The American Association of Swine Veterinarians and MentorVet continue their partnership to offer scholarships to swine veterinarians early in their careers. AASV has approved funding of 5 additional scholarships for early-career swine vets to participate in the spring 2025 MentorVet Leap program.
The MentorVet Leap program is a 6-month, entirely virtual, evidence-based mentorship and professional development program that aims to promote well-being and decrease burnout in the transition into veterinary practice. The mentorship program has been adapted to meet the needs of early-career swine veterinarians including swine-specific case examples and paired mentorship with a more experienced swine veterinarian.
In addition to paired mentorship, the program provides holistic support to veterinarians through a combination of professional skills training, financial and mental health coaching, and peer mentorship. Mentees engage in a self-paced online curriculum and then meet monthly with other early-career veterinarians to discuss shared challenges and share perspectives on how to create a sustainable career path.
Dr. Monica Strawn, a 2024 AASV MentorVet Leap scholarship recipient said, “MentorVet helped me grow as a person and a doctor in all the areas vet school doesn’t prepare you for. The soft skills I have learned over the last 6 months have helped me navigate as a new veterinarian and will benefit me for the rest of my career.”
Jenna Scott, DVM, a 2023 AASV MentorVet Leap scholarship recipient, shared, “MentorVet Leap is a great way to gain knowledge and learn skills to better navigate early-career veterinary practice. Through the MentorVet Leap program, I have also been paired with an excellent mentor whom I plan to stay in communication with after the program ends. I have found it very helpful to have a supportive person to talk to about goals and stresses associated with work.”
During the 2023 pilot, small-group discussions were facilitated by a MentorVet team member allowing early-career swine veterinarians to connect with one another and share experiences. After participating in the program in spring 2023, swine veterinarian Jordan Buchan shared, “Being able to discuss topics such as self-care, professional boundary setting, and conflict resolution, amongst many others, with colleagues in the same discipline of veterinary medicine, was life changing. In addition, being assigned an external professional mentor in the industry continues to be a great asset. I actively use the lessons learned during my participation in MentorVet every day in my career. I am very grateful to AASV for funding my enrollment in the program and know it will continue to be transformative for many young swine veterinarians in the future.”
The spring 2025 MentorVet Leap program will take place from February 21, 2025 – July 31, 2025. The deadline to apply for the spring scholarship is February 7, 2025. AASV members who have received their veterinary degree in the past 5 years (Class of 2020-2024) can apply for a scholarship to participate in the MentorVet Leap Program by visiting https://www.mentorvet.net/scholarships