What constitutes a healthy workplace? (Proceedings)

As veterinary professionals, we have been trained to create a practice environment that focuses on maintaining cleanliness and reducing disease transmission. While these are vital to the health of our staff and patients, we must also consider other aspects of healing. The emotional and energetic atmosphere our clients, staff and patients are exposed to does influence their physical, mental and behavioral well being. It is our obligation to provide a setting conducive to improving staff work life and patient health.

To best understand the importance of appropriate practice environment, we must understand principles of energy theory. In the interest of saving paper, please refer to How Self Awareness Aids Our Patients, Parts I & II for this information.

Energy

Humans and animals have the instinctive ability to energetically interact with everything around them. As positive or negative energy entrains with our energy fields, we are physically and emotionally affected. When the surroundings are stressful, this energy can cause anxiety, weaken the immune system and literally create negative situations for the patient. Procedures can be more difficult, untoward reactions can occur, and healing can be interrupted because of the energy of the people and surroundings. It is imperative that we keep gossip, anger, and drama out of the practice.

If our intention is to create a place of healing and respect, and we act accordingly, the practice will begin to reflect this positive energy. Staff contributing to drama will improve or move on. Clients who are a joy to serve will be attracted to our doorsteps. All of this happens on an unseen, energetic level.

For more information on how to improve your practice situation, see Shifting From A Negative To A Positive Practice Environment

Sound

Sound is an important part of an animal's surroundings, and should be considered when creating a healthy environment. When any new sound is introduced, the focus of the brain turns to this sensory input. This is termed active listening. Once the sound has been processed, the brain returns to a passive hearing state. This is an instinctive process which occurs in animals and humans, called the orienting response

The orienting response is a survival mechanism, and is especially important in prey animals. The ear pinna on dogs, cats and horses allow the reception of sound to occur on a much more sensitive level than in humans. We have all witnessed the sudden arousal of an animal when an unusual or loud sound is heard. While the orienting response can have a positive effect on the animal's survival, there are also negative consequences to it. As animals have been domesticated, and housed in unnatural environments, they have been exposed to sounds that may continually activate their orienting responses. Even though the environmental sounds may not elicit overt fear, the ongoing instinctive reaction to sudden noise can interrupt the animal's relaxed state.

Different animals show different sensitivities to all types of environmental input. Several species of laboratory animals have been studied for sensitivities to sound. One study in dogs showed transient increase in blood sugar following 5 – 10 minutes of sound exposure at 80 dB. There was individual variation among dogs, with reactive dogs exhibiting the most significant change.

Noise pollution is a growing problem in human society, and has been linked to a decrease in immune system function. While no specific research in this area has been done in dogs or cats, studies in mice, rats and humans suggest that immune compromise may be a possibility. As the field of immune research advances in both humans and animals, clarification on the role of noise pollution can be obtained. When we consider that the average American household watches seven hours of television daily, and with the increasing use of electronic gadgets and gaming devices, noise pollution could be a real influence on our veterinary patients' health and well-being. With a reported 45% - 90% of visits to the family veterinarian being related to behavior issues, we should consider what effect noise pollution has on these statistics.

A sonic evaluation can be taken in veterinary offices, grooming facilities or boarding kennels. Note the noise level surrounding the animals. Pay attention to how often a dog or cat jumps when a cage door is slammed, the clippers are running, or the vacuum is sweeping up hair. Staff members yelling across the room and intercoms blaring can elicit continual orienting or startle responses by your patients. A noisy kennel can easily compound the stress of an already anxious boarder. It is important to be aware of the environment our patients are being exposed to, especially when they are recovering from surgery or a severe illness.

A supplement to Veterinary Economics entitled Let the Light In: Hospital Design That Heals (June, 2010) has excellent suggestions on reducing noise in veterinary facilities, including noise reduction ceiling tiles and carpeting and fabric wrapped acoustic panels.

Music

Most veterinary offices play music that suits the staff, however, many of us don't consider the effect it has on our patients. We understand how our psychological preference to various types of music affects us, but music also has a physiologic effect. Just as in energy medicine, the physiologic outcome of music is based on the principles of resonance and entrainment. Resonance describes the effect of one vibration (or frequency) on another, i.e., the vibration of sound causing a change in the frequency of a vibration of a cell, muscle, organ, etc. Entrainment is the process by which periodic rhythms cause major body pulse systems (heart rate, brain waves, and breath) to naturally speed up or slow down. The discipline of applying the concepts of resonance, entrainment and sound complexity (which affects the orienting response) is called bioacoustics in animals and psychoacoustics in people.

Psychoacoustic principles have been well researched in humans. Multiple studies on the effect of music on animals have been published, with a study done by Wells et al (****) showing that classical music is the preferred calming sound source in dog shelters. What was not known, however, was whether the same human oriented psychoacoustic principles of resonance, entrainment, and pattern identification applied to domesticated animals.

The purpose of our (Bioacoustic Research and Design) study was to investigate multiple types of classical music on the behavior of dogs in kennel and home environments. The music was chosen and arranged according to the psychoacoustic principles of entrainment and harmonic complexity. The tempos used in this project were based on an average size dog, and the project was divided into two pilot studies:

The purpose of Pilot I was to test four types of classical music to determine if entrainment and pattern identification took place. These were:

     - solo piano with simplified arrangements at 50-70 beats per minute

     - piano trio with simplified arrangements at 50-70 beats per minute

     - solo piano with more complex arrangements at 60-80 beats per minute

     - piano trio with more complex arrangements at 60-80 beats per minute

Each CD was tested in home and group environments. Kennels included 3 humane societies, 2 boarding facilities, 2 guide dog training facilities and 1 veterinary hospital. Owners and kennel help were instructed to start the music, then fill out a questionnaire at 30 minutes.

Despite the stress of a kennel environment, upwards of 70% of the dogs became calmer with the solo piano disc. (There was one outlier in the group data. If that is removed, the overall calm percentage approaches the 78% mark.) Only about 50% of the animals were calmer with the more complex, higher tempo music. In the home group, the solo piano elicited calm in 85% of the dogs, and over half went to sleep.

The purpose of Pilot II was to test the music with the most calming effect in Pilot I on specific anxiety disorders in dogs. These included thunderstorm, riding in the car, excessive need for attention, separation anxiety, fear of fireworks and visitors in the home. The calming music from Pilot I was compared to a CD of standard classical music. Owners were asked to play the music for 20 minutes, and then rate if the music caused a reduction in 15 behaviors associated with anxiety.

The results showed that 70% of anxiety behaviors were reduced with psychoacoustically arranged calming music as compared to 36% of anxiety behaviors being reduced with standard classical music. Both types of classical music calmed the dogs enough to make them lay down, however, it appears that the psychoacoustically arranged music, with slower tempos, simple arrangements and sounds, was more effective in reducing anxiety.

Essential Oils

Fragrant oils and spices have been used in healing for thousands of years, most notably in the Middle East and Egypt. Rene Maurice Gatteffoose founded modern aromatherapy in 1912, and Dr. Louis Sevelinge is believed to have started veterinary aromatherapy in the 1940's. Today we see essential oils in many products, from dishwashing detergents to perfumes to air fresheners.

Essential oils are extracted from the leaves, roots, bark, flowers, seed or fruit of plants. They should be organically grown, extracted without chemical solvents, and processed with low heat distillation. The amount of oil present in a batch should be measured by gas chromatography. Hydrosols are a water-based by-product of the steam distillation.

Essential oils exert their effect through several mechanisms of action, depending on the oil. They can be anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, antifungal, and antipruritic. Some oils modulate neurotransmitters (especially phenols which easily cross the blood brain barrier) for calming or stimulating effects on the central nervous system, and others modulate the immune system or balance the energy field. Diffusing oils though out the practice, or applying them on or near the patient can help ease anxiety and stimulate healing. Lavender is one of the most widely researched and safest oil. Not all essential oils are safe for cats, so I recommend further study before utilizing any oil other than lavender. Carol Komitor, founder of Healing Touch for AnimalsR (HTA), has extensive experience with essential oils, and offers monthly phone support, as well as teaching aromatherapy in her HTA classes (www.healingtouchforanimals.com). Carol has a book in production. Holistic Aromatherapy for Animals: A Comprehensive Guide to the Use of Essential Oils and Hydrosols in Animals by Kristen Leigh Bell (Findhorn Press) also contains helpful information.

Komiya et al (Am Jrnl of Vet Res; 2009, vol 6, 764-769) showed that lavender applied to the ear pinnas of beagles caused a statistically significant decrease in heart rate on Holter monitor. They also found an increase in high frequency power, so their study was ultimately inconclusive. Debra Wells (JAVMA 2006, Vol 299, No 6, 964-967) reported a statistically significant decrease in car ride anxiety with lavender. I have found it to be very effective in creating a calming atmosphere for both people and animals.

Natural Lighting and Environment

Much work has been done in the area of visual settings. Humans need natural lighting for healthy immune system function. It also increases our ability to focus and helps our sleep patterns. Depression found with seasonal affective disorder has been well documented. From an energetic standpoint, our energy fields were meant to live in harmony with their natural state of being, and this "state of being" has a frequency.

The frequency of the earth is 8-10 Hz; named the Schumann effect. There was an interesting experiment done in Germany in the 1960's. Human subjects were placed in a shielded underground living space that blocked all electromagnetic radiation from entering. Eventually the subjects became confused and agitated. Biorhythms became disrupted. The researchers then pulsed in varying frequencies and measured the effects. The frequency that helped subjects regain normalcy was 10 Hz – the same as the earth's natural frequency. We are meant to live in a harmonious state with nature, not in discord. The more we are able to look outside and see nature, as well as being able to take a break from work in a natural setting, the more our energy fields are able to maintain a healthy frequency, thereby improving our physical and mental health. Of course, the same if true for our animal patients – if not more so!

Conclusion

The above information was designed as a starting point to understanding all aspects of a healthy environment for our staff, our patients, and us. Don't hesitate, however, to explore what makes you more comfortable. Chances are it will benefit your entire practice family. An unhealthy environment decreases staff moral and work productivity. Creating surroundings that support well being, rather than causing discord, can be one of our most cost-effective management decisions.