Task Force on AVMA Programs for Students & Recent Graduates Report
By the AVMA Task Force on AVMA Programs for Students & Recent Graduates
Published by the American Veterinary Medical Association
Copyright American Veterinary Medical Association
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
History
Charge
of the Task Force on AVMA Programs for Students and Recent
Graduates
Surveys,
Market Research & Data Review
Future
Leaders Program
Assistant
Director for Recent Graduate Programs (2012)
Early
Career Development Committee: ECDC (2012)
AVMA
Professional Development Institute (2013)
AVMA
Veterinary Leadership Experience Funding (2012 and beyond)
Review
of Current AVMA Student Programs & Policies
Specific
Task Force Recommendations
Historical
Student AVMA Membership and Recent Graduate conversion to AVMA
membership
2010
Senior Survey – AVMA Veterinary Leadership Experience Question
Analysis
Outline
of Strategic Plan from the Task Force on AVMA Programs for Students &
Recent Graduates
Task Force on AVMA Programs for Students and Recent Graduates Report
History:
In January 2010, the AVMA determined a need to review current programs for students and recent graduates in an effort to identify areas of need for the Association. At the January board meeting a recommendation was put forward to initiate the Task Force for AVMA Student and Recent Graduate Programs. The Task Force consisted of eight members and included an Executive Board member, students (2), recent graduates (2), faculty (2), an at large veterinarian and AVMA staff.
A total of fifty-six applications were received for the Task Force and selection of the participants occurred at the 2010 April Board meeting. Once the selections were confirmed, an initial conference call was held, followed by the first in-person meeting in June at AVMA Headquarters. The following individuals were selected to participate in the Task Force:
Dr.
Joe Kinnarney – AVMA Executive Board representative & Chair of
the Task Force
Dr. J. Michael McFarland – At large
veterinarian
Dr. Ron Cott – Veterinary Faculty
Dr. Karen
Cornell – Veterinary Faculty
Dr. Melissa Austin Gundel –
Recent Graduate
Dr. Justin Sobota – Recent Graduate
Robin
Hansen – Student
Brian Hartschuh – Student
AVMA Staff included Dr. Kevin Dajka, Dr. Derrick Hall and Leslie Langton.
The Task Force held two in-person meetings at AVMA Headquarters, the first in June and the second and final meeting in November. The group also held seven conference calls throughout the year to continue work in between meetings and the final report. This final report, Task Force findings and recommendation are all being submitted to the AVMA Executive Board meeting in April of 2011.
Charge of the Task Force on AVMA Programs for Students and Recent Graduates:
The
Task Force is charged to
Review current student programs
Compare them to other association plans and the ASVMAE recent graduate report
Determine
the needs of students & recent graduates and develop a strategic
plan incorporating existing successful tactics with new ideas in
order to:
a) Convert students to AVMA members
b) Develop
students as veterinarians
c) Develop students and recent
graduates as future AVMA leaders
Recommend actions to enable AVMA to strengthen student & recent graduate programs
Surveys, Market Research & Data Review:
The first meeting consisted of an
orientation to existing AVMA programs and services, gathering and
review of available survey and research data and open discussion on
possibilities for the future. The materials reviewed
included:
Pfizer Animal Health Student and Recent Graduate Market
Research
ASVMAE Recent Graduate Survey
AAHA Student survey
AVMA
Student survey
Veterinary Leadership Conference survey
results
Current AVMA programs, descriptions and budgets
The data compiled resulted in consistent responses from students and recent graduates in multiple surveys. It is evident that these two groups are looking for practical hands-on experience, business skills (veterinary specific), career planning, debt load management & work-life balance. A complete review of the data can also be found in the strategic plan slides (page 14).
After
thorough review of all applicable surveys and programs, six key areas
were identified by the Task Force and will be described in detail in
the following report.
Future Leaders Program (2011-2)
Assistant
Director for Recent Graduate Programs (2012)
Early Career
Development Committee (2012)
AVMA Professional Development
Institute (2013)
Continued funding for the AVMA Veterinary
Leadership Experience (2012 & beyond)
Review of current AVMA
student programs and SAVMA membership
This concept, developed from the AVMA Veterinary Leadership Conference review committee comprised of AVMA Staff, is currently under development and has been sponsored by Pfizer Animal Health. This concept was brought to the Task Force because there were two groups within AVMA working on similar concepts throughout 2010. As the Task Force was developing their three year plan, a decision was made to move forward with the concept of the Future Leaders Program in 2011-2 as a pilot program and a development step of the Early Career Development Committee and the AVMA Professional Development Institute. In November, the Task Force supported the recommendation by the Executive Board to move forward with the program in 2011-12 with the suggestion that the Future Leaders Program develop materials such as personal & professional development, financial tools or work-life balance designed to be incorporated into the AVMA Professional Development Institute.
Through the continued discussion of the Task Force, it became apparent that there will be multiple development programs (including the recommended programs in this report) divided among several Divisions at the AVMA. The Task Force recommends a review and reorganization of these programs if the recommendations are approved by the AVMA, especially the addition of an Assistant Director for Recent Graduate Programs.
Assistant Director for Recent Graduate Programs (2012):
A key component of the Task Force plan moving forward includes a recommendation from the Task Force for the AVMA to develop the position of an Assistant Director for Recent Graduate Programs.
This newly created position would be slated to start in 2012 to coincide with several initiatives developed from the Task Force including the Early Career Development Committee and AVMA Professional Development Institute discussed later in this report. It is also recommended that this position be filled by a veterinarian to effectively connect with this segment of the veterinary profession, increase credibility and understand the current needs of the recent veterinary graduates.
This new position would be responsible for implementation of AVMA recent graduate programs in an effort to increase the level of awareness of benefits for graduates 0-5 years post-graduation, maintain a person of accountability for all AVMA recent graduate programs and services and improve existing metrics of membership for this group. Metrics that would be measured for improvement include: increased overall satisfaction scores in surveys (AVMA Member Needs), increase in percentage of retained AVMA members 5 years post-graduation & recent graduate participation on all appropriate AVMA standing Committees, Councils & Task Forces. This position would also develop the new concept of a large standing electronic committee associated with the ECDC, new media targeted at recent graduates associated with the impending AVMA website redesign and be available for additional communication with veterinary colleges to provide financial, job search and development of hands-on learning opportunities for recent graduates.
Another aspect of this position would be to dedicate an individual within the AVMA to streamline and develop personal and future AVMA volunteer leadership training programs for recent graduates and emerging leaders. Currently, leadership development is split across many Divisions within the AVMA including Membership, Scientific Activities and Convention. Possible outcomes of this new position and prospective plan include dissolution of the Emerging Leaders attendance at the January AVMA Veterinary Leadership Conference and development of AVMA future leaders through the Professional Development Institute rather than the continuation of the Future Leaders Program. These programs could be incorporated into the developing AVMA Professional Development Institute by 2013 in effort to effectively communicate AVMA development programs to the general membership. This individual could also oversee and continue to identify all relevant AVMA committees and councils for recent graduate participation and seek out volunteers.
Early Career Development Committee: ECDC (2012)
The Task Force recommends the development of the Early Career Development Committee in 2012 in order to have a standing AVMA committee for recent graduate programs and services. The target and metrics would parallel that of the newly created position described above in that it would aim to strengthen the value of AVMA recent graduate membership, oversee AVMA programs and services targeting recent graduates and increase participation of recent graduates within AVMA councils/committees. Key metrics that would be evaluated to determine the success of this Committee would entail improvements in overall satisfaction scores, increase in percentage of retained AVMA members 5 years post-graduation and increased recent graduate participation on all appropriate AVMA standing committees/councils.
This Committee would be set-up similar to other AVMA Committees. However, it would include a very unique aspect to target the recent graduate by understanding the time constraints these individuals have with volunteering. It would also create an environment to allow discussion and continuous feedback to the AVMA.
This Committee would be created in the following manner. Self-nominations would be accepted along with invitations to participate that would be sent to recent graduates who were former student officers within SAVMA & SCAVMA, have attended the AVMA Veterinary Leadership Conference or the AVMA Veterinary Leadership Experience, submitted a nomination form for an AVMA entity but were not selected (Task Force/Future Leaders Program) or have been involved in other decided upon AVMA programs. This initial group would be comprised of 100-150 individuals who responded with interest and committed themselves to electronic involvement on a weekly basis. AVMA would connect these individuals to an online community using current social networking tools, in turn creating a support network for these recent graduates and a discussion group for the AVMA. This would also allow a continued connection with the large network of students involved with SAVMA and SCAVMA, who would like to be involved following graduation and quickly find themselves without many opportunities to do so.
The members of this recent graduate online community who demonstrate of high level of interest could then be part of the pool selected to comprise the ten Voting Members of the committee who will have the opportunity to meet in person at AVMA Headquarters. The ten members of the Early Career Development Committee would include six recent graduates (less than 5 years post-graduation), two emerging leaders (5-15 years post-graduation), one veterinary college/school Faculty Advisor & one representative from the American Society of Veterinary Medical Association Executives (ASVMAE). The committee would allow for self-nominations of all positions, with preference given to recent graduates active within the AVMA recent graduate online community & recent graduates and emerging leaders nominated by a principal or constituent allied veterinary medical organization of the AVMA. There would be two (2day/2night) in-person meetings in Schaumburg, Illinois as well as electronic and telephonic communications for virtual meetings and work on the AVMA ECDC’s project as needed. Additional goals of this committee would be to promote and facilitate recent graduate participation on all appropriate standing AVMA committees and councils by 2020, develop exclusive and niche member benefits for AVMA recent graduate members and solicit real time feedback on potential programs and services from the recent graduate online community.
AVMA Professional Development Institute (2013)
The Task Force recommends an ongoing plan to incorporate many of the new concepts in this report with current AVMA programs. The strategies within that long-term plan include establishing a dedicated AVMA staff person to provide oversight of recent graduate services alongside the AVMA Early Career Development Committee and create a cohesive and impactful AVMA training program, entitled the AVMA Professional Development Institute. This Institute would be AVMA’s recognition that the RG experience is unique and that AVMA wants to be an important part of that transition from vet school to a successful life long career. The goals of this plan include increasing the relevance and benefits directed at recent graduates and develop young leaders as the future of AVMA leadership by developing ways to identify them, foster their growth and create an AVMA pipeline of advocacy from students to top leaders.
There would be three phases of the AVMA Professional Development Institute:
Phase I includes veterinary student leadership training and awareness of AVMA leadership programs. The Task Force concluded there were numerous effective student programs currently available and continuing visits to veterinary campuses was a high priority for the Task Force. These ongoing visits are an opportunity to increase awareness of current AVMA programs such as the AVMA Veterinary Leadership Experience (VLE) partnership, the SAVMA/SCAVMA Officer experience, information about the AVMA Early Career Development Committee (ECDC), the AVMA Professional Development Institute and recent graduate positions on appropriate AVMA councils/committees. A key first phase initiative of the AVMA Professional Development Institute also includes leveraging AVMA VLE sponsorship to ensure continued development of leadership coaches at each CVM. The plan is to continue full funding in 2012 and recommend funding for 2013 and beyond of $45K annually to defray costs for 1 faculty member from each school to attend.
Phase II includes engagement and identification of emerging leaders by AVMA “branded” Professional Development educational tracks that are open to all membership within 15 years their professional career. These symposia can be held at all major conferences including: AAHA, NAVC, WVC, and AVMA. The 1 day track program would be developed by the AVMA ECDC and AVMA staff and would include content on communication, personal finance, practice ownership, practice management, compassion fatigue, self-care, and leadership training. An initial concept of creating stand-alone conferences was discussed, however it was determined that full day tracks at existing conferences may be more cost effective and preferred. These opportunities would provide a forum to feature AVMA programs that focus on recent graduates and emerging leaders.
Phase III includes fostering growth of recent graduates and emerging leaders into AVMA leaders. An aggressive plan with the AVMA Professional Development Institute would include a 1-2 day program that runs concurrent with AVMA annual conference. The program would run concurrent with the AVMA conference to defray costs, provide access to the entire AVMA Board and a more fulsome educational opportunity. The potential to recruit former SAVM & SCAVMA leaders also exists during the AVMA convention and would allow for self-identification to ensure the pool of developing leaders is robust.
In this program participants would develop leadership training and should develop a greater understanding of the AVMA’s vision, network with current AVMA executive board members, staff and committee/council volunteers. It would allow these individuals to become familiar with the inner workings of the AVMA and determine where their strengths and talents would be best used within the Association. Individuals that have completed the program would be given preference when applying for council/committee positions.
A final component of those who had participated in the AVMA Professional Development Institute would be the funneling of potential leaders into a concentrated mentoring relationship with AVMA Executive Board members. AVMA has attempted a large scale mentoring program in the past without success because of multiple reasons. However, understanding the desire of the recent graduate for a mentoring relationship and the ability of the AVMA to connect with a select few individuals highly involved as a student, a recent graduate and emerging leader, the opportunity exists to continue to develop these leaders. This institute creates the opportunity to select a few to mentor by the AVMA Executive Board representative from their home district. The mentee would assume a yearlong project to manage and program participants would be strongly encouraged to apply for any open seats on the AVMA ECDC and all other applicable AVMA councils/committees.
AVMA Veterinary Leadership Experience Funding (2012 and beyond):
The Task Force recommends continued funding of the AVMA Veterinary Leadership Experience at $75,000 in 2012. The Task Force also recommends continued funding for the program in 2013 and beyond at a level of $45,000/year to defray the costs for 1 faculty member from each veterinary school represented in SAVMA (32). The task force feels it is important that faculty is able to attend this program in order to continue similar activities at the local campus and recommends continued funding as long as at least 75% of these schools (24) continue being represented by at least 1 faculty member at the event.
The Task Force discussed numerous topics regarding the AVMA VLE including the number of attendees at the conference, cost of attendance, and continuation of the program at the local school level, measurable outcomes assessments and comparison to other existing programs. The Task Force was compelled, after much deliberation to continue funding for this program as an integral part of the overall strategy for inspiring future leaders of the profession and engaging students in AVMA sponsored programs.
Recognizing that the VLE is a strong program to support, the Task Force felt the best way the program would be able to have a greater lasting effect at the local level and hence greater impact throughout the profession was through the attendance and training of faculty from each school. While students will continue to attend this program, AVMA funding will be directed towards faculty attendance to help ensure the principles are taken back to the local campus. Continuation of the funding will be determined by maintaining a minimum level of faculty participation in the AVMA VLE.
The AVMA Senior Survey added two questions in 2010 in an effort to compare measurable differences in those who attend the AVMA VLE versus those students who had not had the opportunity to attend.
When responding to the question “Did you attend the AVMA Veterinary Leadership Experience at any time while you were in veterinary school?” 8.7% of graduating students answered yes, while, 91.3% answered no. When asked “Did you feel that attending the AVMA Veterinary Leadership Experience helped you prepare for your professional career?” 80.3% answered yes while 19.7% answered no.
More of the graduates who had attended the AVMA VLE had been offered employment or an advanced study opportunity than those who had not attended (86% vs. 77.7%), while the percentage of graduates who had accepted a position was almost identical (86.1% vs. 85.6%). The individuals who attended the AVMA VLE did have a higher average salary than those who did not: $50,311.24 vs. $48,521.37 (These figures include advanced study programs which traditionally pay lower average salaries).
Review of Current AVMA Student Programs & Policies:
Student Chapter formation
The
AVMA Policy on Student Chapters reads:
An organization of students
in a college of veterinary medicine accredited or approved by the
Council on Education of the Association may be affiliated with the
Association (AVMA) as a student chapter if it has the endorsement of
the dean of the college and has at least 60% of the eligible students
of veterinary medicine as members. Eligible students shall include
all full-time students of veterinary medicine who are enrolled in a
program of study leading to a professional veterinary degree to be
granted by that college. Affiliation shall be recognized by an
official charter signed by the President, the Executive Vice
President, and the Chair of the Executive Board of the Association.
Over the years, AVMA has received several requests from international schools to form Student Chapters of the AVMA. The list of schools includes Massey, Murdoch, Ontario, Ross, Royal, Edinburgh, Glasgow & Sydney. Each time the AVMA reviews the requirements to form a Student Chapter, most of these international schools are able to achieve two of the three requirements, but cannot reach the third.
The task force reviewed this current policy to determine its effectiveness, the ability of the AVMA to reach international students and the opportunity for students to become members of the Student AVMA. After much deliberation, the task force is recommending that the AVMA Executive Board reaffirm this current policy.
The task force felt it was critical that only accredited schools have the ability to hold the designation of a Student Chapter of the AVMA. They also concluded that it is important for a representative percentage of students (60%) to be members in order to receive the support AVMA offers. Since students attending these international schools do have the ability to become members of SAVMA through Associate Membership, it was appropriate to continue the policy as it is currently implemented.
Specific Task Force Recommendations:
Motion: AVMA will continue to sponsor the AVMA VLE at the current level in 2012. Starting in 2013, funding will continue at the level of $45,000 to defray costs for 1 faculty member from each veterinary school represented in SAVMA (32). Continued funding is contingent upon at least 75% of these schools (24) being represented by at least 1 faculty member at the event.
Motion: The Task Force recommends moving forward with the concept of the Early Career Development Committee (ECDC) and a full time staff person with the timeline of implementation in 2012
Motion: SCAVMA & SAAVMA members in good standing with their local SAVMA organization are automatically converted to AVMA membership with no membership dues for the remainder of their graduating year.
Motion:
AVMA will start utilizing the terms Recent Graduate and Emerging
Leader as defined below:
Recent Graduate 0-5 years
post-graduation
Emerging Leader 5-15 years post-graduation
Motion: The Task Force recommends the AVMA form the AVMA Professional Development Institute to promote and enhance leadership skills within the profession with a specific focus on training for Recent Graduates: (Timeline)
2011
AVMA Future Leaders Program – Pilot Program
2012 AVMA Recent
Graduate Staff position and Early Career Development Committee
2013
Implementation of AVMA Professional Development Institute
Motion: The Task Force approves the AVMA Future Leaders Program contingent on the agreement that the first project of the AVMA Future Leaders Program is focused on the development of framework for the AVMA Professional Development Institute
Motion: Every Council & Committee should have one designated position for a Recent Graduate by the year 2020
This will be accomplished through the normal rotation of new Council & Committee members.
Motion: That the AVMA reaffirm the qualifications for the formation of a Student Chapter of the AVMA
School/College must be accredited
60% of eligible students must be members of SAVMA
AVMA must receive a letter of endorsement from the Dean approving the formation of the Student Chapter of the AVMA.
Motion: The Task Force recommends a dedicated section in the web redesign for Recent Graduates. The Task Force recommends a dedicated section in the web redesign for Students
Tips
of the day/Question of the week – that are delivered via email
(pushed to the member) and brings the recipient back to the
website
Showcase of current AVMA members & recent graduates
through the current I am AVMA campaign
Facilitated by full time
recent graduate staff position & AVMA Communications
division
Encourage this group to visit the AVMA site on a more
regular occurrence
Utilization of Facebook updates
Historical Student AVMA Membership and Recent Graduate conversion to AVMA membership
2010 Senior Survey – AVMA Veterinary Leadership Experience Question Analysis
Did you attend the AVMA
Veterinary Leadership Experience at any time
while you were in
veterinary school?
Prepared by the Market Research Staff of the AVMA Communications Division
2010 Senior Survey – AVMA Veterinary Leadership Experience Question Analysis
Of those who did not attend
the VLE and were seeking employment,
respondents who received an
offer.
Prepared by the Market Research Staff of the AVMA Communications Division
2010 Senior Survey – AVMA Veterinary Leadership Experience Question Analysis
Of those who attended the VLE, accepted a position and were full time, mean starting salary by gender and employment category.
Prepared by the Market Research Staff of the AVMA Communications Division
Outline of Strategic Plan from the Task Force on AVMA Programs for Students & Recent Graduates
