My Veterinary Life

“When you feel called to, find the courage, find your voice, and find your way forward. Build your community of allies and cheerleaders around you, which is what I did.” Our guest today is Dr. Sonja Olson. Dr. Olson has had an incredible career! We dig into how the road was not a straight path to where she is now and how it all ended up working out in an unexpected way for her to pursue her dreams. We discuss how it takes a lot of self-reflection to determine what next steps are the best for you in your career and ways to follow your passions, which in Dr. Olson’s case culminated into a book on veterinary wellbeing that was just released! It is a great conversation, and we learn so much from her positive attitude towards challenges and unforeseen bumps along the road. We cannot wait to share her journey with you. Remember we want to hear from you! Please be sure to subscribe to our feed on Apple Podcasts and leave us a ratings and review. You can also contact us at MVLPodcast@avma.org You can also follow us

“That’s what happens when you come together in community, and you take advantage of everybody’s strengths and you recognize, ‘I don’t need to tell you how to be different, I’m going to show you in my own life and then I’m going to invite you to consider coming on that journey with me.’ I think that’s how you change the world, actually.”Our guest today is Dr. Betsy Charles. Dr. Charles wears many hats in the veterinary profession. In today’s episode we talk about her role as the facilitator for the 2022 Veterinary Leadership Conference keynote session. During our discussion we talk about the importance of stories and how showing people something is infinitely more effective compared to just telling people. Our conversation doesn’t stop there, we talk about vulnerability and self-assessments and so much more. This is a truly inspiring and insightful conversation, and we are so excited to share this journey with you! Remember we want to hear from you! Please be sure to subscribe to our feed on Apple Podcasts and

“Let’s find your story. That’s the important part. Find your story. And, you know, the lesson for all of us, is that we all have a story. Everybody has a story.”Our guest today is Dr. Morgan McArthur. Dr. McArthur was one of the keynote speakers for the 2022 Veterinary Leadership Conference. We chat about the importance of finding and owning your story and how the stories we tell ourselves can really impact your outlook on the day! It’s a fun, inspiring and insightful conversation. We are so excited to share this journey with you! Remember we want to hear from you! Please be sure to subscribe to our feed on Apple Podcasts and leave us a ratings and review. You can also contact us at MVLPodcast@avma.org You can also follow us on social media @AVMAVets #MyVetLife #MVLPodcast

“And I think if we take that sort of, more of a collaborative approach, I think it’s, you know, as long as we feel good and we feel comfortable with that, I think it’s a great approach to try and take even in GP or in emergency. I, you know like I said, I don’t like eyes. So for years on emergency, if that was the next triage o that was the next case, I’d be like, I will do anything for you. I’d look at the other vets there. I will suture up wounds. I will go calculate 10 CRI’s that you need to do right now, if you will see that eye case.”Our guest today is Dr. Dana Varble. Dr. Varble is currently the chief veterinary officer at NAVC. She shares how she has shaped her career into something loves and has fun with every day. She has spent time in general practice, emergency and exotic practice as well as association work and editing/publications. We have the best time chatting and cannot wait to share this journey with you!Remember we want to hear from you! Please be sure to subscribe to our feed on Apple Podca

Our guest today is Dr. Anna Reddish. Many of you may know Dr. Reddish as one of the original co-hosts of My Veterinary Life Podcast. We chat today about new opportunities and what it is like to take a leap to try something new. She shares the importance of self-reflection and really being honest about what your goals are for both your personal and professional life. It’s a fun conversation full of great advice and we cannot wait to share this journey with you!Remember we want to hear from you! Please be sure to subscribe to our feed on Apple Podcasts and leave us a ratings and review. You can also contact us at MVLPodcast@avma.org You can also follow us on social media @AVMAVets #MyVetLife #MVLPodcast

“I had to choose and make that, change that trauma and that sadness that was so deep and make it into something that gave me motivation to go into veterinary medicine and be somebody who can bring people together and who can bring out the empathy in those moments.”Our guest today is Hidayah Martinez-Jaka. Hidayah is completing her fourth you of veterinary school. This would already be a full plate, but she also is the current SAVMA President AND was part of the incredible Keynote Experience at the 2022 Veterinary Leadership Conference. She joins us to build on her story of finding the light in veterinary medicine. It’s a great conversation and we can’t wait to share this journey with you. Remember we want to hear from you! Please be sure to subscribe to our feed on Apple Podcasts and leave us a ratings and review. You can also contact us at MVLPodcast@avma.org You can also follow us on social media @AVMAVets #MyVetLife #MVLPodcast

“My biggest thing was, I said I’m a veterinarian and how that one word created so much conversation. And that’s how I ended it to the quietest of people. Because you have reserved youth, reserved children, and by just saying that. And that’s what I feel like as veterinarians we need to remember.”Our guest today is Dr. Stephanie Jones. Dr. Jones was one of our early guests on My Veterinary Life Podcast and she joins us today to discuss the story she shared during the 2022 Veterinary Leadership Keynote experience. We focus today on how we can bring the light out in those around us and often it is as simple as saying the word veterinarian. It’s a great conversation and we can’t wait to share this journey with you.Remember we want to hear from you! Please be sure to subscribe to our feed on Apple Podcasts and leave us a ratings and review. You can also contact us at MVLPodcast@avma.orgYou can also follow us on social media @AVMAVets #MyVetLife #MVLPodcast

Our guest today is Dr. Jen Brandt. Dr. Brandt is the Director for Member Wellbeing Initiatives at the AVMA. She joins us for a quick conversation on some timely topics in wellbeing. Dr. Brandt offers some highlights from the most recent Merck Wellbeing Study and what we can do with this information. It’s a great conversation and we can’t wait to share it with you. Remember we want to hear from you! Please be sure to subscribe to our feed on Apple Podcasts and leave us a ratings and review. You can also contact us at MVLPodcast@avma.org You can also follow us on social media @AVMAVets #MyVetLife #MVLPodcast

“Find your North Star. What’s your North Star? I have a necklace that has a pendant on it and people are always asking, ‘What does that mean?’ It’s a reminder to find my North Star. If everything disappeared and I could not be a veterinary technician, and I didn’t work for the organization that I work for and I’m involved in the activities, at the end of the day, what’s my North Star?” Our guest today is Garnetta Santiago. Garnetta is a registered veterinary technician and has had an incredible career! Today we focus on the story she shared during the 2022 Veterinary Leadership Conference Keynote. We discuss the power of story telling and what impact you can have on others both in your personal and professional life. It’s an incredible conversation and we can’t wait to share this journey with you. Remember we want to hear from you! Please be sure to subscribe to our feed on Apple Podcasts and leave us a ratings and review. You can also contact us at MVLPodcast@avma.org You can also follow us on social media @

“You know veterinary medicine has provided me a great life over the last years. And I keep emphasizing that because I don’t think we hear it enough. I don’t think we hear enough that, you know, that veterinary medicine can be a great life. It’s very rewarding. I mean it has its challenges but everything has its challenges.”Our guest today is Dr. Vernard Hodges. Dr. Hodges was one of the keynote speakers at the 2022 Veterinary Leadership Conference. You may also recognize him from the hit TV Show Critter Fixers. In this episode we discuss the importance of mentorship and what an amazing career Veterinary Medicine can offer to anyone. This was an extremely fun and inspiring conversation and we can’t wait to share this journey with you. Remember we want to hear from you! Please be sure to subscribe to our feed on Apple Podcasts and leave us a ratings and review. You can also contact us at MVLPodcast@avma.org You can also follow us on social media @AVMAVets #MyVetLife #MVLPodcast

“And I think that was the first instance of you have to be able to pivot. You are going to be put in positions or situations that you probably never thought you would and so you have to make the most of it. And so, I did a lot of quick learning on my feet, like, ‘you’re the only doctor right now, you’re fresh out, you have to call in reinforcements.’”Our guest today is Dr. Lauren Rowe. Dr. Rowe is the newest member of the AVMA’s Student Initiatives team. We learn what her road to veterinary medicine looked like and how community played a big part in that! She also shares what went into her decision to pursue an internship and then return to faculty at Tuskegee as well as how she first learned about the opportunity at the AVMA. It’s a great conversation and we can’t wait to share this journey with you. Remember we want to hear from you! Please be sure to subscribe to our feed on Apple Podcasts and leave us a ratings and review. You can also contact us at MVLPodcast@avma.org You can also follow us on social me

“It really hit me that, you know, this could be something oncologists could use. There really is a huge gap also with just access to oncology. I think it was the National Cancer Institute came out and said about 6 million dogs a year get cancer and if you look, there is actually less than 450 boarded veterinary oncologists in the US and Canada.”Our guest today is Rachael Venable. Dr. Venable is a board-certified oncologist and founder of Pet Cancer Care Consulting. We talk about becoming board certified including her internship and residency experience and what it was like to start a business. It’s a great conversation and we are so excited to share this journey with you. Remember we want to hear from you! Please be sure to subscribe to our feed on Apple Podcasts and leave us a ratings and review. You can also contact us at MVLPodcast@avma.org You can also follow us on social media @AVMAVets #MyVetLife #MVLPodcastIf you would like to know more about Pet Cancer Care Consulting, please visit Dr. Venable’s websi

“Looking back I feel really blessed that I had two choices, I could either go down the path of being an artist or possibly being a scientist and I thought, ‘ok if I could be a veterinarian, this is going to be exactly what I’m meant to do.’ I feel lucky that I had that vision as a child and that’s what I wanted to do. So yeah, it was an easy choice, growing up, I wanted to be a veterinarian.”Our guest today is Dr. Joanne Maki. Dr. Maki is the Technical Director for North America Veterinary Public Health with Boehringer Ingelheim. She shares her incredible career journey and how one newspaper ad for a veterinarian changed the course of her career. We also talk about how she blends her passion for science and creativity into her research. It’s an incredible conversation and we can’t wait to share it with you! Remember we want to hear from you! Please be sure to subscribe to our feed on Apple Podcasts and leave us a ratings and review. You can also contact us at MVLPodcast@avma.org You can also follow us on soc

“My stepdad, who I adore, and I quote him all the time. One of the things he always told me, ‘Never run away from something, always run to something’. So, if you don’t like your job, that’s not a reason, really to go looking, that’s not a reason to take something else.”Our guest today is Dr. Lisa Fortier. She recently joined the staff of AVMA as the Editor in Chief for publications and we loved having this opportunity to get to know more about her. We talk about how mentors played a pivotal role in her career and helped her find the opportunity at Cornell University where she spent over 30 years! She then shares how she has found a way to combine her passion for reading, science, problem solving AND helping others find their voice in her new role at the AVMA. We also learn about many exacting changes coming to AVMA publications. It is a fun and insightful conversation, and we cannot wait to share this journey with you. Remember we want to hear from you! Please be sure to subscribe to our feed on Apple Podcas

“You know I really look back and things that I found myself doing that I may not have chosen to do really gave me a wealth of experience and helped me bring a completely different set of skills to this position.”Our guest today is Dr. Sharon Wappel. Dr. Wappel currently works for Zoetis as an Associate Director of Global Biologics and a Small Animal Clinician. We talk about all the turns her career has taken and some of the challenges she has faced and how she overcame them. It is an incredible conversation and we learned so much. We cannot wait to share this conversation with you!Remember we want to hear from you! Please be sure to subscribe to our feed on Apple Podcasts and leave us a ratings and review. You can also contact us at MVLPodcast@avma.orgYou can also follow us on Social Media @AVMAVets #MyVetLife #MVLPodcast

“What I learned was, it’s just about building relationships and seeing how you can fit in the puzzle, just education. A lot of it was letting them know what there was available and what could be done.”Our guest today is Misty Tobyne. Misty is a veterinary technician who works for Hill’s Pet Nutrition. We talk about her road to veterinary medicine and how she jumped straight into an role in industry thanks to one of her professors. She shares what she has loved about her career path and how her roles in the company have evolved over time. It’s a great conversation and we can’t wait to share this journey with you!Remember we want to hear from you! Please be sure to subscribe to our feed on Apple Podcasts and leave us a ratings and review. You can also contact us at MVLPodcast@avma.org You can also follow us on Social Media @AVMAVets #MyVetLife #MVLPodcast

“The thing that I would say to anybody listening, is that you are doing great. It’s a hard time to be in the veterinary field. You know, I know so many people are overwhelmed and just remember that you know, that what you are doing is enough and that if you need help, to reach out to somebody and that you are definitely not alone in the struggle right now.”Our guest today is Dr. Yvette Huizar. Dr. Huizar joins us to continue our discussion on diversity, inclusion and belonging in veterinary medicine. She shares why it was so important to create the Latinx Veterinary Medical Association and how she did this through veterinary school and continues to work on it during her internship. We learned so much and are incredibly honored to share this conversation with you. Remember we want to hear from you! Please be sure to subscribe to our feed on Apple Podcasts and leave us a ratings and review. You can also contact us at MVLPodcast@avma.org You can also follow us on Social Media @AVMAVets #MyVetLife #MVLPodcast

“And I’ll say one thing about mission statements, is that they constantly change. I don’t think that I had this, well I know I didn’t have this mission statement a year and a half ago.”Our guest today is Dr. Sumeet Gupta. Dr. Gupta joins us to continue our discussion on diversity, inclusion and belonging in veterinary medicine. He shares an incredible list of resources that you will want to go and check out! We also chat a little about his career and how different experiences have helped shape his road throughout veterinary medicine. We learned so much and are incredibly honored to share this conversation with you. Remember we want to hear from you! Please be sure to subscribe to our feed on Apple Podcasts and leave us a ratings and review. You can also contact us at MVLPodcast@avma.org You can also follow us on Social Media @AVMAVets #MyVetLife #MVLPodcast

“What we sort of know deep down is that changing the way our community looks is a long term goal. And it’s not something that we are going to solve as quickly as needing a task force overnight. And so not, sort of, the real work begins.”Our guest today is Dr. Evelyn Galban. Dr. Galban is an associate professor of neurology and neurosurgery at Penn Vet. She is also the founder of the Native American Veterinary Association. We talk about her journey through veterinary medicine and dig into why diversity is so crucial in this profession. She shares so many great insights and stories. It’s a great conversation, you won’t want ot miss. We learned so much and are incredibly honored to share this conversation with you. Remember we want to hear from you! Please be sure to subscribe to our feed on Apple Podcasts and leave us a ratings and review. You can also contact us at MVLPodcast@avma.org You can also follow us on Social Media @AVMAVets #MyVetLife #MVLPodcast

“And I remind myself you know, ‘Who are you going to be today, Mia are you going to be the best version of yourself? Are you going to be part of the solution? Or are you not?’ And so, that’s how I chose it.”Our guest today is Dr. Mia Cary. This is the third time Dr. Cary has joined us on the show, so be sure to check out her previous episodes. Today she helps us kick off our 4-part miniseries focused on Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging. We also talk a lot about Radical Candor and how those concepts can help us approach conversations that challenge us. We learned so much and are incredibly honored to share this conversation with you. Remember we want to hear from you! Please be sure to subscribe to our feed on Apple Podcasts and leave us a ratings and review. You can also contact us at MVLPodcast@avma.org You can also follow us on Social Media @AVMAVets #MyVetLife #MVLPodcastHere is a list of links referenced in today’s episode: https://pridevmc.org/gender-identity-bill-of-rights/ https://padlet.com