Newly minted veterinarians aspire to possess practice-ready competencies on day one of employment. However, many new graduates lack these skills, creating a significant gap between academic achievement and practical readiness. To bridge this gap and ensure success for both employers and new employees, a structured mentorship program is essential.
Such a program may include skills lists, formal agreements, scheduled meetings, and regular performance evaluations. Within this framework, new graduate veterinarians should take responsibility for achieving the goals they set in pursuit of competence. These goals must align with the needs and expectations of the mentor, mentee, and the practice.
Self-directed learning (SDL) is defined as a process or a learning method in which individuals take initiative, with or without the help of others, in diagnosing their needs, formulating goals, identifying human and material resources for learning, choosing and implementing appropriate learning strategies, and evaluating outcomes1. People are more likely to succeed when they are more invested and accountable for the process. Mentees should be accountable for their progress toward their goals.
However, learning clinical skills on the job requires initiative from both the mentor and mentee.
The Mentee’s responsibilities include:
Be realistic about what/how much can be learned and when.
Use your mentors’ time wisely, as well as your own.
Spread your questions among all the doctors and technicians in your workplace. All of them have things to teach you.
Accept feedback and be flexible.
Keep data of your progress; for example, record your elective surgery times and work to improve them
Realize that job success depends more on communication and people skills than technical skills. These are important skills to work on!
Know and understand your own personality, behavior, and communication styles.
Contribute positively to the culture, success, and community of the practice.
The Mentor’s responsibilities include:
Prioritize skills lists and facilitate learning.
Agree on production and skill acquisition targets.
Recognize strengths and weaknesses and modify training accordingly.
Be available and plan structured time between mentor and mentee.
Provide regular constructive and positive feedback.
Model the behavior you want the mentee to exhibit.
Reassess skills and recalibrate as needed over the first few months.
The mentor, as well as other veterinarians in the practice, needs to be aware of the skills the mentee is working on in order to invite and include the new graduate or student veterinarian to learn, participate in, and practice those skills. If a mentor sees a case that can serve as a demonstration of a skill, the mentor needs to invite the participation of the mentee. At the same time, the mentee may need to request help with learning skills on his or her list.
Key Takeaways:
A mentoring relationship benefits both parties, leading to improvements in patient care, better medicine, and better business. Having mentoring veterinarians committed to the continued education of new and recent graduates allows a transition to the practice setting and provides a stronger foundation for the next generation of veterinarians to practice quality medicine and become practice owners.
A successful mentoring relationship benefits both parties, improving patient care, advancing medical practices, and enhancing business outcomes. Committed mentoring ensures a smoother transition for new graduates into the practice setting and lays a strong foundation for the next generation of veterinarians to excel in their profession and potentially become practice owners
References:
1. Munashe Chigerwe, Karen A. Boudreaux, and Jan E. Ilkiw; Self-directed learning in veterinary medicine: are the students ready? Int J Med Educ. 2017; 8: 229–230. Published online 2017 Jun 14. doi: 10.5116/ijme.5929.402f
2. Greenfield, C. (2004). Frequency of use of various procedures, skills and areas of knowledge among veterinarians in private small animal exclusive or predominant practice and proficiency expected of new veterinary school graduates. Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association, 1780-1788.
3. Jelinski, M. (2009). Factors associated with veterinarians' career path choices in early postgraduate period. Canadian Veterinary Journal, 943-949
