It’s November, so the new grads who joined your practice this summer have been in practice for a few months now. The first-week nerves have passed, the schedule has filled in, and everyone has settled into a routine. That makes this a good time to sit down with them one-on-one, especially the ones who seem to be doing great.
Why New Grads Who Seem Fine Still Need a Check-In
Around this time last year, I spoke with a new grad who was warm, bubbly, and upbeat from the moment we started. She had joined her clinic a couple of months earlier, and by every outward measure she was thriving. But when I asked whether there was any gap between the support she was offered when she took the job and the support she was getting, she burst into tears. She told me she hadn’t said anything because she didn’t want to be a burden, and she certainly didn’t want to look like a complainer so soon after starting. Some of what had been promised hadn’t materialized. She had been thinking about leaving and nobody at her clinic knew because a cheerful person who never complains gets read as someone who has it all together.
Plenty of new grads are good at keeping a positive face on, and it makes sense that they are, since they’re trying to make a strong first impression in a new clinic. The trouble is that someone who isn’t asking for anything looks exactly like someone who doesn’t need anything. This means that a new grad who needs a conversation can be easy to miss.
Why Quick Hallway Check-Ins Miss What’s Really Going On
Our conversation ran longer than planned, and the tears didn’t come until well into it. It took that long for her to trust that I wanted a real answer and not the polished one. A quick “how’s it going?” between appointments usually gets a “good, thanks,” and so does a chat in the doctors’ office with the team moving in and out.
A better approach is to put time on the calendar, find somewhere private, and consider taking a walk, since talking while moving side by side can feel less intense than sitting across from each other. Plan for more time than you think you’ll need, and expect the useful part to start late. These conversations can feel awkward for the mentor as much as the mentee, so having a few questions written down gives you both something to hold onto.
Questions to Ask Your New Grad
Most of us don’t have these words ready, so simple and direct questions work best. A few to start with:
- “Now that you’ve been here for a few months, is the support you’re receiving what you expected when you joined?”
- “How are you feeling as a new grad?”
- “Is being a veterinarian what you thought it would be?”
- “If you picture yourself as a well, how full is it right now? Would you say 25 percent, 50 percent?”
- “If it’s running low, what could I do to help?”
The well question tends to work with veterinarians because the percentages make it feel more like a measurement than a conversation about feelings, and many doctors find that easier to answer honestly.
What to Do With Your New Grad’s Answers
Often you’ll hear that things are going well, which is worth knowing. When you hear something harder, start by listening and thanking them for telling you. If something they were promised hasn’t happened, a simple “I’m sorry that hasn’t happened, and you deserve it” tells them they weren’t wrong to expect it. Explanations can wait for a later conversation, because in the moment they tend to sound like defense and can send a new grad back to “I’m fine.”
From there, ask what was offered when they were hired, what they’re getting now, and what would make a real difference right away. Pick one or two things you can act on, agree on roughly when you’ll do them, and be honest about anything that will take longer. If the fix involves someone else, like a practice owner or whoever controls the schedule, raise it yourself and tell your new grad you’re doing so. Protected time for cases or a mentoring meeting that keeps getting bumped is easier for a mentor to bring up than for a doctor a few months into their first job. Before the conversation ends, put a follow-up on the calendar a few weeks out so you can report back and ask the well question again, which shows your new grad this wasn’t a one-time gesture.
At Ready, Vet, Go, we see our work as a complement to the mentorship you’re already providing in the clinic every day. Our early-career doctors learn the language to bring conversations like this one back to their mentors. And practice leaders with a doctor in the program receive a monthly summary of our workshops and themes along with three questions to start a conversation with your new doctor. If you have a new grad or know an early-career veterinarian who could use that kind of support, we’d love to tell you more about the program.