President’s Letter | January/February 2022

By Timothy Smaha

Pay it Forward with AAIV’s Mentor Program

Happy 2022! Who would have thought that we would still be here two years later? With testing, vaccines, virtual learning, cancelled plans, masks and more, this is our new normal. Think back when you first started in industry, did you ever think that things would be quite like this? More generally, how did you know what this industry would be like when you first started?

The industry is changing, and with that the demands on our industry colleagues are changing. This will inevitably lead to the opening of new positions, retirements and people looking for a change in responsibilities. There is not a day that goes by that I do not see two or three posts on social media about veterinarians wanting to get out of clinical practice, and how to break into industry. But, have we, as an industry, really prepared ourselves and our businesses to have all of these new colleagues? What can we tell them to expect? Do they realize that our jobs, mostly travel based for years, now involve endless hours of Zoom meetings and periods of quarantine? Do they realize that the “glamorous lifestyle” we have as traveling veterinarians really just translates to hours of sitting in airports, living out of suitcases and hopping from hotel to hotel? I often find myself telling people that it doesn’t matter where in the world you are — the Hampton by Hilton London Waterloo in the United Kingdom, or the Hampton Inn in London, Kentucky — they all look and feel the same inside. Do we love our jobs? Of course. Are we glamorous jet-setters? Not quite. And luckily I knew what I was signing up for. 

I met my mentor 20 years ago while in vet school at Auburn. We have stayed in touch through the years and watched each other change jobs many times. Finally, after a 20 year mentorship and friendship, we work in the same company and both love what we do. I know that I never would have gotten this job, joined AAIV or be writing you this letter had it not been for my mentor. That is why last year when AAIV launched the mentor program, I signed up immediately. Since we launched the program in 2021, I was matched with a couple of mentees. On Jan. 24, my mentee began her career in industry, thanks to AAIV and our mentor program. This is our first successful mentor-mentee match that has led to a clinical veterinarian joining our ranks as a professional services veterinarian. Having said that, I know that this will not be the last success story. I just hope that she will also pay it forward and turn her successful experience as a mentee into a successful mentorship. 

The AAIV mentorship program was designed to be a way to match early career veterinarians with more seasoned professionals as we transition through these crazy times and the ever changing nature of what we do. However, it also has become a good tool for prepping aspiring industry veterinarians and recruiting new talent. There is so much opportunity out there and so much talent that needs to just find a way through the challenging and all too impersonal human resources platforms.

That is why today, I urge everyone to please join the AAIV Mentorship Program. Let’s work together to prepare the next generation of industry veterinarians.

Sincerely,

Timothy Smaha, D.V.M.

President’s Letter | January/February 2022

By Timothy Smaha

Posted: 1/28/2022, 12:15 PM

Pay it Forward with AAIV’s Mentor Program

Happy 2022! Who would have thought that we would still be here two years later? With testing, vaccines, virtual learning, cancelled plans, masks and more, this is our new normal. Think back when you first started in industry, did you ever think that things would be quite like this? More generally, how did you know what this industry would be like when you first started?

The industry is changing, and with that the demands on our industry colleagues are changing. This will inevitably lead to the opening of new positions, retirements and people looking for a change in responsibilities. There is not a day that goes by that I do not see two or three posts on social media about veterinarians wanting to get out of clinical practice, and how to break into industry. But, have we, as an industry, really prepared ourselves and our businesses to have all of these new colleagues? What can we tell them to expect? Do they realize that our jobs, mostly travel based for years, now involve endless hours of Zoom meetings and periods of quarantine? Do they realize that the “glamorous lifestyle” we have as traveling veterinarians really just translates to hours of sitting in airports, living out of suitcases and hopping from hotel to hotel? I often find myself telling people that it doesn’t matter where in the world you are — the Hampton by Hilton London Waterloo in the United Kingdom, or the Hampton Inn in London, Kentucky — they all look and feel the same inside. Do we love our jobs? Of course. Are we glamorous jet-setters? Not quite. And luckily I knew what I was signing up for. 

I met my mentor 20 years ago while in vet school at Auburn. We have stayed in touch through the years and watched each other change jobs many times. Finally, after a 20 year mentorship and friendship, we work in the same company and both love what we do. I know that I never would have gotten this job, joined AAIV or be writing you this letter had it not been for my mentor. That is why last year when AAIV launched the mentor program, I signed up immediately. Since we launched the program in 2021, I was matched with a couple of mentees. On Jan. 24, my mentee began her career in industry, thanks to AAIV and our mentor program. This is our first successful mentor-mentee match that has led to a clinical veterinarian joining our ranks as a professional services veterinarian. Having said that, I know that this will not be the last success story. I just hope that she will also pay it forward and turn her successful experience as a mentee into a successful mentorship. 

The AAIV mentorship program was designed to be a way to match early career veterinarians with more seasoned professionals as we transition through these crazy times and the ever changing nature of what we do. However, it also has become a good tool for prepping aspiring industry veterinarians and recruiting new talent. There is so much opportunity out there and so much talent that needs to just find a way through the challenging and all too impersonal human resources platforms.

That is why today, I urge everyone to please join the AAIV Mentorship Program. Let’s work together to prepare the next generation of industry veterinarians.

Sincerely,

Timothy Smaha, D.V.M.

By Timothy Smaha

Posted: 1/28/2022, 12:15 PM

Pay it Forward with AAIV’s Mentor Program

Happy 2022! Who would have thought that we would still be here two years later? With testing, vaccines, virtual learning, cancelled plans, masks and more, this is our new normal. Think back when you first started in industry, did you ever think that things would be quite like this? More generally, how did you know what this industry would be like when you first started?

The industry is changing, and with that the demands on our industry colleagues are changing. This will inevitably lead to the opening of new positions, retirements and people looking for a change in responsibilities. There is not a day that goes by that I do not see two or three posts on social media about veterinarians wanting to get out of clinical practice, and how to break into industry. But, have we, as an industry, really prepared ourselves and our businesses to have all of these new colleagues? What can we tell them to expect? Do they realize that our jobs, mostly travel based for years, now involve endless hours of Zoom meetings and periods of quarantine? Do they realize that the “glamorous lifestyle” we have as traveling veterinarians really just translates to hours of sitting in airports, living out of suitcases and hopping from hotel to hotel? I often find myself telling people that it doesn’t matter where in the world you are — the Hampton by Hilton London Waterloo in the United Kingdom, or the Hampton Inn in London, Kentucky — they all look and feel the same inside. Do we love our jobs? Of course. Are we glamorous jet-setters? Not quite. And luckily I knew what I was signing up for. 

I met my mentor 20 years ago while in vet school at Auburn. We have stayed in touch through the years and watched each other change jobs many times. Finally, after a 20 year mentorship and friendship, we work in the same company and both love what we do. I know that I never would have gotten this job, joined AAIV or be writing you this letter had it not been for my mentor. That is why last year when AAIV launched the mentor program, I signed up immediately. Since we launched the program in 2021, I was matched with a couple of mentees. On Jan. 24, my mentee began her career in industry, thanks to AAIV and our mentor program. This is our first successful mentor-mentee match that has led to a clinical veterinarian joining our ranks as a professional services veterinarian. Having said that, I know that this will not be the last success story. I just hope that she will also pay it forward and turn her successful experience as a mentee into a successful mentorship. 

The AAIV mentorship program was designed to be a way to match early career veterinarians with more seasoned professionals as we transition through these crazy times and the ever changing nature of what we do. However, it also has become a good tool for prepping aspiring industry veterinarians and recruiting new talent. There is so much opportunity out there and so much talent that needs to just find a way through the challenging and all too impersonal human resources platforms.

That is why today, I urge everyone to please join the AAIV Mentorship Program. Let’s work together to prepare the next generation of industry veterinarians.

Sincerely,

Timothy Smaha, D.V.M.