Development and validation of a contextualised measure of resilience in veterinary practice: the Veterinary Resilience Scale–Personal Resources (VRS–PR)

Background This article reports on the development and validation of a contextualised measure of personal resources for resilience in veterinary practice. Methods Exploratory factor analysis and structural equation modelling were used to evaluate data from two surveys of veterinary practitioners. Results Exploratory factor analysis of the first survey (n=300) revealed six items comprising the Veterinary Resilience Scale–Personal Resources (VRS–PR). These items focused on flexibility, adaptability, optimism, building strengths, enjoying challenges, and maintaining motivation and enthusiasm at work. Structural equation modelling using the second survey (n=744) confirmed the factor structure of the VRS–PR and established convergent validity with an established measure of general resilience, the Brief Resilience Scale. Examination of the mean and standard deviation of the combined survey data enabled scores on the VRS–PR to be provisionally classified into ‘low’, ‘moderate’ and ‘high’ (reported by approximately 13%, 72% and 15% of respondents, respectively). Respondents also reported results spanning ‘low’, ‘moderate’ and ‘high’ classifications for the Brief Resilience Scale (approximately 34%, 57% and 9%, respectively). Conclusion The VRS–PR may be used to evaluate the extent to which respondents draw upon the personal resources captured in the scale and identify areas for improvement.