After Successful Pilot, AASV Offers 5 Additional Scholarships for MentorVet Leap for Spring 2024
The American Association of Swine Veterinarians and MentorVet collaborated in the Spring of 2023 to offer 5 full scholarships to swine veterinarians early in their careers. After a successful pilot, AASV has now approved funding of 5 additional scholarships for early-career swine vets to participate in the 2024 MentorVet Leap program.
The MentorVet Leap program is a six-month, entirely virtual, evidence-based mentorship and professional development program that aims to promote wellbeing and decrease burnout in the transition into veterinary practice. The mentorship program has been adapted to meet the needs of early-career swine veterinarians including swine-specific case examples and paired mentorship with a more experienced swine veterinarian.
In addition to paired mentorship, the program provides holistic support to veterinarians through a combination of professional skills training, financial and mental health coaching, and peer mentorship. Mentees engage in a self-paced online curriculum and then meet monthly with other early-career veterinarians to discuss shared challenges and share perspectives on how to create a sustainable career path.
Jenna Scott, DVM, a 2023 AASV MentorVet Leap scholarship recipient, shared, "MentorVet Leap is a great way to gain knowledge and learn skills to better navigate early career veterinary practice. Through the MentorVet Leap program, I've also been paired with an excellent mentor whom I plan to stay in communication with after the program ends. I have found it very helpful to have a supportive person to talk to about goals and stresses associated with work."
During the pilot, small group discussions were facilitated by a MentorVet team member allowing early-career swine veterinarians to connect with one another and share experiences. After participating in the program in the spring, swine veterinarian Jordan Buchan shared, “Being able to discuss topics such as self-care, professional boundary-setting, and conflict resolution, amongst many others, with colleagues in the same discipline of veterinary medicine, was life-changing. In addition, being assigned an external professional mentor in the industry continues to be a great asset. I actively use the lessons learned during my participation in MentorVet every day in my career. I am very grateful to AASV for funding my enrollment in the program, and know it will continue to be transformative for many young swine veterinarians in the future.”
The spring 2024 Leap program will take place February 11 to July 31, 2024. The deadline to apply for the spring 2024 scholarship is February 2, 2024. AASV members who have received their veterinary degree in the past 5 years (Class of 2019-2023) can apply for a scholarship to participate in the MentorVet Leap Program by visiting
About MentorVet
MentorVet leverages evidence-based approaches to empower individuals to thrive within veterinary medicine. MentorVet’s flagship program, the MentorVet Leap program, is a mentorship and professional development program that promotes early career-wellbeing by providing a centralized location for resources and support through mentorship, mental health and financial coaching, and online professional skills training. MentorVet collaborates with a growing number of practice groups, veterinary medical associations, and corporations to make the program possible. To read more about the early success of MentorVet, you can read their impact report in full by visiting www.mentorvet.net/impactreport. For more information visit www.mentorvet.net or follow MentorVet on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram.
About the American Association of Swine Veterinarians
Based in Perry, Iowa, the AASV has approximately 1300 members involved in practice, industry, and academia in more than 40 countries.
It is the mission of the American Association of Swine Veterinarians to:
increase the knowledge of swine veterinarians
protect and promote the health and well-being of pigs
advocate science-based approaches to veterinary, industry, and public health issues
promote the development and availability of resources that enhance the effectiveness of professional activities
create opportunities that inspire personal and professional growth and interaction
mentor students, encouraging life-long careers as swine veterinarians
For more information, check out the AASV at aasv.org/ or email aasv@aasv.org