Veterinary Mentorship

Whether you’re in vet school, your final year of university, currently completing a nursing course, or have ventured out into the veterinary workforce, there’s one thing most vet and nurses crave: mentorship.

During university or training, there’s an emphasis on finding the right practice with the right boss – someone who is supportive, encouraging, and shares their knowledge to help you build your skills. In essence, you’re told to go out and find a job with a good mentor. But that’s easier said than done.

Here is the tricky part: you can’t expect any person to be the perfect mentor, and for them to teach and train you exactly in what you want and need. This idealistic expectation of finding a perfect mentor comes with three main challenges.

So what can you do to overcome these challenges and still find the most suitable mentor for you? Well, the first thing you need to understand is that despite the fact that undoubtedly you and your mentor will learn and benefit from the experience, it is that you as the mentee will need to do the majority of the work.

So are you ready to be a mentee? Discover our three key steps to make sure you’re a properly prepared mentee.

1. Are you prepared to put in the effort to maintain the relationship?
2. Are you prepared to take action and implement?
3. Are you ready for feedback and self-reflection?

This challenge can be overwhelming to think about at first – but as veterinarians and nurses, we always strive to learn more. If you’d like to master mentorship, sign up to our mentorship series and receive useful resources to empower you to set yourself and your mentor up for success, all the while having realistic, achievable and communicated expectations.

Setting Clear Goals

There’s also a lot to consider when finding a mentor and knowing how to set clear goals is essential. They’re all individuals like ourselves after all, and have unique strengths and skills that may or may not be suited to you. For example, you might be expecting a mentor to teach you veterinary business principles so that one day you can open your own hospital.

Knowing what you want and getting the right mentor is critical, as without it could be a fast track to failure. That’s why we emphasise the importance of getting clear about what you want. Set yourself up for mentorship success by exploring three important questions to help you set your mentorship goals.

So what should you do when your mentorship doesn’t go according to plan?

As disappointing as this situation may be, it can be a seriously valuable experience. As we mentioned initially, no mentor is perfect, and finding the correct mentor for you isn’t always a simple process. It can be trial and error, and sometimes finding the incorrect mentor will set you on a clearer path to finding one that’s far more suitable.

There could be many reasons why you and your mentor weren’t compatible. These could include:

• Preference for communication
• Differing mindset
• Learning styles
• Interests and passions

Don’t be disheartened – it’s a scenario that’s all too common and one that almost all of us will encounter at some stage during our veterinary careers. Instead, use this as an opportunity to take a step back, reflect, and learn how to achieve a more successful mentor/mentee relationship in future. Discover our article and use these handy points as a guide to ensure your next mentorship avoids any challenges.