# 410 - How to Build Confident, Competent Early Career Vets

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-cone-of-shame-veterinary-podcast-1191328/410-how-to-build-confident-competent-early-career-vets
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-cone-of-shame-veterinary-podcast-1191328/410-how-to-build-confident-competent-early-career-vets.md
Podcast: [The Cone of Shame Veterinary Podcast](https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-cone-of-shame-veterinary-podcast-1191328)
Published: 2026-07-30T04:01:00+00:00
Episode link: https://the-cone-of-shame.captivate.fm/episode/410-how-to-build-confident-competent-early-career-vets
Audio file: https://episodes.captivate.fm/episode/b22d5eb7-fb01-4a28-ac60-126d39b5a27e.mp3
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JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/the-cone-of-shame-veterinary-podcast-1191328/episodes/410-how-to-build-confident-competent-early-career-vets
Duration seconds: 1443

## Resource

Building Confident New Grad Vets: Mentorship, Psychological Safety, and Onboarding That Works Dr. Jason Szumski, DVM, joins Dr. Andy Roark to tackle a problem every hospital feels, new grads want to do great medicine, but they are often scared of mistakes, lawsuits, and being “on their own” before they are ready. They dig into why mentorship is the top priority for vet students, what strong onboarding actually looks like (psychological safety, structured but flexible timelines, and honest expectations that new grads are an investment), and how to build real autonomy without ripping away the security blanket. Jason shares practical mentor and mentee strategies, including having new doctors bring a plan, getting hands-on in surgery, using curiosity instead of confrontation, and reinforcing confidence by revisiting past wins. Gang, let’s get into this episode. Keywords: veterinary mentorship, new graduate veterinarian, veterinary onboarding, clinical confidence. https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasonszumski (LinkedIn) Dr. Jason Szumski is an entrepreneurial practicing veterinarian, speaker, and educator focused on helping veterinarians work more efficiently and sustainably in clinical practice. He graduated from the University of Illinois College of Veterinary Medicine in 2023, where he served as both class president and president of the Veterinary Business Management Association (VBMA). After spending three years in a fast-paced suburban Chicago emergency hospital, he transitioned into his current role as Medical Director of a five-doctor general practice, giving him experience in both high-volume ER medicine and long-term primary care leadership. He is also the co-founder of VetSOAP, an AI-powered workflow tool used by thousands of veterinarians daily to streamline medical r…

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