The Next Generation of Veterinary Medicine

In this episode, you will hear the inside scoop from a third-year veterinary student at Michigan State University. Veterinary medicine was a longtime love, but a second career for Jessica Woo,d who is also a mother and photographer. Jessica also shares 

• her tips for other veterinary students and for those interested in vet school, 
• why she decided to go to vet school despite hearing discouragement from veterinarians,
• and her hopes and vision for the future of veterinary medicine. 

Ready, Vet, Go is a 7-month cohort veterinarian mentorship program with live mentorship, community, and real-world skills to help you grow your confidence. It's perfect for early-career vets and anyone transitioning into small animal practice, but anyone is welcome to join. New cohorts start in July and October. Enroll at https://readyvetgo.co/
Use code SPRINKLE for a 10% discount on enrollment!

Transcript

Jessica Wood: [00:00:00] My heart, always wanted to be a vet and I could never quite let that go. But then I would hear things like, it's too expensive. You know, you're making the wrong decision from seasoned vets where they were struggling at their point in their careers and their life, and I was like, you know what? Maybe this isn't a good decision for me. Maybe I shouldn't do this. And then.

Megan Sprinkle: Welcome to Vet Life Reimagined. It's been a little while since we've had a veterinary student on the podcast, so I'm especially excited to share this conversation with Jessica Wood, who just finished her second year at Michigan State University. I first came across Jessica through a Facebook post that caught my eye.

She was blending her earlier career in photography with her journey in veterinary medicine in such a creative and inspiring way. In this episode, we talk about her unique path, her experiences so far in vet school and what today's veterinary students are really thinking about, their hopes, their concerns.

And their vision for the future of the profession. Whether you're dreaming of vet school currently navigating the challenges of the [00:01:00] profession, or simply curious about what the next generation of veterinary professionals is bringing to the table, this conversation has something for you. So let's get to the conversation with Jessica Wood.

while this may be a little bit of a second career as you're going through vet school right now, I, I think if I remember correctly, you actually did have a interest in animals at a young age.

So when did that kind of start for you?

Jessica Wood: Yeah, so I'm the classic I wanted to be a veterinarian from a, a very young age. and then I went through middle school, still wanting to be a vet. I didn't get super involved until high school, We were asked to do an externship or an internship, I think is what they called it in high school. but also, I think I just had an interest in, in science in general.

And so I also, I, I wanted to be a vet, but then I was like, oh, I kind of like, you know, the anatomy side of things and I didn't know if I wanted to work with humans or animals at that point. and part of me, I was like, maybe I wanna be a forensic pathologist and do like autopsies and stuff. But of course [00:02:00] when I asked to do that internship in high school, they, they were like, no, we can't really get you that at this point in your life.

why don't you try to go to vet clinic? And so I went to the vet clinic and I think it was a sophomore in high school, and that's kind of when it really, um, my passion really took off. And I was able to see like what. Veterinarians do in their day to day. Um, I went to the small animal practice in my, hometown and it was amazing.

Like you have this idea growing up like, oh, I wanna take care of animals and sick animals. But it's just like, so much more than that and, the relationships you develop with the, clients and the, pet owners and, and just how moving that can be. And, it just kind of developed from there. And I, I ended up, continuing my internship and then went on to get hired and then, went to college and, you know, continued on working as an assistant for probably like 14 or 15 years. I'd have to do the math. But, during that [00:03:00] time I had a lot, a lot of other life experiences that I didn't go to vet school right away, which I'm very grateful for.

But yeah, I've had a passion for it since I was very young.

Megan Sprinkle: that's very insightful, I think, as a high schooler to recognize the other things that come with being a veterinarian, other than just kind of the doc, McStuffins kind of, you know, vision of veterinary medicine that, there's a lot more to it. It, do you remember a particular story or instance while, during that time that maybe kinda stood out to you?

Jessica Wood: Yeah. I actually wrote this for one of my vet school essays, which I'm sure a have experience, but I remember this very, , vividly sticking. And it had come in and at up until that point, I'd never seen any sort of traumatic situation. It was all just the routine, you know, vaccines surgeries. Um, it was a very controlled situation. And so this dog had come in and it was, unfortunately it wasn't doing very well. It was very mangled, but the [00:04:00] way I saw the team just kind of orchestrate so effortlessly, and I, I just took a step back and just watched and it just seemed like. Everybody knew what they were doing and they knew their role and the, the teamwork was just like, oh my gosh, this is amazing. And the best part of the story is that the dog ended up making it. And I was like, holy moly. Like how to just again, like have that teamwork. I was an athlete too, and so I was used to working with teams and I was like, oh, I think that piece of it like really vibed with me.

And I was like, wow, this is amazing. And then just seeing. The owners, you know, they had come in and they were so distraught and sad, understandably, and just the way that the doctor did their job and then was able to go back in and like comfort the client and just have that relationship with them. And it kind of just came full circle.

And, and luckily, like I said, it was a happy, happy ending. And it was just like, wow, I can do this? There's like so many layers to this job that are, that seem amazing that I had no idea about.

Megan Sprinkle: Yeah. You said you were an athlete. What sport did [00:05:00] you play?

Jessica Wood: was, I think they call us a four sport athlete, but I ran track, I played basketball, played volleyball, which I continued on in college. And then I played softball as well.

Megan Sprinkle: Wow. You did play a lot. Yeah, and I, we don't talk a lot about sports and veterinary medicine, but I, not too long ago, I did have a conversation with somebody who's very into football and I said, I love being able to extract. The values and some of the, the takeaways from athletics in that team spirit, I think we can learn a lot from that.

working with others is often more challenging than it sounds, uh, so I do think that that is really valuable to bring. The other thing I caught that you said was that you, you're actually kind of glad you waited. To go into vet school. Do you mind sharing a little bit about your personal journey, kind of what might have delayed, uh, getting into vet school [00:06:00] and, and kind of what you learned along the way that feels good about now going into vet school.

Jessica Wood: Yeah, for sure. like I said, I, I was in high school. Um, I got a college scholarship to go play volleyball. So I ended up transferring and at that point I, in my undergrad, for my first two years of school I was studying, I think it was biological sciences, but I was doing my prereqs to go to hopefully go to vet school. I, I played my two years of volleyball and then I kind of had this moment where I was like, I don't like being a college athlete is very demanding. it's a full-time job. It actually seems more than a full-time job. Um, 'cause I feel like being a student is a full-time job, but then you have to wake up early and, and do pre-class workouts.

And then you have, you go to school and go to class, and then you end up going to, practice afterwards, and then you're traveling and, and it's an amazing experience. But after two years, I was kind of like, oh. is this what I really want? I'm not sure. I had went out to Hawaii [00:07:00] and went to a volleyball tournament and I absolutely just fell in love with everything there.

The culture, the weather, the beaches, you know, all the things that we all love about Hawaii. And it kind of struck a chord to me where I was like, I think this is where I need to be. And so I moved out to Hawaii and it was a, a bit of a rough transition at first. I moved out there by myself. my family was not, not supportive, but they were kind of like.

What, it's so expensive out there. How are you gonna do it? I looked into, playing volleyball out there and transferring, and I had an opportunity to play out there, but when I really took a step back, I was like, if I wanna do that anymore, which now, student loan wise, I'm like, oh, I should have continued my getting those scholarships, but that's another conversation. but yeah, so I, I ended up moving out to Hawaii and took a year off of school. And when I did go back, I didn't have a very good semester. my grades suffered just 'cause I, I think I was. A very big transition period of my life where I was young [00:08:00] and living by myself on an island and meeting new people and, and trying to survive financially. so yeah, I, didn't have a very good semester and I was like, oh no, that I'm never gonna get into vet school now. Like you have to have a 4.0, you know, in my head at that point, I had that thought and. I ended up getting pregnant and having my first daughter, who is now 12 years old, which is crazy to think about, but, so that kind of put a pause on things too.

But when she was one years old, I was like, you know what? I, I really wanna go back to, maybe working towards going to vet school. And I was working as a vet assistant during that time, and the doctor who, is the best mentor ever really was like, you, you should keep pursuing it.

Like, don't let you know being a mom. dissuade you from going. so I was like, you know what, I'm gonna do it. And so I just continued working away at my bachelor's and then just some personal, , stuff came up and I ended up moving away from Hawaii and back to Michigan and I ended up having another baby and getting married and. Was still taking [00:09:00] classes here and there, but I just, , was enjoying being a mom and, and kind of living my life and, and traveling and doing those things. And I was doing photography on the side too, and I had a really big passion for that. And so there was always these hiccups where I had moments where I was like, oh, I, I really wanna go.

And my heart always wanted to be a vet and I could never quite let that go. But then. I would hear things like, it's too expensive. You know, you're making the wrong decision. from seasoned vets where were struggling at their point in their careers and their life, and I was like, you know what?

Maybe this isn't a good decision for me. I, maybe I shouldn't do this. And then, I finally got into a situation where I, I had my two daughters, I had my husband. I felt very good. And the only part of my life that felt a little bit off was my career. And I was like. I just have this passion, I need to keep going for it.

And my husband was very supportive and he said, if this is what you wanna do, like let's do it. And so I, , applied twice. I got waitlisted. I applied during, the [00:10:00] COVID era. So we weren't doing interviews, we had to do what's called a CASPER test, which if anybody listening has taken that, you know, it's like, it's no cup of tea and it just, an online evaluation where. They ask you questions, it's like an interview style, but I didn't do very well on it. Let's just put it that way. And I do think that's what kind of hindered me from getting into school. But I applied a third time and I was like, this is it. This is my last time I'm applying. If I don't get in, it's not meant to be. And , that year I had an in-person, well it was an MMI interview and I ended up getting in and it was my in-state school and I was like, oh my gosh, all the stars are aligning and. Here I am in my, going into my third year now, and I have zero regrets.

Megan Sprinkle: Yeah, well just. In hindsight, looking at the people who went through vet school during the pandemic might have been a good thing to not go through during the pandemic. And I think when I was kind of looking at some of your [00:11:00] social media posts, your husband, I think his name is Mike, is a respiratory therapist or something like that.

So he had a intense uh, COVID.

Jessica Wood: Yes.

Megan Sprinkle: assuming so that probably also made things really challenging having two kids and then your husband, who I think I read in your post, like he, he was gone months and months at a time because of how intense they needed him. You mind sharing just a little bit about that?

'cause I am, I'm curious, we're all medical people. We like, we're interested in this.

Jessica Wood: For sure. So obviously I was, taking some undergrad classes at our college in, in our local town in Michigan, in the upper peninsula. And, he was a respiratory therapist for probably like wanna say like six or seven years at that point. And COVID hit and I remember the very, like first days of that, the school was like, oh, we're not gonna close, you know, this isn't a big deal.

We're not affected. And then I feel like within a couple of weeks everything was shut down. and there was like [00:12:00] a lot of unknowns and I was actually very early on pregnant during this time too.

Megan Sprinkle: Oh no.

Jessica Wood: on like an entire extra layer of just, I guess anxiety. 'cause it's like, I don't know what's happening.

there's a lot of changes for my husband at work and because I was pregnant, we had a lot of conversations like, should you maybe go live somewhere else right now? Because they were saying like, pregnant women might be a little bit more at risk. Of, you know, catastrophic things happening. And so there was actually a time period where he went to go live with his mom because he was so, exposed at work and there was so many unknowns that he went and lived with his mom just to like, keep me and our kids safe. and then, so he worked at the local hospital for, I don't know, I wanna say maybe like a year, eight months to a year. And then he took on a travel position and he ended up. He was gone for probably like six days a week. And then he would come back for about six days to seven days and then he would kind of go back and forth [00:13:00] and I was at home.

And, um, honestly, I'm, I'm a little bit grateful that all this happened when it did when I was pregnant. 'cause I was able to stay home with my girls and like raise them where before I wouldn't have been able to do that. , It was really unfortunate my husband was traveling, but I feel like when you're in a situation that's perceived as difficult, like you kind of just do what you need to do to survive. And it didn't seem as bad as what now I'm looking back, I'm like, how the heck did we do that? Like, that was crazy. But when you're in the grind of things, you just, you figure it out and um, everything ended up fine. You know, babies were healthy and happy and, my husband now, you know, works a full-time, regular position night shift at the hospital here.

But, but yeah, it was definitely crazy.

Megan Sprinkle: Yeah. Well, I'm glad everybody ended up safe and it, it worked out. Everybody knows how crazy that time was, and I don't think we fully recovered in general, but, so you finally get in your third, third time's the charm. what was it like starting [00:14:00] vet school?

Yeah.

Jessica Wood: amazing. I just wanna add a little tidbit too. I actually got in without having my bachelor's.

Megan Sprinkle: Oh, okay.

Jessica Wood: So I just wanna say it's possible for anybody out there who's like, wanting to do that. I didn't have my bachelor's because I did have multiple undergrad schools that I went to, and so it was just costing more money to take like the 100 level classes.

So I was like, you know what, I'm just gonna apply with that, my bachelor's and, and I got in. So just a little tidbit. 

Megan Sprinkle: well before you move on, 'cause that's a good point, right. I think the perception about getting into vet school is, I mean, for some schools yeah, they're, they look at the grades first and foremost, and if you aren't past that first thing, yeah. But I, I don't think it's necessarily that way across the board.

And so I think it's worth looking into, you know, what would this take? And, and so we know that. When you were able to do more of a, a real interview, , that you got through, do [00:15:00] you, did they tell you or do you have an idea of what maybe was some of the things that you brought, uh, whether it was, was your life experience, anything, what do you think might have been part of the reason why you got in?

Jessica Wood: I think part of the reason why I got in was because a lot of the life experiences I had up to Applying and it wasn't just veterinary experience like I had, I was fortunate. I had a lot of, you know, like I said, I was an assistant for like 14 years, but they're, I feel like they're looking for a lot more than that. I also managed a local brewery and I had my photography business on the side and, did a lot of other things that you wouldn't necessarily think a vet school would or deem worthy to have on your application, but. Everything is, makes you a well, they're looking for well-rounded applicants, essentially. And I think that, the fact that I did have history leading up to that, and I also think because I didn't give up, [00:16:00] I, I kept applying. You know, I think I, I've read on different forums that third time is this charm.

And I think there's a reason for that. And because honestly, my application didn't really change all that much besides the interview that I had, leading up to that. And so I, I think. Just having the attitude of not giving up, I think also helped as well.

Megan Sprinkle: There is something to be said of persistence and, no, I really want this. So, no, that does make sense and I think, I'm so glad I asked because I, I think that is a good thing to. Think about and discuss because. We're talking about vet school, so I'll focus on veterinarians, but I, I see this maybe even for veterinary technician work too, is that our job is not a transactional.

I go, I do my surgery, I go home. Like there's so much, we're, we are business owners, we are like, you know, there's so much that kind of can encompass [00:17:00] what. We can do, you can, I guess you can be a veterinary associate where you just clock in, do the medicine and go home. I still think there's a lot of skills that you need, like communication, and those are things that you can learn, sometimes even better, , by doing some other things like.

Being a, a bartender, you have to be really good at handling people's emotions and both good and bad and all in everything in between, I'm sure. Sure. , And we talk about that because I don't want people to not put something on their resume because they're like, uh, they don't care that I managed McDonald's when I was in high school.

Actually that's pretty impressive. so thank you for sharing that. Yeah, so you get in, you know, you've got all this neat experience, everything from being vet tech, so you know how to a clinic operates to all these additional skills running your own business, photography.

you're a mom of two kids. How, how are you able to balance everything? What was it like with getting to know other students? What was life like the first year[00:18:00] 

Jessica Wood: Yeah, so it was, very exciting and also like very nerve wracking at the same time. It's funny, like I remember the first week of orientation, everyone's just like buzzing with excitement, but then also like just very tense and like, what are we about to get

Megan Sprinkle: I.

Jessica Wood: into? just 'cause the hype is. You know what I heard up until getting into school is like, it's so hard.

it's nothing like you've ever done before. You're gonna feel like you're drowning. You're gonna be able to do it, but it's gonna be really hard. And then I had the added, having kids too. So I was like, oh my gosh, I have a whole nother layer that I have to try to work into all of this. so I just remember every little thing, everyone was like, well, what do we wear during orientation?

Why aren't they telling us? It's like, what do we have to wear? It's just funny looking back because there's so many things we all freaked out about even during like the last two years in general that I'm looking back. I'm like, didn't have to. it ended up being okay. But yeah. it was first week orientation.

Super [00:19:00] exciting. I will say I was really nervous about being a little bit older coming into school and, but when I got there, there was of every age, there was people my age, there's people that are super duper young that are getting in super early. There's just like a, a varied range. So I never actually felt out of place.

I'm also not super shy. I I'm very outgoing in that sense where I'll just talk to random people and, and I'm okay with that. So I felt like it integrated fairly well into my class for the most part. I did find a couple of girls that we call 'em our day ones that I sat next to 'em during orientation and we're still, you know, besties now.

which I'm super fortunate about. They've been my rock through this whole thing. But, but yeah, it's, it's been a whirlwind. I have absolutely loved my experience, I think. Part of it is just finding what works for you and your individual circumstance. Like for me, like I said, I have kids, but there's other people out there who have to commute an hour to class [00:20:00] or have to work full time because they need the money to get through school or whatever it is.

And, and everyone has their unique, circumstances and situations that they just have to do what works best for them. And so for me, I, I told you this before, but like my husband is like my superhero. Now I feel like I'm able to get through school with kids because of him. You know, he is fortunate where his job, he was able to work night shift or is able to work night shift.

So, he's home during the day while our girls are at school. So if anybody gets sick or they, you know, get school canceled for a snow day, I don't have to skip school. Like he's able to be there and, and take care of that or take them to their doctors or, you know, I come home and he has a meal for me on the table, like I'm just. So fortunate for him and he has been so supportive and I'm just like so grateful for that. So I think having a good support system is a huge part of your success in vet school.

Megan Sprinkle: Yeah. Both within your class as well as outside of the class. Now I, I think you're a really good writer [00:21:00] as well in one of your posts. 'cause you are, now, we're in the summer between your second and third year. And I do know a lot of people think the second year was one of the hardest years and, and you kind of wrote an ode to the second year and one of your posts and I loved it.

It, it was great. how is that the second year that. A lot of people tend to dread the you. You've got that first year under your belt, so maybe there's a little less panic over dress code, things like that. You've got your support system. You're diving in a little bit deeper into a curriculum. what was second year like?

Jessica Wood: Yeah,

Megan Sprinkle: I.

Jessica Wood: year, going to lie, I did dread it, and a lot of that had to do with horror stories that people would tell you, gonna be so stressed and it's, it's the hardest part of the curriculum, or they'd even point out like, certain classes, like, this class is going to destroy you and so I, I kind of went into a little bit of nervousness, but I kept telling myself, I. Everyone has their unique experiences, [00:22:00] like what somebody finds difficult in a particular class, I might find a little bit easy or, and vice versa. Like somebody else who was like, oh, that was an easy peasy class, , I might find a little bit more difficult.

And so I really tried to remind myself and my classmates like, Hey, like this is notoriously a difficult year, but many people come out on the other side saying, Hey, I did it. You know, I, I survived and we did it. And it might be difficult, But yeah, it, I will say it was difficult and in different ways than I actually thought it was gonna be. It wasn't necessarily the material itself, like of course, science and, and the terms and the diseases and whatnot that we're learning are difficult, but I think it's just always trying to maintain like this positive attitude of like, I got this. Because when you're in the trenches and you know, they tell you you gotta sleep, you gotta sleep, and as much as you try to sleep, like realistically for me, I would say I averaged like six to seven hours a night, but there was nights where I was like three hours before an exam and don't recommend [00:23:00] that.

But, um, that's just kind of where I was at. And, When you're not functioning with a full tank of gas and you're just like in this stress mode for months at a time, it's, difficult and you just feel like you never have enough time to finish all the things or to learn all the things. And I think that's like a universal experience for a lot of people in med school and dentistry school too.

It's like you just never have enough time to learn all the things, and so you just, you kind of feel like you're drowning, but, again, I did it and I came out and I did well and I learned a lot along the way and I learned a lot about myself and, I'm just so proud of myself and all my classmates 'cause it wasn't easy, but it's definitely doable and I think your attitude has a lot to do with that success.

Megan Sprinkle: Amen. Attitude is huge. Now, I was lucky that my outside support person was my father, who, he's an md, so he was [00:24:00] very good at reminding me reality and that there is a lot of content, the stuff that you will really need to know once you are a doctor.

You'll learn and you'll remember it's this, that's the stuff that you do over and over again that you'll remember is okay. so I think that is, it was good reminder of, you know, yes, they have to present all this material to you. Yes, you have to. At least pass the test to, to get through med school.

No one's gonna ask you your GPA after vet school. Also I just wanna pull out too, 'cause you know, this has come up a couple times. One, you know, there were seasoned veterinarians who were saying don't go to vet school.

there are people who are kinda saying, oh, it's like a year so hard, you're gonna like, Those are not helpful. but I, I kind of wanna talk about this because this does happen a lot and. You were coming into this with, I think you said, 14 years of veterinary, [00:25:00] uh, assistance work, which is a long time to be a veterinary assistant, let's just say that.

'cause usually I, I think they say the average years is like about five to seven, something like that. Uh, so. You, you've stuck in with this and despite what people have said, like what is your perspective right now when it comes to, I mean, obviously it, you not liked it enough that you actually went to vet school.

You didn't listen to them, but, but what are your thoughts about that? Like, one, what people are saying, but what are, what's your perspective?

Jessica Wood: Um, I think this perspective on it, again, I think attitude has a lot To do with it. And I feel like if you have a particular passion or a yearning, like I said, like I could just never shake that dream of wanting to be a veterinarian. And I remember like being an assistant and every single day I would go to work, I'd be like, wow, I wish I could do this, or I wanna be the one doing that, or I, learn more.

And it's like, you can only learn so [00:26:00] much, you know, in your day to day. But I found myself asking like, why are you doing this? Like, why, why are you making this decision? and so I just, like I said, I could never quite shake that dream. And so I think whenever I hear people kind of being negative about, , the profession itself or like going to vet school, I'm, I try to see it with a glass half full approach. Because it's like there's so many other people out there and students and practicing, um, veterinarians that love their job and they're, they're doing well financially and they're doing well in school. You know, students are doing well in school and I, I can't let, um, a couple of people that have had negative experiences kind of dampen my dream of, of wanting to be a vet.

And so I've really tried to surround myself with. People that have a positive outlook or like enjoy their jobs or have strategies to pay off their debt because, you know, debt's a huge one. Why? Why people are very [00:27:00] unhappy with their, their current profession. I mean, there's a whole of reasons, but, I really try to talk to the people that seem to be really happy with their life and their circumstances right now. to hold onto that instead of the, the negative experiences. And I'll say, I try to pass that down to people too. Like the, class before me. We have like a, a bigs program where like I'm a a big sister to one of the first years from last year. And, and you know, they're always texting like, how is this test?

Or, you know, any, any pointers for this. Going off of my experiences from all the negative that was told to me, that freaked me out. I try to do my best to be realistic, but also like super positive. And I, I try to remind them like, your experience might be different than mine, but this is what my experience was.

And at the end of the day, here I am and we're all gonna get through this. So I just, I try to hang out with positives.

Megan Sprinkle: Think that's a very good approach. You never know when somebody's having a bad day or a bad year, and you're right, I, I [00:28:00] hope it's not that hard to find someone else who is loving the profession and able to give those encouraging thoughts, So I, I'm glad that is your approach and I'm glad that's what you are, are giving forward as well, because Yeah, especially inve in vet school too, right?

You do your best and you get through like most of the time. And if you are struggling, go to a professor. Go to, you know, there are people there they want you to succeed.

The vet school, professional school. they lose money if you do not succeed. So, so it is in everyone's advantage that you succeed. . , I love you that you said, you know, your day one girls, like they're, they're gonna be your day one girls potentially for the rest of your career. Like that is how small and tight our profession can be. And that's the special part of it, that that's the things you can remember later on.

. And not to necessarily ignore the challenges of the profession either. Like you know, you said I can learn ways to address [00:29:00] student loan debt.

So I know that's a challenge. There are ways to address it, and I'm working on that. I know that there can be challenges of work life balance. I will learn from the people who seem to be doing well and happy with their career, that I can learn how to do that for myself. So it's not ignoring the challenges either, but it is again, working with the people who are happy and seem to be doing it well and making sure that you can implement those things for yourself.

Jessica Wood: Absolutely.

Megan Sprinkle: So kind of going a step bigger, I mentioned before that I think it is so valuable to get the perspective of our next generation, the ones going through vet school on what are the things you are excited about when it comes to veterinary medicine and what are some of the things that you might kind of worry about in the back of your mind that you might want to, share?

Jessica Wood: Yeah, absolutely. Um, I think I'll start with the positives. I think I'm just excited to finally like, [00:30:00] have a career and to, I try to live in the moment as much as possible, but I will say I'm very much looking forward to just having a job and being able to like, develop that side of my life and not have this, . Lingering goal of like, you gotta go to vet school, you gotta go to vet school. 'cause now I'm like here. And now once I get out I'm like, oh, I'm excited. I can do things. But I'm really excited that I'm learning that there's just like a million different endless possibilities with this, this career. It's like, I said, most of my experiences with small animal GP and a small rural, rural town up in northern Michigan. And I'm learning that there's just so many different things that we can do. I'm excited to explore those. I'm really actually excited for my externships to kind of see like, is it small animal GP that I wanna do or do I wanna do emergency medicine? Like I don't, I dunno. And, and I mean, I'm very much looking forward to that and just [00:31:00] honestly like getting to do the things that I've wanted to do as an assistant that I was never able to do. doing the surgeries, doing the hands on thing, the communicating with the clients, making the decisions. Going off of that, we can go to the negatives. I'm also nervous about like imposter syndrome and you know, just those however many years it takes for you to practice before you start to feel less of the jitters and less of the uncomfortable feelings and and whatnot.

I'm a little bit nervous about that, like learning period outside of school, like once you just graduate for sure.

Megan Sprinkle: All very fair. Uh, I will say that. you know the textbook stuff, you're, you're trying to pass tests and things like that. It is, once you start practicing that, it really starts to solidify. You bring in with you so much medical knowledge, probably a lot more than you realize and.

But [00:32:00] you just gotta do it. but I'm hoping that, you know, the things that you were picking up on that you just could not push away was that, I wanna know why. Like, I wanna be able to know how to do that. you are starting to do that already.

Is there Oh, I know why now. I know why. and it, it gets better and better again, just to kind of appreciate that. And maybe you've already started to see that. Maybe like has there been a moment when you were going through school so far where you're like, oh, now I know why the veterinarian did that?

Jessica Wood: Oh yeah, absolutely. Absolutely. Summer, I went to my mentor. The clinic was so different to me now because I'm like starting to understand the lingo and I'm like, oh, wow, that makes sense to me now. Or like a concept that I'm like, why are they doing that? Like, that doesn't make any sense to me at all. Now I'm like, I get it. Like I understand why they did X, Y, or z.

Megan Sprinkle: Yes, [00:33:00] and the other part of it is. Uh, going back to your original observation that made you so interested was the function of the team. I. I think that's the other thing is sometimes when you, when you're new and you get put into a situation where you feel like you have all this responsibility, you forget you're not alone.

Like hopefully, I mean, there are a few things, like I have heard some horror stories and they're usually older stories of like the. Clinics where it's the one super ancient veterinarian who is like, yay, young flesh, I'm leaving for vacation. Good luck. And he didn't believe in credentialed technicians, good luck.

most of the time assistance and other doctors Going to be there. And they do not mind if you ask questions, . It's a lot better to ask and get it a little bit better, and you'll feel better about yourself too than, you know, struggling alone. , I think that really is another thing [00:34:00] is remember that team aspect I.

I believe veterinary medicine is a team sport coming back to athletics. Um, because it is, everybody has roles, responsibilities, and some, sometimes we are a little bit less strong in one, and it could be, it could be an off day, even, even for seasoned veterinarians. It could be your, your kid is sick and all you can think about is that.

Or you know, anything else that, 'cause we're human beings and even though we, we can step into the clinic and be like, okay, I'm doctor now. I put my white coat on. You're still a human being. You did not leave everything at the door. very few people can do that. so yeah, leverage that in, in school. Um, in fact they actually have research studies showing that the students that studied together in groups and that there was less competition, I think they were actually looked at. Med students, but um, they found that they actually ended up being better doctors in the end because you learn how to work together.[00:35:00] 

Jessica Wood: That's great. I had a point come up in my head when you were talking there. Actually, one of my friends, she graduated, going on two years ago now, and whenever she goes into a room and she's like, oh, you know, they asked me a question that I wasn't sure or whatever. She'll, she'll actually tell the client, she'll be like, you know what, lemme go double check that with the doctor that's been practicing for longer than I've been alive. Like, she's very like straightforward in saying like, Hey, you know what? I don't actually know the answer to that. Instead of making up some mumbo jumbo whatever, she's like, lemme go check my resources so I can give you concrete facts or whatever, give you an answer. and I was like, wow, you can do that.

Like, it's okay to admit that you don't know everything, even to the clients.

Megan Sprinkle: Oh, in fact, they appreciate that. I mean, that actually builds trust better. And you don't have to mention the fact that they've been practicing longer than you've been alive either. You can just say, I, I wanna double check. I, I think I might have an idea, but I'd really like to double check with, Just say your, your resources [00:36:00] and yeah, they really appreciate that. And if you put yourself in their position, it makes sense, right? You would much rather have the right answer and trust that somebody's gonna make sure that they have the right answer than just.

Make it up. So yeah, actually that builds trust faster. So I'm glad that she is learning that and hopefully finding that it's better all around. She's building trust, she's feeling more confident. And that imposter syndrome, it is lessening year by year.

Jessica Wood: Mm-hmm.

Megan Sprinkle: Excellent. any other things that you, uh, wanna share?

Any fun stories from vet school? Anything maybe, uh, advice that you might give students coming into vet school now?

Jessica Wood: Um, I think my biggest piece of advice is, and it's like easier said than done because I've done this, but hindsight now that I have my perfect 2020 hindsight vision is like I said earlier, like, don't sweat the small [00:37:00] stuff, and trust the process, like trust the process. if you don't know something right away or you feel like, I know at one point we were taught something and we were all like, oh no, we, We've only seen it once and now we're expected to know everything about it and how are we ever gonna like learn and come back to this or remember it. What I didn't know is that we were gonna be taught it three more times in second year. And you know, they're gonna build on those concepts. And again, just trust the process and trust in yourself. also a huge thing that I've learned over the past two years is that we all wanna be the best of the best. We've all come in with good grades, we all are very, smart people that have big goals, and we all wanna be the best. And it's okay to have that mindset and to strive to be the best, but it's also okay to take a step back in the moment and say, Hey, do I really need to obsess over this one, lesson that we did, or should I maybe take a step back and take a nap [00:38:00] or like get an extra hour of sleep or go exercise? it's okay to let go of that like perfectionism because my first year I was very much like. I need to get it all right. I need to get a certain grade, I need to do all of the things. And this year, in order for, for me personally to survive, like I still had that in me, I'm still very much like wanna get all the, a's you know, but for my own sanity, I, I needed to take a step back and say, am I going to fail out of the program?

If I don't study 110% for this one quiz, that's worth 5%. And even if I don't do well on that quiz. I gonna fail? No, you are not. And it's okay to just kind of let go of that expectation. And I just feel like you're gonna be much more successful personally by letting go.

Megan Sprinkle: Very true things, and you can carry that on. Into the future as well. one of the things you also mentioned, that you were excited about is learning all the [00:39:00] possibilities that come with getting into veterinary medicine when it comes to like your career and all the things you can do. And that's kind of what this podcast is about.

So I'm curious, is there anything that you've started to see or you might be interested in learning a little bit more when it comes to the possibilities of the profession and a, a career within it?

Jessica Wood: So I am very much of a small animal girly, but the more that I work with large animals, I'm like, gosh, this is really cool. Like I, I fully did not expect to be as interested in, invested in large animals as I am now. Especially like cows, like I love cows. I kind of geek out on ruminants. Um, and that being said, like I don't think I'm gonna like, full blown go into like be a, a cow doctor solely or anything.

But, I'm open to the idea and, and because I'm open to it, I feel like I am willing to learn more and accept and like explore those avenues a little bit more than I would have before. Um, I'm also very interested [00:40:00] in exploring emergency medicine. I, I don't really have a lot of experience with that and I'm curious to see if, because there's a lot of people in my class that really love emergency medicine and have experience with that. And I'm like, Ooh, that sounds really cool. But like, I, I dunno. So I'm excited to kind of navigate that to see if that's something that I would like to pursue or not. Like, I don't know, I'm still very much like up in the air on what exactly I want to do.

I I don't know. I'm, I'm hoping my externships and my clinical year, um, next year will help me kind of sort through what I may wanna do.

Megan Sprinkle: Yeah. Well, I think the other thing about exploring things that maybe. Not necessarily I wanna do, but it's just kind of fun to learn about, which I think is such a good, curious mindset to keep. I think it's helpful to appreciate the profession you are about to join and that profession is so diverse. We are everywhere that animals are: [00:41:00] cows, horses, exotics.

We are everywhere. And I. Have learned to appreciate the profession. All the more learning about that, even though I'm not physically in it, it's just like you can't appreciate, man, I'm in a cool profession. It's like we can do that. I just think that is so fun. And so, yeah, I actually really loved my dairy rotation.

I actually really liked the, , large animal rotations. A lot of it was 'cause I felt like the professors were a little more laid back, and so it just made it more fun, right? So, I mean, appreciate the, the diverse people, the, diverse places that we can be. I just think is so fun and so. If you can approach every rotation that way, and it's like, even if this is not what I'm going to do for the rest of my career, learn about it, appreciate it, make connections so you can refer or make a phone call.

you know, I just think [00:42:00] it is so cool that all of us go through the same four years and we do so many different cool things, and even within small animal. Like, we've got people doing all sorts of things. Forensic, you, you had mentioned, uh, you know, pathology, like they're doing so many different things.

And to me that is exciting that you get to join a profession that is that diverse and possibilities for you are there too. Even if you do go down small animal for a year, you technically can completely change your mind and start practicing with cows You might wanna take a few extra courses or something, but uh, but technically you can do that and, and so I just think that is so cool about our profession.

Jessica Wood: And there's so much overlap too. I actually, um, one big thing that I recently learned, I, I actually, I posted on Facebook in the group and I had asked like why I was frustrated. I actually was in a week of like very heavy, large animal d idactics learning, and it was during a [00:43:00] particular difficult class and I was like, I just don't have the brain capacity right now to like learn things that I'm not maybe necessarily particularly or particularly interested in.

And I was kind of fighting the process and I was like, oh, like why, why, why am I doing this? And I kind of went down the rabbit hole of why is our profession more like tracked towards like if I just wanna learn small animals? why am I not just learning small animals versus like large animals and this and that?

And a lot of very intelligent women told me like, it's important to learn about everybody and all of the species because it's all interconnected. And who knows, you might change your mind at some point. And um, it's not even just animals. It's like one health too, like humans, right? Like you're gonna have people coming up to you asking about the bird flu, even though you're not. A bird flu expert or anything, but because you're a veterinarian in the community, like you're gonna have to be able to speak on that intelligently at some point, probably. And so it's important just to have a little bit of [00:44:00] knowledge or to, like you said, gain the resources or, um, like connections with the people who do know the things in order to, educate as we do as veterinarians.

Megan Sprinkle: Yes, and this is so relevant 'cause the episode that launches this coming Monday as we are recording this Kemba Marshall, she got board certified in Avian medicine and really thinking like exotic birds, so parrots and things like that. She ended up, I'm spilling. Well, it'll be out. Uh, go.

We'll go listen to the opposite. But she went to interview at Purina thinking that she was interviewing at Nestle Purina. She found out when she arrived at the interview that she was no going to Lands O Lake Purina, which is large animal, so she said. She didn't freak out, but she did go, Hmm. The only thing I remember about large animals is [00:45:00] the gestation period of a pig.

and she's like, I don't know how well that's gonna work do for me. But she, uh, was talking with one of the PhD scientists and they mentioned that because they have to draw blood for. Analytics, it has to be a terminal procedure. And she said, well, why don't you just use a jugular vein and this, these were chickens And they were like. They have a jugular vein? and her response was, they have two and, and she knocked her interview out of the park. So I, you know, it just goes, you never know what situation you're gonna be. She loved that job. She brought so much value to that job. But it, it was because we do get this diverse education, and yes, in the moment if, for mental health reasons, you have to say, it's okay if I fail this quiz.

Like, that's okay too, but don't. [00:46:00] Underappreciate. I think the ability to get a little bit of understanding about it all, 'cause you are right about when someone hears you are a veterinarian, that person has a mental concept of what that means to them. Does not mean it has to be yours, but they do. And that means that they can ask you any question that comes to mind that they think, oh, you're a veterinarian, so you know this.

I mean, that's like, oh, you're from California. Do you know Arnold Schwarzenegger? So, right. It is kind of like that, but that's kind of what's gonna happen. And so it is helpful to kind of have that well-rounded, I think, experience.

Jessica Wood: Yeah.

Megan Sprinkle: Well, I did want to come back to your photography because it's the summer and you are interested in seeing how you can bring photography into animals as well. And you were throwing out some ideas that all sounded really interesting. Um, do you wanna share some of your ideas and have you tried any of them yet?

Jessica Wood: Yeah. [00:47:00] So, like you said, I absolutely love photography. And even before getting to vet school, I, I was like, maybe I'll just be a full-time photographer. And I was like, no, be a vet. Be a vet. And so now that I have some time over the summer and I haven't, um, I'm very, very of the non-committal summer approach.

A lot of my classmates are like, what can we do? Where can we work? What experiences can we get? And I'm like, where can I decompress?

Megan Sprinkle: Yes.

Jessica Wood: I am excited. I'm gonna be working with, um, one of the areas, humane societies to do some like, glam shots of the adoptable pets there. 'cause I'm a very firm believer that like, if you can great photos of them, I feel like it makes them more highly adoptable. Especially with like social media these days.

You you'll see from a Humane Society that has all these like, beautiful photos and everyone's like sharing them and how cute are these? And it just like exposes them more. So that's one of the things that I wanna do that's more of just like a community outreach thing. and then I also too, I've just been dabbling in [00:48:00] this project that's kind of like, it's called Vets Unleashed just an area where I can make photos. Of things that we as vets wish we could, like tell the public or like things that we wish that we could say that maybe like we shouldn't say or we, things that we wish everybody should know. And so I've basically just been taking like self-portraits of me holding signs up with like, , one of 'em says like, quit leaving your dogs and hot cars. you know, just like different things like, you know, your vet doesn't make money off of, uh, or from the food companies and just, just like funny lighthearted things that like. I feel like the general public might do or have perceptions of us as vets that we don't get to have conversations with people about in the community. But, but yeah. Or other things of, helping out vets who need photos for their websites. you know, or social media. I just feel like, , we're such a social media era that having nice photos is really important for people and, and educating the public too, I think is huge.

So. [00:49:00] I'm, I'm not a hundred percent sure on where my projects are gonna take me, but I'm having fun being creative 

Megan Sprinkle: Yeah, no, I saw the one I saw the other day was, uh, no ma'am. That's his nipples. We, we love that one. , No, I think that's so great. And I, I think we talked about this too, is this is not a veterinary internship, but because you're working still with the veterinary community, you're making connections, all of these things are extremely important and relevant, so.

, I think it's just a really good approach to take your summer. Yes, there are opportunities to do, try out different externships and things like that, but I think it's good to listen to what you need and take these additional skills that you have and apply it where again, you are a human being that has multiple interests.

And the fact that you can bring in your amazing photography and I have no idea how you do such great pictures of yourself too. , I've seen, you know, ones of other [00:50:00] things too. That's, so you need to do a class for us. Maybe you could, that actually, that would be a really cool class, would be learn photography skills for your social media, for all of that.

Like that, that would be fun. File that one away. I will take that one. But I, I think that's because you're right, I think that's going to be even more important going into the future too, is that's how we are gonna communicate and let people build trust with us. Because I, I think people, people look at social media, they look at your website.

If you've got a, a pretty crappy website, sometimes it's the only thing they have and they'll just show up. 'cause you're local. But I, I think you can do so much with building trust and building your business if you can put forth effort into those areas.

Jessica Wood: Oh, absolutely.

Megan Sprinkle: Well, I always like to end with one final question, and I know you gave a huge praise to your husband, so it is fair game for you to bring him up.

But if you wanna add to it, , I always like to ask people, what is something you're very grateful for right now? I,

Jessica Wood: am I [00:51:00] grateful for? Um, I'm grateful for my husband,

Megan Sprinkle: that's good.

Jessica Wood: but honestly, like if it wasn't for him, and his support and just like his general great attitude like. I, I wouldn't have been able to make it as far as I have, until this point. And just my family, like my family, my two daughters, like, they have been amazing through all of this and supportive and happy.

And, , I'm just grateful that I'm able to have my life outside of school because, I mean, school is very, very consuming, but I'm, I'm grateful that I'm able to still have my hobbies and interests, but then follow my dream because I see, A lot of the times there's a lot of people who say like, I wish I would've, or I wish I could have done this.

And along my journey, a lot of people have said, like, I admire you for going, following your dreams even though you're older. I'm like, not that old, but I'm just like, you know, I'm older than a lot of my classmates people, in my class. And so I'm just grateful [00:52:00] for everyone who has supported me, , my mentors and my family, and my husband. My cup is full.

Megan Sprinkle: I hope you enjoyed this fascinating veterinary story. We can make an impact in so many places. Check out the show notes for lots of resources. Please make sure you are subscribed on your podcast app. Subscribe on the YouTube channel and follow me on LinkedIn where I hang out the most. You can contact me on LinkedIn on the website@vetlifereimagine.com and brand new is that you can text me to send me a text message.

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