Emergency Veterinarian Mentorship Program - USVTA LLC

North Peninsula Veterinary Emergency Clinic  is providing recent and new veterinary graduates, or veterinarians without emergency experience, the opportunity to gain experience as emergency care veterinarians in a safe and supportive environment of seasoned emergency care veterinarians.       

This mentorship role will allow you to be paired with a mentor for your first four- six months on the floor. The goals would be to provide clinical exposure and growth, while fostering your skills and confidence in emergency medicine.       

Schedule: 
New graduate doctors have six months of 100% training yet get paid a full salary.                                                                 The mentee will work 3 to 4 shifts a week for a total of 12 shifts per month.  The shifts are a mix of day and swing in the first couple of months, then subsequently, adding overnight shifts to the schedule with two of our seasoned overnight ER DVMs.   

• The first couple of weeks will be shadowing, learning policies and procedures, case management software, medical records, hospital intake/discharge procedures, and communication with clients and team.   
  
• The first 2 to 3 months, depending on the mentee’s progress, will be intaking cases and working with the mentor to identify rule-outs and develop case management/treatment plans.   
  
• From months 3 to 4 or 5, depending on the mentee’s progress, they will see cases, identify rule-outs, and develop plans then present the entire case to the mentor.  
  
• By months 5 to 6, they should be handling cases on their own with oversight from the mentor on duty. 
  
• At the end of their mentorship period, they will begin to work day shifts on their own with a lifeline from one of our team DVMs.  Once they are comfortable with working day shifts on their own, the mentee will be scheduled for overnight shifts, also with the support of a lifeline from one of our team DVMs. The lifeline DVM will be on call to support the mentee and discuss any challenging or cases of concern.  The lifeline will continue for the first month of overnights, and if needed an additional month, but after that they should be able to manage the cases on their own during the overnight.  Once they start solo shifts with a lifeline, they will transition to a pro/sal compensation plan. 
  

Role of the mentor:        

• Mentor assists the mentee to identify their strengths and weaknesses 
  
• Facilitates clinical exposure and growth 
  
• Challenges the mentee without overwhelming them or endangering a patient 
  
• Helps to recognize where the mentees are in their “learning curve” of emergency medicine 
  
• Provides support on how to manage, communicate, and interface with clients during emergent situations
  

Requirements

• Depending on the level of experience the mentee has coming into the emergency mentorship program, mentees will see cases but with mentor oversight and guidance.   
  
• The mentee will present cases starting with the signalment/complaint, review PE findings, mentee to discuss primary rule-outs and next steps including estimates and treatment plan with the mentor, mentor to oversee estimates and plan by the mentee, and mentor to review records, treatment sheets.  Performing a complete physical examination is of paramount importance. 
  
• We have on-call surgeons, endoscopist, and radiologists that provide, generally, same day service.  We use a digital radiology review service managed by board certified radiologists that provides written reports within 1-2 hours.   
  
• Mentees start with seeing “a straightforward case” after the initial two weeks of hospital orientation, and progress at a pace where they are comfortable in learning the case management software, record keeping, and the entire process of patient intake, assessment, discussions with the client, treatment plans, and case management and monitoring.   
  
• Realistically they may see 4 to 5 cases a shift in the first few weeks and then increase case intakes depending on their progress.   
  
• Cases will be presented to the mentor in a systematic fashion 
  • Signalment, history, presenting problem, clinical findings, plan 
    
  • The mentor will not tell the mentee what to do next, they will ask “what do you think is the next step?"
    
  • Based on the case presentation and the mentee’s assessment and suggested case management the mentor will confirm and have the mentee continue with the plan or discuss the proposed case management in a teaching style that helps the mentee reach the appropriate case management plan.  
    

Benefits

• $150K/year straight salary first 6 months, or until they can work solo shifts without direct mentorship 
  
• Then depending on progress at 6 months start $125K/year with pro/sal employment agreement with production at 26%.
  
• 12 to 14 shifts per month (mix of day, overnight, and possibly swing shifts); regular rotating schedule with approximately 7-9 days off in a row during some rotations 
  
• Signing and retention bonus (minimum) to be paid in installments
  
• Commitment minimum 18 months to receive full bonus
  
• Included in benefits are:
  • Medical/Dental/Vision available 
    
  • $25,000 Life insurance, at no cost to you 
    
  • Generous paid time off 
    
  • California license reimbursement when due every two years 
    
  • DEA license reimbursement when due  
    
  • Continuing education - $3500/year  
    
  • Professional Liability insurance covered by UVC 
    
  • Library of books / electronic resources offered through UVC 
    
  • And much more!