Identifying and Addressing the Mentee’s Professional Concerns and Fears
Typical Questions, Concerns, or Fears (Use as a Basis for Discussion of Goals)
| Effective time management at work |
|---|
| How often are appointments scheduled? |
| What if I am too slow seeing appointments, obtaining a history, or performing a diagnostic or medical treatment? |
| How much time do I have to perform surgeries? |
| How can I provide timely and efficient treatments for patients while ensuring thorough, quality care? |
| What do I do if I need more time to perform a task? |
| How can I be more efficient with my paperwork? |
| How often are appointments scheduled? |
| What if I am too slow seeing appointments, obtaining a history, or performing a diagnostic or medical treatment? |
| How much time do I have to perform surgeries? |
| How can I provide timely and efficient treatments for patients while ensuring thorough, quality care? |
| What do I do if I need more time to perform a task? |
| How can I be more efficient with my paperwork? |
| Client relations issues |
|---|
| How do I deal with difficult client interactions, such as clients in a fee dispute, clients who refuse my recommendations, or clients who leave me a bad review? |
| What if my looks, age, or title/position play a role in client questions about education, experience, or competence? |
| What if a client makes a biased or derogatory comment about me or a colleague? How do I take a professional and principled approach to that when communicating with clients? |
| What can I do to support a client who cannot afford my recommendations? |
| How do I best communicate with clients to encourage compliance? |
| How can I most thoughtfully communicate serious medical concerns with clients? |
| How can I support clients in an affective emotional state, for example, if their pet has a serious medical issue or chronic illness? |
| What if my recommendation for palliative care or euthanasia is not accepted by the client and I believe the patient is suffering? |
| What do I do if I believe a patient’s wellbeing is at risk from neglect or abuse? |
| How do I deal with difficult client interactions, such as clients in a fee dispute, clients who refuse my recommendations, or clients who leave me a bad review? |
| What if my looks, age, or title/position play a role in client questions about education, experience, or competence? |
| What if a client makes a biased or derogatory comment about me or a colleague? How do I take a professional and principled approach to that when communicating with clients? |
| What can I do to support a client who cannot afford my recommendations? |
| How do I best communicate with clients to encourage compliance? |
| How can I most thoughtfully communicate serious medical concerns with clients? |
| How can I support clients in an affective emotional state, for example, if their pet has a serious medical issue or chronic illness? |
| What if my recommendation for palliative care or euthanasia is not accepted by the client and I believe the patient is suffering? |
| What do I do if I believe a patient’s wellbeing is at risk from neglect or abuse? |
| Personal issues |
|---|
| How can I manage debt or a low salary? |
| How can I balance work and family? |
| What can I do if I do not have enough time for my family? |
| What do I do if I need an accommodation and it is refused? |
| How do I notice, prevent, and manage burnout or challenging ethical situations? |
| What do I do if a hospital policy goes against my personal values or ethics? |
| Team or hospital issues |
|---|
| How do I develop trust and rapport with my colleagues and clients? |
| What if I disagree with hospital policy, and how can I make my concerns heard? |
| How do I learn to get along with the practice team? |
| How do I address a difficult relationship with a long-standing team member? |
| What if I am not getting along with the practice owner or manager? |
| What if I have an ethical concern about a colleague’s behavior toward a patient? |
| What if I experience bullying or isolation/exclusion by a colleague or someone in a position above mine? |
| What can I do if I hear a colleague make a disrespectful remark about another colleague, or I am asked to engage in gossip? |
| How can I best support a colleague who is struggling with their mental health or negative team dynamics? |
| How can I best advocate for myself, my community, colleagues, clients and patients, and for improvements in process, pay, or policy? |
| How can I leverage my social privilege or position to support colleagues whose concerns or ideas are not being heard or whose needs are not being met? |
| What are some actions I can take to positively influence workplace culture? |
| Proficiency issues |
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| How do I manage doubt and stress as a practitioner? |
| How can I increase my confidence in my skills and knowledge? |
| Will I be by myself? If so, when? |
| Will someone be available by phone when I am by myself? |
| How will I learn to perform new surgical procedures or treatments? |
| What if something bad happens during anesthesia? |
| What do I do if I make a medical or surgical error? |
| How do I handle the unexpected loss of a patient? |
| How do I admit I do not know something without feeling like a failure or like I am not good enough? |
| I am interested in eventually owning my own veterinary hospital. What do I need to know? |
The 2023 AAHA Mentoring Guidelines are generously supported by Chewy Health and Merck.
