Information for Mentors

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Are you looking for a way to give back to the industry? Research has shown that young veterinarians experience high levels of burnout and low levels of wellbeing. Though the transition to practice may be particularly challenging, you have the power to help.


Steps to Becoming a MentorVet Connect Mentor

1. Complete the Screening Application. First, if you are interested in becoming a mentor, you will fill out the volunteer mentor screening application. This application will give you more information on what being a mentor entails.

2. Attend Orientation. If we feel that you will be a good fit to be a mentor within our community, the MentorVet team will be in touch via email to schedule a 2-hour live virtual orientation that consists of suicide prevention training and and introduction to our community.

3. Make Your Mentor Profile & Finish Your Training. After you complete orientation, you will be given access to the MentorVet Connect platform. Here you will create a profile as well as complete a 3 hours self-paced training. After you complete your training, you will receive 5 hours of CE credits. You can indicate how many mentees you would like to be paired with between 1 and 4 mentees.

4. Monitor for Connection Requests. Now that you have access to the platform, mentees can search for you and request to connect. Monitor your email closely for any updates from MentorVet Connect so that you know when a mentee wants to match with you!

5. Connect with Your Mentee. Once a mentee requests to connect with you and you accept the request, a 6-month connection plan will be established. You are required to meet with your mentee at least once at the start of the relationship for a 1 hour virtual call. At this meeting, you will discuss goals for the mentoring relationship as well as next steps and preferred method of communication. Will this be a formal monthly virtual meeting or a more informal texting-based relationship? For six months, expect to spend around one hour per month connecting with your mentee. Communication with mentees is usually via virtual meeting, email, phone calls, or texting - whatever the preference of the mentor/mentee pair.

6. Connect with Our Community & Grow. We have monthly events available including network events and mentor training events. These are optional but allow you to continue honing your mentoring skills.

7. Repeat. At the end of the six months, you can choose to continue mentoring your mentee and/or be paired with a new mentee.


MentorVet Connect Volunteer Qualifications

  • Licensed veterinarian

  • At least 1 year of experience

  • Ability to commit at least 5 hours for initial mentor training and 1 hour per month for mentoring

  • A desire to want to support the next generation of veterinary professionals


Frequently Asked Questions

  • What am I expected to do? Mentors are expected to provide their mentee with about one hour of support and interaction per month. Most of this interaction will take place via email, phone, texting, virtual meetings, and other web-related tools (for example, instant messaging). Mentors should work with their mentee to determine what kind of support will be most useful—specific feedback related to general career advice, technical information, personal encouragement, and so on.
  • How long will the commitment be?  We ask our mentors to make commitments of at least six months in order to ensure that the mentee is able to fully benefit from the relationship. If a mentor must leave the relationship early, we request at least one month's notice in order to search for a replacement mentor with similar background.
  • The relationship is not going well or I am concerned about mentorship, what to do?  We encourage letting the mentee know about the situation and contact the MentorVet Team immediately. We will provide our full support to resolve the situation in a positive and satisfactory manner.

Mentor DO's

  1. COMMIT AT LEAST ONE INTERACTION/HOUR OF SUPPORT per month.
  2. Take responsibility to initiate the relationship.
  3. Set aside time for the mentoring process and honor all appointments.
  4. Invite the mentee to meetings or activities, as appropriate. Schedule meetings with planned topics.
  5. Be flexible on meeting times and places.
  6. Arrange frequent contacts through telephone, email, fax, face-to-face, etc., as appropriate
  7. Respond to emails from your mentee within 2 days of receipt.
  8. Keep information that your mentee has shared with you confidential. If something concerning the mentee needs to be discussed with others, it should first be discussed within the mentoring relationship.
  9. Establish open and honest communication and a forum for idea exchange.
  10. Foster creativity and independence. Help build self-confidence and offer encouragement.
  11. Provide honest and timely feedback to your mentee.
  12. Provide opportunities for the mentee to talk about concerns and ask questions.
  13. Above all, LISTEN.

Mentor DON'Ts

  1. Try to give advice on everything.
  2. Criticize. 
  3. Encourage mentee to be totally dependent upon you.
  4. Provide your personal history, problems, animosities, successes, failures, etc unless they are constructive contributions to the conversation.
  5. Be too busy when the mentee needs your support. If you do not have time, give the mentee a heads up, so that they know when they can reach you.
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