Congratulations to the New AAHA Board!

The winners of the online voting for the 2009-2010 board positions are:

 

Colleen Roy-VP

Ruth Marcec-Treasurer

Kellie Hackler-Webmaster

 

We will be in touch with you soon on how/when we will meet to discuss/switch over the board positions.

 

Thanks!

Vote by 8pm, Friday, May 1!

We need to vote for the board positions of VP, treasurer, and webmaster for next year.  Below are the blurbs for those that are interested.  Please email Deanna Baker (drbaker3@gmail.com) with 1 name for each position by Friday, May 1st at 8pm.

 

Vice President:

Colleen Roy

I am interested in and qualified for the position of AAHA Vice President.  I have served in various leadership roles such as team captains, club presidents, and as an executive board member of my sorority and pre-veterinary club.  When starting veterinary school last fall, I limited my club involvement to a few key interests so as to not overburden myself while beginning my veterinary school career. I am now ready to take on leadership roles once again. As Vice President, I could allow my interest to grow while providing the club with strong leadership.  I have experience planning meetings as well as large scale events, an attribute which will prove essential in planning for speakers and informational meetings.  These strengths, coupled with my enthusiasm to learn and desire to succeed will allow me to serve this club as an effective Vice President.

 

Sabrina Kuo

I would like to be the next Vice President of AAHA because I strongly believe that this organization does an excellent job of enhancing the small animal veterinarian's ability to provide quality care to their patients and clients.  I'm confident that this organization is making great strides in the veterinary field and I would appreciate the opportunity to be a principal part of it.  As my first year comes to an end I feel I have adequately adjusted to and overcome the many challenges veterinary school throws us and I'm ready to take on a more active role in the veterinary community.  My past leadership experiences, organizational skills, and enthusiasm for the position make me a suitable candidate.  I know that I would serve as a reliable aid to the President and I open the opportunity to work closely with the organization as well as my fellow collegues. 

Treasurer:

Kristina Gronkiewicz

I am interested in becoming the treasurer of AAHA for the upcoming school year. I believe I am qualified for this position due my previous experience as an office assistant.  By recording various services and filing old invoices, I have developed a propensity for organization and record keeping.  I also want to play a more active role in AAHA and believe being a member of the executive board will provide me that opportunity.  Thanks for your consideration.

 

Ruth Marcec

I would like to be the AAHA treasurer because I feel that AAHA is one of the most important associations that we as vet students can be a part of and I would like to help our school's chapter manage funds so that we can have the best meetings and information possible. I have experience being the treasurer of the FSU Honor's society. I feel that I would be an excellent choice, not only because of my experience, but because of my enthusiasm for everything AAHA stands for in our profession. Thanks!

 

Webmaster:

Kellie Hackler

I would like to be the AAHA Webmaster because I would like the opportunity to become a member of the AAHA exec board and get more involved in this wonderful organization. I am currently the webmaster for AAFP, so I have a full year's experience on working with the program and updating websites to meet the students' needs. I am willing and eager to take the time to keep everyone up to date on what is going on with the Illinois Student Chapter of AAHA. Thanks!

 

Sarah Lusn

I would like to be the webmaster for AAHA because I would like to become more active in the organization. I feel this is a great opportunity and I am up for the challenge.  I have worked for two different AAHA-certified clinics and strongly believe in the organization’s ability to hold DVMs and clinics to a higher standard, which ultimately benefits patients. I hope my involvement in the website will convey this belief to others.

Graduating Soon?

Continue your relationship with AAHA for free, keeping current with the highest standards of care in veterinary medicine. We’d like to provide you with another opportunity to cultivate excellence from the classroom to the clinic with your free AAHA associate membership for one year and 50 percent off one AAHA yearly conference in the next three years!

As a new associate member, you’ll enjoy many new benefits, including:

• A complimentary copy of the Associate’s Survival Guide from AAHA Press, highly recommended as a great transitional resource for recent graduates diving into the veterinary profession
• Discounts on educational programs
• Trends magazine subscription
• Special pricing from AAHA MARKETLink and other AAHA Preferred Business Programs

You’ll also continue receiving the following member benefits:

• Subscriptions to the online Journal of the American Animal Hospital Association and our bi-weekly e-newsletter, NEWStat
• Access to Members Only content on www.aahanet.org, including many valuable resources such as the Membership Directory and Industry Affiliate Directory, and information about the AAHA Standards of Accreditation
• Free use of the new AAHA Career Center to post your resume or search for employment
• Member pricing on AAHA Press products

Mentoring Tools

The transition from classroom to practice is a crucial time in your career, one where a mentorship can serve as an extremely valuable tool. Mentorships improve communication, promote long-term job satisfaction and facilitate adoption of best practices, ultimately, improving patient care and overall hospital performance.

“When you graduate, finding the right place to practice where you have the guidance and attention that a mentorship provides is the key to you fulfilling your potential to be a great veterinarian. With the right mentoring, you will not only help the clinic you are working for, but you will be more satisfied with your job and love being a veterinarian for a lifetime,” says Anna Worth, DVM, AAHA president, 2008-2009.

AAHA has developed mentoring tools to help mentors and mentees alike facilitate and define the support needed to start and maintain a successful mentorship. The AAHA Mentoring Guidelines and more are available at student.aahanet.org.

• Mentoring Guidelines
• Action Steps for the Mentoring Relationship
• Mentee Guidelines, including the mentee role and responsibilities
• Mentor Guidelines, including the mentor role and responsibilities
• Mentorship Agreement Checklist

Your Source for Externships and Jobs at AAHA-Accredited Hospitals

On average, AAHA-accredited hospitals are more established, more medically adept and more financially successful than nonmembers.* Work with top-tier hospitals that have proven to be practicing the highest quality of medicine.

• NEW! The new AAHA Externship Directory is your one-stop-shop for opportunities at accredited practices. 
• Find jobs and internships at the AAHA Career Center, as well as other resources like the job agent, career development tools and more

*Financial & Productivity Pulsepoints, Fifth Edition.

2009-2010 Officer Elections!

We are opening up nominations for our available board positions.  Below are the descriptions of the positions.  Please send nominations to Deanna Baker at drbaker3@gmail.com by Sunday the 26th. If there are multiple nominations for a position, we will have an email vote by ISCAAHA members.

There are perks for being a board member! A $50 gift card for AAHA press and free subscription to Trends magazine (only Pres, VP, and secretary are eligble for these benefits)The president gets $100 at the end of term as well.

• Vice President

Vice President/President-Elect:  The majority of this position is being available to help the president and other members of the club and learning all the tasks the president completes throughout the year so you will be prepared to take that position the following year.  Go to monthly executive board meetings, help come up with ideas for lunch meetings, help set up and clean up for lunch meetings, help in passing out journals/books/fliers when they come in from nationals.  There are not really any specific tasks that are yours this year, mostly just filling in areas where extra help is needed and participating in executive decision making, but see the blurb about president as whoever takes this position will be president the following year. 

• Treasurer
  

The duties include keeping track of the club funds, balancing the check book, researching/ordering food for club events, reimbursing exec board members that purchase items for the club, and in general doing anything that would involve money for the club. The treasurer is also responsible for submitting funding requests in the fall to national headquarters. In general this is a pretty easy going position (as are all of the3 AAHA exec board positions) and looks GREAT on your resume for internships/residencies/scholarships! 

• Webmaster
  

Attend monthly officer meetings.  Update the website after monthly officer meetings, or as needed, to include upcoming meetings.  When the new roster list is compiled, update the AAHA member list on the website. The current webmaster will teach you how to work the website program.  There is now a blog and Google calendar that will make updating the website easier, straight from your own computer.  Please contact the current webmaster, Keely Delcore at delcore2@illinois.edu, if you have any questions.

• President  (this position isn't open this year but the VP will be president the following term)
  

Oversee recruitment and training of board members, and all activities for the student chapter. Serve as a professional figurehead for the organization and as liason between corporate AAHA and ISCAAHA. Organize and coordinate monthly board meetings as well as speakers and club meetings. Attend or delegate responsibility of attending AAHA annual conference.  "Attend" web conferences with other student chapter representatives (had ~3 this year). Receive and distribute AAHA products and pamphlets. Set up, educate those tending to, and run AAHA's Open House booth.

Did you know?

AAHA Member Directory

• AAHA website's Member Directory provides you with a list of AAHA-accredited hospitals.
• You will need to be an AAHA member and you will have to log in to see the list. If you have trouble logging in, contact iscaaha@gmail.com for your member ID number.
• You can search by hospital name, individual name, city, state, zip, radius, etc … this is a great resource if you are looking for networking opportunities.
• The AAHA corporation is working on getting a list of externships at AAHA-accredited hospitals, but in the meantime this provides another option for contacting AAHA-accredited hospitals.