When you study the Award, Certificate or Diploma in Veterinary Leadership and Management with VMG, you aren’t alone. You will be supported by one of our warm, friendly and very experienced tutors, who are there to help guide you through any sticky patches you may encounter during your course.
We would like to introduce our tutors over the coming months. We start with Mike Kitchen, who is Business Manager at the German Veterinary Clinic in the United Arab Emirates. With only 3 hours’ time difference between the UAE and the UK, Mike can support his tutees during online sessions. We asked him his thoughts about his work as a VMG tutor…
- What do you enjoy about tutoring for VMG?
I love the opportunity tutoring with VMG provides: to be able to support fantastic current and future leaders of the veterinary profession to better understand and realise their own potential. Within the daily roles of so many veterinary professionals, a level of leadership is expected, but is often not recognised, structured or resourced in a way that allows individuals to succeed. As a VMG tutor, I am in a privileged position to help equip these inspiring individuals to become more effective leaders and, in doing so, positively impact their teams and organisations… as well, as the individuals themselves. With the many acknowledged challenges impacting todays veterinary professionals, what could be better than that?
- What have you learnt from this experience?
The learning is a constant! As a current candidate within the DVLM course, I love being able to learn and quickly apply the new-found knowledge to both my “day job”, as well as for the tutees I am able to support. Added to which is the privilege of being a part of such an illustrious tutor team. Every tutor-team meeting is energising and enriching. With a group of thought leaders sharing their knowledge and experiences, I’ve experienced a series of light-bulb moments and the take-aways are so valuable. The VMG ethos of “Learn, Share, Grow” resonates with me completely!
- Who are your students?
As someone with a non-clinical background, the students I tend to see mostly are those who are in Practice Management, Front Office, and Administration roles. They come from a broad cross-section of organisation types: independents, corporates, small animal clinics, hospitals and referral centres. Their experience levels differ greatly also, with students who are entering a “leadership” position for the first time and those who have 20+ years of leadership experience (and everything in between). I very much enjoy the diversity of input from every student and the insights that they bring.
Plus, as an overseas based tutor (and student), I really appreciate the opportunity to discuss, explore and understand both the challenges and, very importantly, the solutions that are evident and/or available within the veterinary profession, as these tend to be similar regardless of geography. Wherever and whatever the role our students fulfil, there is now a growing VMG-connected network of positive, like-minded and forward thinking individuals, who actively support and cooperate with each other!
- What would you say to someone considering these VMG qualifications?
Do it! The structure and content are designed to enable everyone to greatly benefit from enrolment and, with the diversity of subjects available, tailoring a learning journey to meet your own specific career and professional development ambitions could not be easier. As both student and tutor, I can see that the VMG/ILM qualifications are designed to support individuals to succeed and achieve something that is both massively meaningful and so very relevant in today’s veterinary and general employment landscape.
Follow the link to find out more about the VMG ILM Level 5 Award, Certificate and Diploma in Veterinary Leadership & Management.
You can also meet one of our students – Nikki Chapman – here and read how taking the CVLM has changed her working life: Meet our students.
