The Background of Decade One

As the managing partner of a fairly big equine referral practice, I interacted with many interns over my last decade in practice; Rhinebeck Equine had four interns each year by the time I retired from clinical practice. Especially during and after the recession of 2008-2010, I began to feel that new equine practitioners really needed a “leg up” in order for their careers to be successful. As I transitioned into a consultant role and left clinical practice, my focus and passion became helping those that will be the future leaders of the equine veterinary profession. My experience as a member of a VMG group for 10 years made me very cognizant of the value of having a group of peers as an advisory board, because talking with veterinarians experiencing the same challenges can be invaluable. Based on this experience, providing networking with a group of colleagues became the cornerstone of the concept as I developed the Decade One groups in 2015.

The Decade One groups were designed to be broadly regional, with 20-25 members living and practicing within the area. This was meant to help keep them affordable and local. The curriculum was designed to be workshop-based and interactive, with opportunities for the members to explore their personal careers, aspirations, and practices. The business meetings provided some didactic content but included many workshop elements. Helping each other has always been a core element of the program. A Facebook page limited to the members was set up for each group, and the members interacted throughout the weeks between meetings, asking each other questions and reporting on changes they have made to their practices as a result of the meetings.

Early career equine veterinarians are changing in what they want and need from Decade One. After reflecting on my goal of having a continuing impact on our profession, the new format for groups forming in 2025 and beyond will include short online modules and monthly zoom discussions. There will be an opportunity to gather in person once per year at the Sustainability in Equine Practice Seminar, with dedicated catch up time for each cohort. The group discussions will be led by Doctors Stacey Cordivano, Misty Gray and Kelly Zeytoonian (who are the facilitators of the SEPS meeting and are all Decade One alumni!)

All of us at Decade One are dedicated to the future success of equine veterinarians, and have partnered to support the Decade One groups. We are excited to continue to help make the careers of equine veterinarians more satisfying and sustainable.

Amy L Grice VMD MBA