Merck Animal Health and MentorVet Provide Assistance for the Auburn University College of Veterinary Medicine Class of 2023
Merck Animal Health continues partnership with MentorVet by offering free enrollment for 2023 Auburn veterinary grads
MADISON, N.J., May 22, 2023 – Dr. Christine Royal, Auburn alumna and vice president of US Companion Animal and Equine Business at Merck Animal Health, known as MSD Animal Health outside of the United States and Canada, delivered Auburn University College of Veterinary Medicine’s Class of 2023 commencement speech on Monday, May 8, 2023. As part of the commencement ceremony, Merck Animal Health announced they would provide waivers that would allow all 127 of Auburn University’s newest veterinary graduates to enroll in MentorVet Leap, an evidence-based national mentorship and professional development program, free of cost this year – a significant contribution towards their early-career learning and development.
“The Auburn University College of Veterinary Medicine is excited for the journey ahead for these emerging veterinary professionals from our Class of 2023,” said Calvin Johnson, dean. “We strive to prepare our graduates for successful careers, and I am confident the Class of 2023 is ready to contribute with exceptional knowledge, broad clinical competency, and enthusiasm. We are grateful for the support of Dr. Christine Royal, a proud Auburn alumna and our commencement speaker, and Merck Animal Health in providing our graduates with the opportunity to utilize these early-career resources. MentorVet’s network of professionals will help these early-career alumni celebrate victories and support each other through some of the more challenging situations they will face in their veterinary careers.”
“I was honored and humbled to return to my alma mater to deliver this year’s commencement speech to the Class of 2023, their families, and faculty – and as a gift in return, we are thrilled to give back to the Auburn veterinary graduates by providing free enrollment in the MentorVet Leap program,” said Dr. Royal, vice president, U.S. Companion Animal and Equine business unit, Merck Animal Health. “As we look towards the future of veterinary medicine, we can be confident that these emerging Auburn graduates will have bright and successful careers ahead, and they will make the animal health industry even stronger than it is today.”
MentorVet creates evidence-based programming to support the mental health and wellbeing of individuals in the veterinary profession. Their flagship program, MentorVet Leap is a 6-month virtual mentorship and professional development program that helps early-career veterinary professionals smoothly transition from student to doctor and thrive within the veterinary medicine career. Mentees receive access to interactive online learning modules, monthly small-group meetings, mental health and financial coaching, and community resources – all of which have shown to improve program participants’ wellbeing as they kickstart their careers.
“It can be challenging to find the balance between one’s personal and professional life, and burnout is becoming increasingly common within the veterinary profession, especially when first entering this industry,” said Dr. Addie Reinhard, Founder and CEO of MentorVet. “Our research suggests that our flagship program, MentorVet Leap, has the potential to prevent some of this early-career burnout. Because of Merck Animal Health’s generous support, these early-career veterinarians will now have a community who can share experiences, celebrate victories, and relate to the struggles faced in the veterinary career, as well as the education and resources necessary to overcome obstacles and set them on a path toward career sustainability.”
In addition to assisting this year’s Auburn graduates, Merck Animal Health has provided ongoing support to MentorVet over the past two years through scholarships, mentorship, and resources. As the founding sponsor of MentorVet, Merck Animal Health has provided over 250 full scholarships for early-career veterinarians to participate in the MentorVet Leap program and continues to help MentorVet in its early growth.
Last week, MentorVet announced the launch of MentorVet Connect, an evidence-based paired mentorship platform brought to you by the AVMA, that will allow all 2023 new graduates to have access to a trained paired mentor at no charge to them. Merck Animal Health is a proud educational partner of this initiative. For more information and if interested in participating in the MentorVet Leap or MentorVet Connect program, please visit www.mentorvet.net.
About Merck Animal Health
At Merck, known as MSD outside of the United States and Canada, we are unified around our purpose: We use the power of leading-edge science to save and improve lives around the world. For more than a century, we’ve been at the forefront of research, bringing forward medicines, vaccines and innovative health solutions for the world’s most challenging diseases. Merck Animal Health, a division of Merck & Co., Inc., Rahway, N.J., USA, is the global animal health business of Merck. Through its commitment to The Science of Healthier Animals®, Merck Animal Health offers veterinarians, farmers, pet owners and governments one of the widest ranges of veterinary pharmaceuticals, vaccines and health management solutions and services as well as an extensive suite of connected technology that includes identification, traceability and monitoring products. Merck Animal Health is dedicated to preserving and improving the health, well-being and performance of animals and the people who care for them. It invests extensively in dynamic and comprehensive R&D resources and a modern, global supply chain. Merck Animal Health is present in more than 50 countries, while its products are available in some 150 markets. For more information, visit www.merck-animal-health.com and connect with us on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
About MentorVet
MentorVet is a rapidly growing entity that creates programs leveraging evidenced-based approaches to empower veterinary professionals, transforming veterinary medicine into a healthy profession for individuals and communities. MentorVet’s flagship program, MentorVet Leap, is a mentorship and professional development program that promotes early career wellbeing by providing a centralized location for resources and support through online professional skills training, peer and paired mentorship, and mental health and financial coaching. MentorVet collaborates with a growing number of practice groups, veterinary medical associations, and corporations to make their programming 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 mentorvet.net or follow us on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram.