My Veterinary Life

Welcome to this week’s episode of My Veterinary Life Podcast. We are joined by returning guest, Dr. Kara Escutia. Dr. Escutia is a Trust Veterinarian with AVMA’s PLIT and today our focus is on introducing the concept of spectrum of care from a liability lens. We discuss the definition and how to approach this in the clinical setting with clients and work with their individual circumstances. Dr. Es...

In this podcast episode, co-hosts Dr. Annie Chavent and Dr. Marci Kirk interview Dr. Linda Black, CEO of Gallant Therapeutics. They discuss Dr. Black's career journey in veterinary medicine, her interest in regenerative medicine, and her transition from scientist to CEO. Dr. Black shares her experiences in consulting, advisory boards, and product development, and offers advice to listeners interes...

In this episode, Dr. Steve Oehley, founder of Next Step Vet, shares his journey from being a clinical veterinarian to a career coach. He discusses the importance of self-reflection, understanding one's strengths, interests, and purpose, and finding work that aligns with these. Dr. Oehley also talks about his experience with work-related stress and its impact on personal relationships. He shares hi...

In this podcast episode, Dr. Chatfield shares her journey from considering a career as a flight attendant to becoming an associate veterinarian at a local zoo. She discusses her various roles, including lecturer, podcast host, and advisory board member for DVM 360. She emphasizes the importance of seizing opportunities and learning from others. Dr. Chatfield also shares her volunteer experiences i...

Ariana Anderson, DVM, joins us as our special guest in this episode. Dr. Anderson, a relief veterinarian, shares with us her unique experiences even from early on when trying to decide whether to go into vet med or linguistics. We hear about how ice cream sandwiches lead to lifelong friends, LLC v. sole proprietorships, and insurance needs as a relief vet. We talk about setting simple yet effectiv...

Our guest today is a Dr. Andres Montoya. He is currently the Associate Director, Technical Services Poultry at Merck Animal Health. We discuss his wide-ranging experiences from completing veterinary school in Columbia, to learning English and teaching in the U.S., to global industry jobs, all the way to his current role. We discuss the importance of growing your connections, following your passion...

Our guest this week just finished her externship with the AVMA. Megan Kellen, Doctor of Veterinary Medicine Candidate at Iowa State University, gives us her unique perspective about the experience. We learn how she combines math, science, and the love of animals in vet med. We discuss the importance of being involved in your SAVMA chapter and knowing what is being advocated for in your state. We t...

This episode’s special guest is Jason Nickell, DVM, PhD, DACVPM. Dr. Jason is the Director of Insights and Outcomes at Merck Animal Health. We learn how he grew up around animals and follow in dad’s footsteps into vet med. He had a private practice with mixed practice, but something was missing. We discuss his exposure to different parts of the industry, food animal R&D, and production systems...

In this episode, Dr. Annette Chapman and Dr. Simone Tomlinson share their experiences as USDA veterinarians. They discuss the various aspects of their job, including clinical work, logistics, flexibility, and travel. The guests provide insights into the application process for government jobs and offer tips for success. They also highlight the importance of exploring different opportunities in vet...

Our guest for this episode is Lowell Midla, VMD, MS, a Cattle Technical Services Veterinarian at Merck Animal Health. Growing up on a cattle farm we hear how he wanted to be a scientist, engineer, and a vet to solve infectious bovine kerato-conjunctivitis. From joining a mixed animal practice out of vet school to learning thru emergencies, and ultimately being prepared for opportunities, we hear h...

Our guest this episode is the one and only Dr. Andy Roark. He is a practicing veterinarian, international speaker, author, media personality, the founder of the Uncharted Veterinary Conference, and was the VBMA National President. We talk about how following a girl to the labs at the National Institute of Health and volunteering at the zoo leads to a Vet degree and working on a snake farm during g...

Dr. Jeff Olivarez returns to the podcast to give us his dos and don’ts of internship. Now an Assistant Clinical Professor in the Agricultural Animal Medicine and Surgery Department at Washington State University, he talks about being involved in SAVMA and realizing his love for students as a driving force for pursuing an internship. We learn great life lessons about comparisons, finding a broad-ba...

Matt Asciutto, DVM is our guest, and we learn so much from him! He is an ER overnight relief vet, a dad, a podcast host, a songwriter, and an author. According to Matt, he did not follow the ‘normal’ route into vet school but instead followed a girl after trading improv lessons for vet care. We cover everything from parenthood, daycare guilt, writing a song about metronidazole, and inspiring other...

Wrapping up our internship series with deep diving into the lab animal specialty. Our guest, Jessica Plunkard, DVM, MPH, did her Lab Animal Residency at Johns Hopkins University. We hear how she became interested in lab animal before starting vet school and we learn about the match process and most importantly, the early deadlines. From managing colony health to facilities to staff, residency give...

Continuing our internship series, this episode we talk about all things zoo medicine internship and residency with Dr. Rachel Tuner and Dr. Liandrie Swanepoel. From bears to alligators, lions, and rabbits, our guests have seen it all! Dr. Turner is an associate veterinarian at the Birmingham Zoo, and she tells is about both her internships and her 3-year zoo med residency at the University of Flor...

As we continue in our internship series, our guest for this episode is Dr. Shireen Zolghadri and she shares her experience pursuing an equine internship. We start with her background growing up in Georgia with no animals in the house. During high school we hear how she shadowed in an ER Vet on Sundays. Wanting to stay involved, Dr. Zolghardi shares how she made it a point to join a variety of club...

We are kicking off a new series, all about internships. Dr. Emily Tincher is the current Sr. Director of Pet Health at Nationwide Pet and our first guest of this series! We dive into all things internship related as she talks about the decision to take a year to invest in herself and do the internship, her priorities/criteria for matching. We discuss the ranking and matching process and how to neg...

This week’s episode of My Veterinary Life Podcasts features two very special guests. We are joined by Drs. Megan Skeffington and Christy Michael to talk about Artificial Intelligence. They both have the opportunity to follow this passion with their work at IDEXX. It is a great conversation focused on what artificial intelligence is and is not, opportunities to utilize AI in veterinary medicine and...

Buckle in as we chase passions with Beth Venit, VMD, MPH, DACVPM! As a late bloomer, we hear how she tried it all from park ranger, marine biologist, to veterinarian. She discusses her difficult decision to leave the ER practice she loved for a lifestyle shift, which led to an exploration of public policy work as a AAAS Fellow and at the US Department of State. Seeking new professional growth, she...

Cathy Santos, a student at Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine, is our guest for this episode. We refer to her as “our Cathy” as she is a student extern with the membership division for the AVMA. She tells us the story of being saved by a terrier and how it has led her to become a veterinarian. She discusses being empowered to try new things during convention week, imposter syndrome,...

Our guest for this episode is one of the keynote speakers at the 2023 AVMA Convention. Mariana Atencio is a Peabody award-winning journalist, best-selling author, motivational speaker, and television host. She recaps her keynote speech and encourages us to walk in our power. We learn that there are parallels across all professions about thinking on your feet, being authentic and flipping the scrip...

Our special guest for this episode is Dr. Caleb Frankel, Founder/CEO of Instinct Science, ER Veterinarian, and Author/Speaker. We hear how he became passionate about emergency and critical care and how that led to an intense interest with the state of technology in vet med. From dumpster diving in the middle of the night to having a start-up in his basement, this episode addresses challenges and f...

This is our quarterly vet debt session and our guest is Dr. Elaina Petrone, DVM and owner at Long Branch Animal Hospital. As a graduate from the University of Pennsylvania in 2014, she is not shy about her debt. We hear how she accidentally started planning out the repayment road on a group date and now has an annual wellness exam for debt to help stay on track. We hear how important it was import...

In this episode we talk to Dr. Elliot Garber. He is a veterinarian, entrepreneur, author, public health practitioner, and Army officer. A Tuft's graduate with MPH and DVM, he received an Army scholarship so we talk about that experience and what life was like right after graduation. He discusses writing a novel, selling 2 businesses, and keeping a healthy appetite for risk. We hear how commenting...

Our guest for this episode is Theo Berlanga, current veterinarian student at the University of Illinois. We hear their moving story and all the ways to actively get involved with diversity, equity, and inclusion. Theo disucsses the importantance of sharing stories and making connections as well as the difference between malice and ignorance. We hope this episode inspires you as much as it inspires...