Some veterinary hospitals seem to find new associates easily and others don't. Wondering why, I went straight to the source.
I asked the senior veterinary students at the University of Florida to tell me what they thought their greatest challenges
and concerns would be after they graduated. I was somewhat surprised by their responses.
Many students were concerned about their medical and surgical abilities. One student wrote, "My biggest concern is that I
won't know what I'm doing once I'm in practice. I'm not confident in my medical and surgical knowledge." Another student was
a little more succinct and simply said, "My No. 1 concern is killing a patient."
These are understandable concerns, and I'm sure almost every student has similar issues. However, I didn't let these students
stop with the easy answers. And when I asked them to give my question some more consideration, they raised these concerns:
- "I'm afraid of being taken advantage of by my employer financially—working extra without fair compensation, not getting a
bonus, if promised, or other contract deals."
- "I'm worried I won't be given the opportunity to implement changes. Will the 'old school' listen?"
- "Becoming and portraying myself as a competent veterinarian"
- "Negotiating a fair contract"
- "Business and money management"
- "My biggest concern is being treated fairly by my boss."
- "Compensation for performance"
- "The biggest challenge we're going to face once in practice: Lack of mentoring!"
Clearly, students feel a great deal of apprehension and suffer a lack of confidence. But there were also students who said,
"My No. 1 concern is time efficiency and financial productivity for myself and the practice." In my book, that shows great
awareness of the business issues practices face. I think these concerns present an opportunity for practices seeking a new associate. If you know what someone wants, then
hopefully you can meet those needs and develop a successful relationship.
Offer mentoring
Associate know-how: 5 things to make your first year great
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It seems to me what most new graduates want is a mentoring environment. They're afraid they'll be thrown into a practice to
sink or swim on their own. They don't have the confidence to walk out of school and just start practicing medicine and surgery.
In fact, one student told me that her worst fear is she'll be hired by a veterinary practice and the doctor will go on vacation
the following week and leave her all by herself.
I think you can learn from this feedback and make your practice a better place for new graduates. For instance, develop a
formal mentoring program. You might have a three- or four-week program where you gradually introduce new associates to the
practice and explain your policies and procedures. Follow up that orientation program by assigning one of your experienced
doctors to the new associate so he or she will have someone to talk to about any questions or problems.
Develop a clear employment contract
New graduates also worry that their boss will take advantage of them. It's an understandable concern, and to help alleviate
it, develop an employment contract that spells out all of their responsibilities and the benefits of employment.
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