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Supporting the next generation of ACT vets

Inviting veterinarians and veterinary practices across the ACT to participate in a short questionnaire exploring how veterinary businesses currently support, train and assess new graduate veterinarians during their first 12 months in practice.

Contact ACT AVA Division President Natalie Wood (natalie.wood@live.com.au) if you would like to comment further
1.Does your practice currently employ new graduate veterinarians (within their first 12 months after graduation)?
2.How is your new graduate's first 12 months structured?
3.Does your practice have a written competency framework, checklist, handbook or similar resource for new graduates?
4.Does your practice have a formal probation process for new graduate veterinarians? If so, what does this involve?
5.How frequently do you formally review a new graduate's progress during their first year?
6.Which clinical areas do you feel require the greatest amount of structured support for new graduates?
7.Which surgical competencies do you expect a new graduate to develop during their first 12 months?
8.How does your practice currently assess whether a new graduate is competent to perform a procedure or clinical task independently?
9.What non-clinical skills do you feel new graduates most need to develop?
10.How does your practice teach new graduates to recognise and interpret animal behaviour, stress and fear, and modify their handling accordingly?
11.How is mentorship provided to your new graduates?
12.Approximately how much protected time does a new graduate have with a mentor or senior veterinarian each week?
13.What are the biggest challenges your practice experiences when mentoring and training new graduates? SELECT UP TO 5 OPTIONS
14.What areas for improvement or areas requiring strengthening have been included in your mentoring of new graduates in recent years?
15.What strengths do you feel new graduates commonly bring to the profession?
16.What aspects of your current new graduate training/mentorship program do you think your practice does particularly well?
17.If you could change or improve one aspect of how your practice supports new graduate veterinarians, what would it be?
18.Are you aware of the AVA's policy: Employment of new veterinary graduates which includes recommendations to help form the basis of a graduate transition framework, and support a smooth and successful transition to work? This policy is available here
19.Are you aware of the AVA Graduate Mentor Program? More information here.
20.If you are interested in discussing this further, please leave your name and email address below