AAHA shifts focus from students to recent graduates
The American Animal Hospital Association has decided to redirect the AAHA Career Development Program to focus less on veterinary students and more on recent graduates.
Students are inundated with information from associations and companies, according to AAHA, while recent graduates are underserved and lack access to resources.
“We expect to announce significant additions and enhancements to this program as we direct additional resources to help meet the needs of the recent graduate,” wrote Dr. Michael Cavanaugh, AAHA chief executive officer, in a post on AAHA’s Member Connection blog.
Existing resources for recent graduates include the Mentorship Toolkit from AAHA, VetPartners, and the Veterinary Business Management Association. For three years after graduation, veterinarians receive complimentary AAHA membership as well as complimentary online subscriptions to AAHA’s Trends magazine and the Journal of the American Animal Hospital Association, a variety of resources through AAHA’s My Veterinary Career website and the AAHA website, and 50 percent discount on registration to AAHA’s annual conference.
Students receive the same benefits except that they receive complimentary conference registration.
Effective Aug. 1, AAHA discontinued on-campus programs that have included speakers and student leadership teams. The AAHA Student Committee also disbanded Aug. 1, and AAHA will work to involve interested volunteers with other volunteer groups.
The student website and social media channels closed July 1. Followers of these platforms may connect with AAHA online via the AAHA website, My Veterinary Career, Facebook, or Twitter.