Program Information

The Iowa State University College of Veterinary Medicine (ISU-CVM) is very supportive of our veterinary students interacting and developing relationships with veterinary colleagues regarding future professional employment opportunities.

To ensure that access to these relationships is equitable, and that these relationships are educational and make efficient use of time and resources, ISU-CVM and our Student American Veterinary Medical Association (SAVMA) chapter have collaborated to develop a program to benefit students and our veterinary colleagues seeking to employ veterinary students. SAVMA is a student-led organization that works to support educational and professional opportunities for ISU-CVM veterinary students.

This program, called ISU-CVM Practice Partners, is outlined below. This program will be the primary mechanism for practices, corporations, and other organizations to interact with ISU-CVM students for recruitment purposes.

What are the benefits of being a Practice Partner?

  1. Digital communications:
    • Practice Partners (PP) may submit up to six electronic posts per year (single letter-sized page) with information of choice from the PP to be circulated to all veterinary students through the Practice Partner Digest. The PP Digest is an electronic news digest sent out monthly to all veterinary students by the Office of Academic and Student Affairs.
    • Practice Partners may submit an unlimited number of electronic posts to the internal ISU-CVM Job Board, visible to all veterinary students (posts will remain active for 6 months).
    • Practice Partners may submit PowerPoint slides publicizing their job advertisements to be displayed on an Interactive Touchscreen Monitor located in our Student Services area, available for ISU-CVM students to browse on demand.
  2. In-person networking events and job fairs:
    • Practice Partners are invited to participate in the IVMA Networking and Job Fair, an on-campus event held on a weekday evening in the fall semester. The IVMA Networking & Career Fair is organized and hosted by the Iowa Veterinary Medical Association and is held in conjunction with the IVMA Annual Meeting.
    • Practice Partners are invited to participate in the SAVMA/VBMA Career Development Workshop, an on-campus event held on a weekend in the spring semester.
    • At these in-person networking events, each PP will be provided:
      • A dedicated table or booth at both Networking & Job Fairs.
      • The ability to interact with students, distribute informational pamphlets about the practice, and distribute promotional items or “goodie bags” (limit of $30 value) to students.
  1. Facilitated interactions with student clubs and organizations:
    • Practice Partners are invited to offer or sponsor educational activities hosted and organized by officially recognized student clubs and organizations at ISU-CVM.
    • Practice Partners will have the opportunity to submit a list of educational topics, speakers, and contact information for distribution to club presidents at the beginning of each academic semester.
    • Content of these activities will be primarily educational (rather than recruiting). Practices who focus activities on recruitment tend not to be invited back by student organizations.
  2. Individual student career development mentoring:
    • Practice Partners are invited to submit names and contact information for individual members of their organization who are interested in serving as mentors for ISU-CVM students seeking career development advice.
    • Mentorship requests from students may include critiquing resumes or curriculum vitae, critiquing of letters of intent, practicing mock interviews, providing advice regarding contract negotiation, etc.
    • Practice Partners are expected to provide professional, timely, and impartial advice to students, with no expectation that students plan to apply to their individual practice or corporation.
    • ISU-CVM students requesting an external mentor will be provided with a list of Practice Partner Consultants to contact. Contact will be initiated by the student. Practice Partners may indicate a maximum number of students they wish to assist per semester.

What is required to become a Practice Partner?

Membership in the Practice Partners Program will be valid for an academic year, with a new program year beginning each June. A participation fee paid to SAVMA is required for participation in the Practice Partners Program. Suggested fees for corporate practices are $1000-2000 per year, while suggested fees for privately-owned practices are $250-1000 per year.   In addition to supporting the SAVMA Career Development Workshop, these funds will be used to support SAVMA’s mission of providing high-quality educational and professional opportunities for ISU-CVM students.  This participation fee is waived for food animal practices in areas with USDA-NIFA designated veterinarian shortages.

Practice Partners must complete an online application form and complete registration and payment. If you have questions regarding the program, feel free to contact Dr. Jessica Ward, Assistant Dean of Extramural Student Programs, at jward@iastate.edu. SAVMA and ISU-CVM look forward to engaging with you!

Notes:

  • Practice Partner Digest emails will be sent on the 15th day of each month. Items for the Digest must be submitted by the 8th of each month (7 days prior) to be included.
  • ISU-CVM does not recognize student ambassador positions hired by practices for recruitment purposes.
  • Practices may participate in the IVMA Networking and Job Fair without being Practice Partners. The IVMA charges participation fees for non-member practices. Please contact the IVMA for more details.
  • Practices may post on the official Iowa State University job site (CyHire) without being Practice Partners.
  • Practices (whether Practice Partners or not) may continue to provide financial sponsorship for official SAVMA or CVM activities, at the discretion of the Dean’s Office.