Pet's Choice partners with A&M

College Station, Tex.-Pet's Choice, is partnering with the College of Veterinary Medicine at Texas A&M University to provide the veterinary medical profession with a "high impact" program that will address professional and leadership development for the veterinarian.

Pet's Choice is a veterinary medical group with 50 hospitals, 20 of whichare in Texas.

The new program was initiated following the establishment of the BridgesEndowed Chair in Leadership in Veterinary Medical Education at Texas A&Mby Charles H. Bridges, a retired department head in the college and hiswife, Mildred Kruse Bridges. The chair is believed to be the first chairin North America specifically devoted to establishing a program for leadershipin veterinary medical education.

The first recipient of the new chair is Dr. E. Dean Gage, associate deanfor Professional Programs at Texas A&M University and former executivevice president and provost and interim president of Texas A&M.

The Pet's Choice gift of $10,000 per year for two years will help TexasA&M start the new center, which the college intends to develop intoThe Institute for Executive Leadership in Veterinary Medicine. With matchingfunds the college has been able to procure and funds from the Bridges Chair,there will be significant resources necessary to seed the new program, startprojects and pursue additional support, the college reports.

Texas A&M has instituted a new required course and professional developmentseminars in the first year of the curriculum on professional development,ethical decision-making and leadership for the veterinarian.

"It is our commitment to graduate veterinarians who are not onlyhighly competent from the scientific and technological perspective, butwho also have the leadership and interpersonal skills to be successful inworking with individuals and teams of people," says Gage.

The focus of the new program will be to develop individual leadershipand interpersonal skills in veterinary medical students and veterinariansas they lead teams of people in the workplace. This focus will also includethe character and ethical foundations fundamental to leadership and professionalism,according to Gage.