interests are in student well-being. He is a past Chair of the American Veterinary Medical Association Council on Education and has served on the National Examining Board of the Canadian Veterinary Medical Association, and the Council of the College of Veterinarians of Ontario, where he chaired the Quality Assurance Committee. 

Dr. Conlon is now on a two-year administrative leave, having completed 13 years as Assistant Dean, Student Affairs and then 10 years as Associate Dean, Students, and Director of the Hill’s Pet Nutrition Primary Healthcare Centre. During that time, he championed the development of the OVC Peer Helper program, the Wellness Wednesdays speakers series, the OVC ‘Counsellor in Residence’ initiative, and the incorporation of a focus on well-being in the DVM curriculum. It has been his great privilege and pleasure to have taught, worked with, and gotten to know almost 4,000 student veterinarians during his time at OVC.