Workplace success relies more on soft skills than technical expertise. Medical training alone provides only a foundation for professional achievement. It is our communication skills, including our speech, dress, body language, and mannerisms, which build trust and understanding between a new veterinary school graduate and the clients and coworkers they serve. Clients have limited ability to judge medical competence, but they can surely evaluate caring, sincerity, and how you made them feel.
It matters a great deal where a new graduate spends the first few months after graduation. This is not just because there are technical skills to learn, but because new graduates will tend to model the behaviors and attitudes of their mentors and coworkers. Strong communication skills determine if clients trust a new DVM’s recommendations, coworkers are motivated to mentor them, and the practice thrives from their contributions. Good mentors focus on far more than just how quickly a new veterinarian can do a spay or extract a tooth.
Mentorship Program Benefits
For New Graduates:
Gain real-world skills often overlooked in school, taught by dedicated mentors
Acquire new technical skills
Develop better communication skills
Acquire business acumen
Build confidence quickly
Increase productivity and revenue production
Improve longevity at the same place of work
Enhance ownership buy-in potential
Note that only the first two of the above list of skills are related to technical skills.
For Mentors:
Develop skilled and confident associates who strengthen the team
Better quality medicine, with lower liability risks
Improved consistency of quality care
Increased client satisfaction
The pleasure of helping someone grow and succeed
Recruitment of motivated new graduates
Reduced turnover
Supports succession planning, ensuring ownership remains with dedicated veterinarians
Effective mentors must understand their own communication and business skills to model and teach these effectively. In hindsight, it is the relationships we build and the mutual growth we share that define our careers.
