ERIC Number: EJ1400151
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2023
Pages: 11
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0271-0633
EISSN: EISSN-1536-0768
Available Date: N/A
Addressing the Needs and Challenges of Mentorship in Veterinary Medicine
Yanke, Amy B.; Weigand, Kelly A.; Hofmeister, Erik H.
New Directions for Teaching and Learning, n176 p83-93 2023
Veterinary medicine provides a rewarding career but is met with a high degree of mental, emotional, and physical fatigue and, as a result, professional burnout. A structured mentoring system in veterinary schools is integral to promoting well-being as well as professional and personal growth for resilience and lifelong learning. While professional programs (e.g., human medicine, nursing, dentistry, pharmacy) often provide mentorship opportunities, program descriptions, and evidence of effectiveness have limited review in the literature, especially for veterinary medicine. Depending on the individual's professional stage, mentor and mentee roles may be established throughout one's career between a faculty mentor and a veterinary student early in the curriculum, between near-peer students, between a private practitioner and new graduate, between a faculty mentor and house officers (interns/residents), and others. Mentorship of junior faculty by senior faculty is also important to nurture successful retention, professional growth, and promotion. With all of these relationships, expectations should be developed between the mentor and mentee to achieve mutual benefit from the relationship. While instituting a mentoring program is beneficial, not all programs are created equal. To ensure a successful program, faculty must be trained to effectively mentor veterinary and graduate students. With adequate training, more seasoned students could also provide peer mentorship to less experienced students. Consideration should be given to how mentors and mentees are matched, recognizing that pairings based on core interests may strengthen foundational relationships. Effective mentoring relationships would ensure continued support for mentees as they develop in the years following graduation. With this article, we present the opportunities and challenges for mentoring within veterinary medicine, including a review of the literature.
Descriptors: Veterinary Medical Education, College Faculty, Mentors, Teacher Student Relationship, Well Being, Resilience (Psychology), Peer Relationship, Teacher Persistence, Faculty Development, Faculty Promotion, Program Implementation, Graduate Students
Wiley. Available from: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030. Tel: 800-835-6770; e-mail: cs-journals@wiley.com; Web site: https://www.wiley.com/en-us
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Evaluative
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: N/A