I am sitting in my home — no parties this year, stupid pandemic — watching the Super Bowl on my living room television. They are making a very big deal about the fact that Tom Brady is “old” and Patrick Mahomes is “young”. As the game goes on it looks very much like Tom has still got it. At the half, my mother texted that she is “too old for the half-time show.” A statement that I totally understand as I watch the commercials and see celebrities of my youth looking like retirement home inmates.
The universe must be giving me a message this week. So many age references and examples of how experience is often more valuable than inexperience. It is so interesting that earlier in the week I received an email from a well connected veterinarian. He asked if I was interested in joining a task force to investigate how senior veterinarians can be used to mentor and coach younger veterinarians. Heck yes I am interested! I believe that we need any help we can get in this profession to work smarter, not harder. If older veterinarians can be utilized to help nurture younger veterinarians, we can all learn from each other and benefit from the collaboration.
What are the advantages of honoring older veterinarians as mentors to the youngsters?
Older veterinarians know the drill. They have been tested and tried in ways that many younger folks will never experience. They worked without emergency clinics and took middle of the night call. They are dedicated to their hospitals, clients, and patients that they have known and loved for years. They have more time to devote to work because they no longer have young children in the home to raise. They have been through economic downturn and staff shortages creatively adjusting practice to fit difficult circumstances. They possess conflict resolution skills, business knowledge, and the drive to advance the profession. If we want this profession to survive and thrive we must work together to support and utilized all or our members’ talents.
The United Nations estimates that by the year 2050 one in three people in the developed world will be over 60 years old. If that is true, our profession needs to keep older veterinarians in the work force in some capacity to lighten the burden of recent graduates.
Whatever your age, demonstrate your value to gain new opportunities. Experience is meant to be shared so that we can learn from our history and take those lessons into the future. If you are older, check your attitude at the door. You are not better than someone younger, but you do have something to share proudly and humbly. Share your experience, but open your mind and your heart to learn from the juniors that you teach. Age is just a number, it really doesn’t matter.
Tom Brady proved tonight that experience is a valuable asset. We can learn so much from his drive and determination to share his experience and bring along his team to victory. Let’s learn to set an example like Tom.
Dr. Julie Cappel
“Age is an issue of mind over matter. If you don’t mind, it doesn’t matter.” – Mark Twain
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