Mentoring Rules and Guidance

Professional Conduct & Confidentiality:  You must behave professionally at all times and abide by the FAB Clinicians Code of Conduct and related policies even if you are not a FAB Clinicians member yourself (please see the web site www.fabclinicians.org/code-of-conduct for details).

While you may make written notes during a case, no audio, photos, video or screen recordings may ever be taken.  Any information released to you and any of your written notes must be stored securely and kept absolutely confidential between the client, referring vet, supervising clinician and participating mentees, then deleted within three months of the consultation (except for your written notes).  Any written notes must not contain any information that could allow the client to be identified.

Support each other:  respect, trust and care for your peers who are also partaking in these mentoring sessions.  This includes each other’s professional and personal development – let’s grow together and actively and positively engage with each other.  Do not communicate with the Mentor’s clients/agents or referring veterinary surgeons/practices, or those of other participating mentees, without prior permission of the Mentor and the respective mentee.  Likewise, do not copy any of the any written material provided by Mentor and the participating mentees in any way without the full permission of the Mentor and the respective mentee.  If the Mentor has any concerns that you are not fully embracing this supportive fellowship ethos, or are not engaging with your peers appropriately, then depending on the severity of the issue, they will give you two warnings before you are removed from the service completely.

Cancellation and rescheduling:  You must give a minimum of 72 hours notice to reschedule or cancel an appointment, otherwise the full session fee is payable. In exceptional circumstances, the Mentor may need to rearrange a mentoring session. In those instances you will be given 48 hours notice where practical. Sessions take place as set out in the booking email. Content and length of sessions is set out in the joining instructions.

Cancellation by the Mentor:  The Mentor reserves the right to cancel or postpone a session without liability and you will be offered an alternative session date, a credit note or a refund.  The Mentor reserves the right to alter the session content, alter the session location at any time without liability.

Fair use policy:  We want to help you as much as possible with any queries you may have whilst being mentored.  However, this is subject to a ‘fair use’ policy  i.e. the number of queries must be within reason.  The Mentor works Monday to Thursday 10am-4pm and aims to return your message within five working days.  If we feel that you are contacting us too frequently (e.g. more than two times a week) or correspondence takes longer than 30 minutes, then we may suggest a follow-up session, or we may have to charge for our time.  If we feel there are excessive emails, messages or phone calls from you beyond the bounds of our contract, we reserve the right to point that out and decline to get back to you.  We trust this won’t happen, but wanted to make sure there are no misunderstandings.

Nature of Mentoring:  you understand that…

• You should accept the risks and be prepared:  you may well get bitten!  Although we try to minimise the likelihood, working with animals carries risks of injury and unexpected behaviour.  You are responsible for your own actions and advice given to others.  We ask that all mentees are fully insured to a minimum amount of £1 million for professional indemnity and public liability insurance, even if they are just virtually and silently observing the Mentor’s cases and reserve the right to see proof of your insurance cover.
• You will be shadowing or be working under the supervision of the Mentor and having access to real world experience relating to animal behaviour counselling, animal behaviour modification and/or training, and to the Mentor’s clients and their pets. However, you understand and agree that the Mentor will not be actively “teaching” you. It is your responsibility to undertake whatever learning you need in order to gain the qualification, or the skills and experience needed to practice in your desired field of work.
• Mentoring results are not guaranteed. You are responsible for creating your own results. Where information on a specific option is supplied, this does not constitute a recommendation.
• Mentoring is neither counselling nor psychotherapy. If you have specific concerns about your health, you should always seek advice from a suitably qualified healthcare professional.
• Any financial discussions are of a general nature only and should not be relied on as a substitute for financial, taxation, investment or other professional advice. You should always seek advice from a qualified professional before deciding on the best investment or financial strategy.

Special Requirements
If you have any special requirements in relation to your participation in the Mentoring Session please contact us as soon as possible to discuss your requirements on (+44) (0) 121 299 0188.

Choosing an appropriate mentoring service:  Every individual is different but do consider the following guidelines.  If you are very early on in your career and have not completed a great deal of relevant academic study or have little practical experience, then we suggest you initially have a ‘Pick My Brains’ one-to-one chat with the Mentor.  If you are enrolled on a CCAB-validated or ABTC CAB-recognised course, then you may be able to shadow or observe the Mentor’s cases. If you have attained CCAB Pre-Certification, or if you consult on approximately 10 vet-referred behaviour cases a year, then you are welcome to join the flocking mentoring scheme.  If you are sourcing your own cases, then as long as you practice within the limits of your own competence as per the FAB Clinicians Code of Conduct, then we would be happy to mentor you and discuss your cases through the ‘Pick My Brains’ service or by the Mentor sitting in on your consultations.

Responsibility:  Under veterinary oversight, the Mentor is ultimately responsible for the behaviour management of animals referred to Second Nature Behaviour, even if they are used as part of the flock mentoring scheme.  Nonetheless our mentees often deal with the day-to-day management of a case and so are expected to treat our clients as if they were their own.  You are expected to look after Second Nature Behaviour clients and follow the Mentor’s recommendations. Copy the Mentor in on all correspondence with the client and the vet. Please keep the Mentor updated on the general case progress.  If you’re unsure about how to proceed at a juncture in the case, then ask the Mentor.

If case was initially referred to you, although your referring vet and client will consent to the Mentor’s direct supervision in the consultation and to seeing the case material, the ultimate responsibility for animal’s behaviour management lies with you as the primary clinician. This allows you to use the Mentor as much or as little as you like.

Whether a case has been referred to you or to the Mentor, you are responsible for your own actions, omissions, interactions and advice provided to others related to any animal behaviour cases you attend, even if they were under the Mentor’s guidance or direct supervision.  So any resulting liability insurance claims must be made under your own insurance and not the Mentor’s.

If you fail to follow the Mentor’s advice at the detriment to animal welfare, particularly for serious or repeated occurrences, then the Mentor will report you to the referring veterinary surgeon, line manager, relevant regulatory bodies (e.g. RCVS, CCAB Certification, ABTC or a membership body) or legal authorities as appropriate.  Second Nature Behaviour does not endorse the use of physical punitive correction unless required to prevent injury. Our welfare and protection policy is that any health or welfare issues found to be of concern will be reported to the local government authority and RSPCA inspector, or local Police where appropriate.