Performing Department
(N/A)
Non Technical Summary
Building A Veterinary Medical Mastermind utilizes the mastermind concept to provide individual professional development skills in the area of leadership, business, communication and other professional skills. The Wisconsin Veterinary Medical Association (WVMA), an advocate for advancing veterinary medicine, will develop the program framework and utilize its network and resources to facilitate the program. This program will seek to add value for both current and future practitioners as well as teach them how to facilitate their own future development.The goal of the program is to create an environment of shared group learning. This in-person training will provide participants the skills, strategies and techniques needed for their veterinary professional development, focusing on professional skills, using ways their schooling, practice and personal experiences have never done before. This interaction lends itself to an environment where members can share examples of personal successes and failures with each other; providing experience that they would otherwise not have been exposed to. This peer to peer interaction also sets a level of accountability which will be re-enforced through follow up calls, emails, online groups and virtual meetings. The WVMA will leverage years of continuing education experience to create a program focused on goal setting and accountability and will lead participants to a greater level of follow through, success and achievement than they ever would achieve on their own.
Animal Health Component
100%
Research Effort Categories
Basic
(N/A)
Applied
(N/A)
Developmental
(N/A)
Goals / Objectives
Specific Aim #1: Mastermind workshopsProvide training opportunities for veterinary students and early graduate veterinarians to advance their professional skills and build a peer to peer network. Each mastermind program will include 6-7 participants in a small group setting. Each workshop will include three separate programs over a 2-day period, allowing for a total of 18 to 21 individuals to participate. These 2 -day workshops will be repeated four times each year of the 3-year grant with an aim to have 216 to 252 participants over the lifetime of the grant.This objective aligns with the VSGP program area priorities 1 and 3. It supports the travel of veterinary students to help cover expenses to attending a training program with the goals of strengthening food safety, public health and food animal practice in rural shortage areas. Priority will be given to those serving in underserved areas.Specific Aim # 2: Peer to peer facilitationFurther communication and peer to peer interaction among workshop attendees by providing ongoing communication and support for newly established skills.All participants will be provided access to a private Mastermind networking group to facilitate ongoing communication and problem solving in a safe, small group setting. Individuals will be expected to participate in both a pre and post workshop virtual meeting to both plan for the in-person session and allow for check in on individual action plans and hold each participant accountable for measurable progress.This objective aligns will the VSGP program area priority 3. The goal is to support ongoing education and extension to participants to continue to strengthen their veterinary practices and further enhance food safety through advancing their professional skills.
Project Methods
Methods for Specific Aim #1:The WVMA will begin marketing the mastermind program through organized veterinary medical channels. This includes social media, newsletters and list servs through the WVMA and other organized veterinary medical organizations. Being a state organization, the WVMA has close working relationships with VMAs all over the country which can aid in disseminating this information to veterinarians and veterinary students. In addition, Dean Mark Markel of the University of Wisconsin School of Veterinary Medicine sits on the WVMA board and is the current president of the Association of American Veterinary Medical Colleges; he can assist with disseminating the information to veterinary schools across the country.As a part of the marketing plan, details regarding the application process and required submission will be included. To help aid the cost associated with travel a $625 stipend will be offered to those individuals traveling via airline and a $350 stipend for those driving. Applicants will be required to submit the application and include a recent curriculum vitae, a personal statement stating why they want to attend, what their long-term professional goals are and what they hope to achieve by participating in the mastermind program. Strong preference will be given to students in their last year of study at an accredited veterinary medical college and those that have graduated with their DVM in the last 5 years. The non-scientific continuing education committee of the WVMA will screen applicants and make final selection of individuals to participate in the mastermind program.In order to increase value and offset travel costs for individuals, two of the four annual mastermind workshops will be scheduled in conjunction with the Food Armor veterinary student training program (pending NIFA proposal). This will allow individuals that participate in Food Armor training the option and first preference of extending their travel to also participate in the WVMA mastermind program. This allows a veterinary student or new veterinarian an opportunity to receive two travel stipends to offset their costs while also receiving RACE approved continuing education credits, a strong skill set in food safety and antimicrobial stewardship practices to implement on farms, an opportunity to improve upon their professional skills and a peer to peer network to hold individuals accountable once everyone returns home to their practice. This collaboration strengthens and adds value to both programs but if funding can not be secured for one, the other can still move forward and operate independently.Mastermind program detailsThe goal of the program is to create an environment of shared group learning. This begins with a tailored lesson to the assembled group's stated interests, with a focus on leadership, business or other professional skills. Some groups will have specific interest in the areas of business management, human resources, medical challenges, developing a team, finding their why, financial literacy, medical skills, work life balance, or a variety of other topics. We will group selected participants with people who are seeking a similar professional development strategy and present a guide to how each participant can develop three to five of these selected topics while allowing group interaction to drive the level of depth we explore each topic. Each one of these sessions will be taught for 1.5 hours, submitted for RACE approval and will provide continue education value as well as professional development value to the participants. The value of the mastermind comes from the fact that these lessons will be tailored to the group's interests and will provide the individual interactive CE experience participants so desperately want and need for growth.After the tailored lesson plan is taught participants are invited to discuss their thoughts on the lesson with other participants in an interactive round table environment. This interaction lends itself to an environment where members can share examples of personal successes and failures with each other; providing experience that they would otherwise not have been exposed to. At this point, anecdotal stories are often shared and serve to re-enforce the lesson's examples as well as lend themselves to helping participants commit the lesson to their long term memory; the result being a greater likelihood they will actually use or implement the knowledge in the future.After the round table discussion, the mastermind begins a section of instruction known as the HOT seat. In this section members share their current challenges and successes in their careers. These examples often relate to the prior topics taught in the lesson but at times they will not. The HOT seat sessions last for about 30 minutes during which participants are invited to share a success for five minutes, share a concern or existing problem for ten minutes and then the floor is opened for a facilitated discussion with their participating peers. By approaching the problem with the other five minds in the room and utilizing all their experiences, the participant is exposed to endless ideas they may never have thought of before, allowing them to connect dots or find solutions they would not have obtained on their own. Many times, this is the most powerful step in the mastermind session.After the HOT seat, participants are led in accountability exercises which encourage them to set-up SMART goals and associated action plans. During this time, they will share their next steps with the other participants, again inviting feedback, criticism and recommendations on how they should proceed. This also creates an environment of accountability by making participants state a time by which they will have this goal completed and these time frames are re-enforced through follow up calls, emails, online groups and/or virtual meetings. This is where the final power of the mastermind comes out. It invigorates participants to write down their goals, speak its time frame to other participants and follow up on its completion. A sample program agenda is included in Appendix A. Dr. Eric Rooker and WVMA will leverage years of scientific research and experience with goal setting in high performing individuals to lead participants to a greater level of follow through, success and achievement than they ever would achieve on their own.Methods for Specific Aim #2: The second objective of this proposal is to help facilitate and support the relationships developed during the in-person mastermind program. Once an individual returns home to their practices, some of the learning skills and materials they received may go unused. One of the goals of WVMA's mastermind program is to not only create this peer to peer network but also help facilitate their continuing involvement and discussion in the months and years to come.Each participating individual will be invited to join a private online networking group with individuals of whom participated in the mastermind program. This allows for continued networking and problem discussion in a safe, peer to peer environment. Additionally, each participant will be provided a one on one follow up coaching session with the program moderator, Dr. Eric Rooker. This time can be used to ask questions and address specific problems the participant may have. Finally, the participant will be required to attend a virtual follow up meeting with their mastermind group to allow for accountability and check in of their personal action plans. These virtual meetings will be held via the Zoom online platform which will remain an available option for teams to utilize following completion of the follow-up meeting. WVMA will managed the Zoom account and access for individuals looking to utilize the platform in the future.