I remember my first day as a Banfield veterinarian well, and frankly, I was terrified! It was my first day as a vet. I walked into the hospital all the while thinking that veterinary school had prepared me for everything I would ever need to know – that I was equipped to deal with the adisonian crisis, the mucoceole and the pyometria. (And months into the job I think I finally may have seen one or two of those cases.) The patients that I did see on the job were the ones that weren’t clear cut—that didn’t have a definitive diagnosis. That was how I started to learn about what life was like outside of the ivory tower of veterinary school. I thought I had all the right answers, but sometimes I needed to have a little guidance when it came to everything that wasn’t clear cut.
That’s where my mentor doctor came in. My mentor encouraged me to use all the skills that school had equipped me with while adding in her dose of real-world practical experience. Whether I had questions about something crucial or trivial—she was there. When I was having a minor panic attack in surgery—she was there. And when I needed someone to reassure me that I was giving the right dose of a medication—she was still there. Not only was my mentor doctor there to help guide me when I needed advice, but she helped build my confidence and set me on the path to becoming a great doctor.
Looking back, I realize now how crucial my mentor was in those early days. I thought I had all the answers, but I didn’t. I’m really glad that Banfield’s Mentorship Program afforded me such a great mentor to answer all my questions and help ease my transition during my first few months as a practitioner.
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