Statistics of student wellbeing in university settings both in Australia and internationally remain poor; 25% of students report severe depression, stress or anxiety. This is particularly the case in veterinary science, where 80% of students score highly for stress. This problem is ongoing into early clinical practice, with 54% of veterinary interns and residents reporting moderate to severe depression and 30% experiencing suicidal ideation. This lack of wellness relates directly to students’ ability to learn, impacting attention span, cognition and problem solving. In addition, when students fail to develop coping skills while experiencing this stress, they experience more issues when transitioning into clinical practice. The role of the educator in addressing this ongoing ‘wellbeing crisis’ is clear, given the frequency and quality of staff-student interactions significantly impact student wellbeing. Given that most tertiary teaching staff already have unreasonable workload burdens and limited capacity to change existing university procedures, I suggest 3 simple routes for positively impacting student wellbeing; normalising help seeking, reframing failure and communicating empathetically. These approaches do not add to workload or require system support; they are small changes in teaching practice which create safe and supportive learning environments. Normalising help seeking includes educating students about available support, leading by example and normalising honest conversations about mental health. Reframing failure, based on the work of Carol Dweck, involves framing failure as feedback, distinguishing between the event of failing and the identity of being a failure and normalising failing as learning. Empathetic communication revolves around seeking and actively listening to student feedback, validating students’ experiences and actioning a solution where appropriate. These simple strategies can profoundly impact the wellbeing of university students, creating graduates with better coping skills as well as important discipline knowledge.