Mentoring program

• To join as a mentee, you must be in your final year of veterinary study, about to commence work. In addition to this, AVA graduate members in their 2nd, 3rd or the 4th year out, are also invited to apply.
• To join as a mentor, you must have at least three years’ experience in the profession, and be an AVA member. You can apply at any time, and if you’ve previously applied and been accepted into the program, you are not required to resubmit your application.

Both mentees and mentors must also be willing to attend program events, webinars and complete the training provided.

Mentees pay no fees to participate in the program. Mentors are volunteers and pay no fees, training is provided free of charge.

All participants are responsible for any travel and accommodation costs involved with attending any events associated with the program.

Mentees and mentors will be asked to complete an online application in which you can indicate what you are looking for in a mentoring partner, your background, and interests.

This will determine how you are matched with a partner. You will be informed by email if you have been successfully matched. We endeavour to match all those that apply but this is not always possible.

If you would like to be a mentor, you can apply to do this at any time*. Mentors who have previously applied and been accepted into the AVA Graduate Mentoring Program are not required to resubmit their application. 

*Generally participants are matched in August, however occasionally opportunities will arise outside of this time.

Further queries?

Please contact us on 1300 137 309 or via our contact us page.

All final year veterinary students about to graduate may participate as mentees. As a general rule, this program is only open for AVA members to participate as mentors. Any non-member participation will be considered on an individual basis, and will need a recommendation put forward by the respective AVA Division.

The information you provide will help us ‘match’ the right mentee with the right mentor, based on experience, skills and what you both want to achieve from the program.

A few weeks after you have uploaded your profile, we will contact you to confirm whether you’ve been accepted into the program and who has been selected as your mentoring partner.

If your application is successful, you will need to attend the following:

Program Introduction and Training meeting (or webinar) – 1- 2 hours
Progress Review meeting (or webinar) – 1 hour
Program Close meeting (or webinar) – 1 hour
If you cannot attend the first meeting you will be asked to complete a 45-minute webinar information session and one-hour online training. Whichever training you do, it will help provide you with the knowledge and skills to have a successful mentoring relationship.

It will be up to each mentee/mentor pair to establish their own timetables for their one-on-one meetings, which would probably take place at least monthly for the program’s period.

Absolutely! Great mentee/mentor relationships are based first and foremost on trust. Your participation in the program is confidential and you will agree with your mentoring partner how you will handle confidentiality between you.

Yes, all mentors and mentees will be allocated 2 structured points for participating in the mentor/mentee training. Depending on the state/territory that you are registered in you can also claim 0.5 to 1 unstructured points for each hour time spent working with your mentor/mentee.

The students presently in the Sydney University BVSc course spend their fifth year undertaking extramural training consisting of ten one month rotations through a variety of career options. During this time they are offered mentoring through the University’s Intern Mentoring Program. The AVA Graduate Mentoring Program is designed to follow immediately on from this program and covers their first year after graduation. Where possible mentees are encouraged and facilitated to continue with the same mentor through the two programs, as such being a Mentor in both programs will give the best results.

Sydney University have also recently invited some mentors to be involved in a new program mentoring groups of first year students in the DVM course.

In summary for Sydney University students, there are three separate programs for differing stages in the student / new graduate’s career. They complement each other and you may elect to be a mentor in one, two or all of them.

If you’re interested in finding out more about the program, please contact us and we’d be happy to hear from you!

Mentees

“I would encourage every final year student to apply for this program. It is a great way to secure another contact within the profession who can then assist you with your transition to the profession. You never really know how it is all going to pan out after graduation, so it is nice having someone external to your clinic to chat things through with – clinically and/or personally.” Alice Burwell

“The transition from student to veterinary professional is scary but it’s definitely made easier knowing there’s someone there to help you.” Emma Maley 

“Extremely valuable opportunity to have a mentor to help you find your feet with both clinical material and the psychological challenges of the occupation.” Emma Charles

“The mentoring program has given me the support I need to value myself and an outlet to feel heard.” Jannette Rose

“My experience as a mentee has been such a fantastic experience. Dr Meghan Scrivens has been an amazing mentor. Although we couldn’t have lots of face-to-face conversations, she was always only a message away, day or night. She kindly provided a tremendous amount of support every step of the way – including how to apply for registration and radiation licence before graduation, advice on difficult cases, how to cope with self doubt after losing patients in a row, and so much more. We celebrated many exciting moments together as well – my first call out, first caesarean, first thank-you chocolate basket from a client… She even offered life-long contact if needed, as the one-year mentorship with the program has sadly come to an end.

A big advantage of having a mentor who has been working in this industry is that I found them really easy to talk to. Although my family and partner are incredibly supportive, sometimes they do struggle to understand certain aspects of our work, and some topics can be quite inappropriate on the family dinner table as well.

I would love to encourage all the vets-to-be and recent graduates to participate in this wonderful program. Hopefully I will meet some of you in a few years when I become a mentor myself!” Sam Wang

Mentors

“For every graduate veterinarian, a good start is very critical for his or her career development and success. The AVA mentoring program enables us to prepare them professionally as well as emotionally to succeed in their first job and gear them to face and tackle any challenges during their first year as a professional veterinarian.” Raj Packianthan

“Fantastic program. I love seeing what’s going through the minds of the newer generation of vets and seeing their enthusiasm, and I’d like to think the outsider’s perspective that they receive from me can have small impacts now that will have large impacts over the course of a career.” Hubert Hiemstra

“I continue to be impressed by the amazing graduates engaging in this program. They are switched on, inspiring and full of potential. Being able to provide support in the early stages of their career is incredibly rewarding.” Lindsay Evans

“This is a great program and very well run. I encourage both students and experienced vets to get involved.” Sandy Hume

“I would recommend that every vet with experience they could share to benefit the younger generation should enrol in the program!” Sam Morley

The AVA Graduate Mentoring Program is supported by the AVA and our valued sponsors, and as such is free for mentees and mentors.

This is an opportunity to position your company as a trusted partner for Australian veterinarians and to create a lasting relationship of trust, respect and success. Mentoring program participants usually end the program with strong positive feelings towards not only their mentor / mentee but also towards the supporting organisations. Many value the experience as one of the best they’ve ever had.

Other benefits of sponsoring the program include:

• Increased market leadership and corporate social responsibililty presence
• Networking opportunities with AVA members and volunteers
• Great understanding of the professional needs of veterinarians 
• Education for your veterinary staff – opportunity to participate in mentor training 
• Brand exposure in web advertising, emails, social media and face to face events 
• Cultivating a mentally healthy, happy veterinary workforce

If you wish to be a part of this very important AVA initiative, please contact the AVA to discuss how sponsoring the program can have a real impact on the future of the profession.