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Life, leadership, and AVMA with Dr. Diana Thomé · My Veterinary Life

0:10
Speaker 1: Welcome to this week's episode of My Veterinary Life podcast.
0:13
Speaker 1: I'm your host, doctor Annie Schavant, and my pronouns are
0:16
Speaker 1: she her, and our guest today is doctor Diana Tome,
0:20
Speaker 1: a small animal private practitioner and practice owner and chair
0:23
Speaker 1: of abma's House Advisory Committee. I am so excited to
0:27
Speaker 1: share doctor Tom's story with you today, but before we do,
0:30
Speaker 1: I want to give a thank you to our podcast partner,
0:33
Speaker 1: NVA General Practice. NVA helps create vets become even greater
0:37
Speaker 1: with multiple paths to build a career that's uniquely yours.
0:41
Speaker 1: Lead a team, explore a specialty, own a practice, or
0:45
Speaker 1: shape care across our network of over nine hundred neighborhood clinics.
0:49
Speaker 1: Wherever you want to go next, NVA has a path
0:51
Speaker 1: to help you get there. Visit careers dot NBA dot
0:55
Speaker 1: com to find your next role. And with that, Welcome
0:58
Speaker 1: to the show, Doctor Tom.
1:00
Speaker 2: Hi, thank you for having me.
1:02
Speaker 1: Thank you so much for sharing your time and your
1:04
Speaker 1: story with us. I'm so excited to dive in and
1:08
Speaker 1: every now and again, we do like to remind folks
1:11
Speaker 1: that veterinarians are whole people and not just veterinarians, and
1:16
Speaker 1: so I think it's especially fitting to recognize this humanity today.
1:20
Speaker 1: So I'm going to kick off our conversation by asking
1:23
Speaker 1: what are the things that get you excited ab outside
1:26
Speaker 1: of veterinarian medicine.
1:27
Speaker 2: Yeah, I'm a wife and I'm a mom to two
1:30
Speaker 2: teenage boys. They keep me very busy. They both play
1:34
Speaker 2: lacrosse and run cross country, so I spend a lot
1:36
Speaker 2: of time at lacrosse tournaments. But I'm also an endurance athlete,
1:40
Speaker 2: so some of those same things that push me to
1:43
Speaker 2: be a better veterinarian, there's an outlet for that for
1:45
Speaker 2: me in endurance sports. I ran my first ultra marathon
1:49
Speaker 2: this year. I have an iron Man coming up in
1:51
Speaker 2: a couple of weeks. So if I'm not at work,
1:54
Speaker 2: you probably find me out out of lacrosse field or
1:57
Speaker 2: a cross country meet or training for some kind of race.
2:01
Speaker 2: So that's really how I spend most of my free time.
2:03
Speaker 2: I come from the beautiful state of Washington. We're very
2:06
Speaker 2: outdoorsy people in the state of Washington, so we do
2:09
Speaker 2: a lot of hiking, biking, water sports, spend time at
2:13
Speaker 2: the beach. So definitely my soul is fed being outside.
2:17
Speaker 1: Yes, that absolutely sounds like the case and I love
2:22
Speaker 1: hearing the excitement in your voice as you think about
2:24
Speaker 1: the different things that fill your cup up and the
2:27
Speaker 1: ways you can spend your time outside of work. Yeah.
2:30
Speaker 2: Absolutely, I do think you know, staying active and getting
2:34
Speaker 2: outside really helps with the mental health aspect that comes
2:37
Speaker 2: with veterinary medicine. It's time for my brain to refresh
2:40
Speaker 2: and recharge, and having those outside interests and spending time
2:44
Speaker 2: with my kids and my family really helps keep me centered.
2:48
Speaker 1: Well, fantastic. Let's take a jump back in time then
2:52
Speaker 1: and start at the beginning of your career story. And
2:55
Speaker 1: so if you could sum up your VET school experience
2:59
Speaker 1: in one word, if you can, what would that be.
3:02
Speaker 2: Oh, I don't know if I can do it in
3:03
Speaker 2: one word, but I will say it was challenging, but
3:08
Speaker 2: it was also really fun. I would say I am
3:11
Speaker 2: maybe the exception in that I really enjoyed that school.
3:15
Speaker 2: I know a lot of people don't enjoy it. It's
3:18
Speaker 2: just a ton of work, but it's the first time
3:21
Speaker 2: that you really get to do the things that you
3:23
Speaker 2: have been hoping and aiming to do, and so for me,
3:26
Speaker 2: it was also a really fun experience. It doesn't mean
3:29
Speaker 2: it wasn't hard, it was incredibly challenging, but it also
3:32
Speaker 2: was just so fun to finally get to do the
3:34
Speaker 2: things that I had been dreaming of doing for so long,
3:37
Speaker 2: you know, the first time you get to do surgery
3:39
Speaker 2: and the first time you're in clinics and all of
3:41
Speaker 2: those types of things. Really really focusing on how exciting
3:44
Speaker 2: and fun that was, even though it's hard, helps get
3:48
Speaker 2: helped me get through it. Those long hour studying and
3:51
Speaker 2: just knowing that I was so close to reaching my goal.
3:54
Speaker 1: Oh, I really appreciate that perspective, and I will allow
3:58
Speaker 1: more than one word there. I think it's important to
4:01
Speaker 1: hold those two things right. Something can be challenging and
4:04
Speaker 1: it can be fun at the same time, and maybe
4:07
Speaker 1: they need a little bit of each other in order
4:09
Speaker 1: for you to appreciate those two kind of different experiences.
4:12
Speaker 1: I'm actually with you in the minority. I really enjoyed
4:15
Speaker 1: BET school as well, and I think your insight about
4:19
Speaker 1: keeping that perspective and just remembering how long you've dreamed
4:23
Speaker 1: about being able to experience these firsts and being in
4:26
Speaker 1: those moments definitely is a great balance for the challenge
4:30
Speaker 1: that school is. So I think that's that's really cool.
4:34
Speaker 2: Well, I've been in practice for quite a while at
4:36
Speaker 2: this point. But when I think back about that school
4:39
Speaker 2: and I think about really the lessons that you learn
4:41
Speaker 2: about how you think and how you go through clinical reasoning,
4:44
Speaker 2: I recognize that some of those really challenging things that
4:46
Speaker 2: happened in that period of time are really essential to
4:49
Speaker 2: what we do in practice now. And I actually went
4:51
Speaker 2: to continue in Education yesterday and I had my new
4:55
Speaker 2: graduate associate with me at Continuing ED and she was
4:58
Speaker 2: like so supercharged by go going to Continuing AD. And
5:01
Speaker 2: one of the things she said is like, you realize
5:04
Speaker 2: now once you're out, like how important this stuff is
5:07
Speaker 2: to learn. And I think having that perspective looking back,
5:10
Speaker 2: I realize how important those things that maybe seemed tedious
5:13
Speaker 2: in VET school, how important they are when you actually
5:16
Speaker 2: get out in practice, going back to the basics and
5:18
Speaker 2: Navy and physiology and that underlying understanding of what you're doing.
5:23
Speaker 1: Yeah, that makes a lot of sense. The lessons come
5:26
Speaker 1: to life after graduation, and then it does it makes
5:29
Speaker 1: you want to come back and maybe get back into
5:31
Speaker 1: the classroom for yeah for a little bit. So let's
5:33
Speaker 1: talk about that phase in your career journey next. Then
5:37
Speaker 1: that early career time zero to five ish years after graduation.
5:41
Speaker 1: What did that look like for you?
5:43
Speaker 2: So I started practice, I'm actually I've been at the
5:46
Speaker 2: same practice my entire career. The practice that I'm at
5:49
Speaker 2: is where I did my preceptorship. As a four year student.
5:52
Speaker 2: I had no intention of coming to this town. My
5:55
Speaker 2: sister lived here, and so I chose this practice because
6:00
Speaker 2: I could live with my sister for free and I
6:02
Speaker 2: was a broke that student, just like so many people,
6:05
Speaker 2: and so I could live with my sister and I
6:08
Speaker 2: came and it was just really a great experience, great
6:11
Speaker 2: mentorship from the doctors that were there. The clinic culture
6:14
Speaker 2: was what I was looking for. The people were outstanding,
6:17
Speaker 2: the clients were outstanding, and so it really was a
6:20
Speaker 2: pivot at that point for me because it was not
6:23
Speaker 2: what I had planned. And so those first five years
6:26
Speaker 2: I would be lying if I said they were anything
6:29
Speaker 2: other than challenging. It doesn't mean I didn't learn things
6:32
Speaker 2: and enjoy it and grow, but they are really hard.
6:35
Speaker 2: It's really hard to be the doctor that is actually
6:38
Speaker 2: making the decisions. And I think now as I look
6:41
Speaker 2: back on it, with the years of experience that I have,
6:44
Speaker 2: I think that there is like this honeymoon phase where
6:47
Speaker 2: you're so excited when you graduate and it's so fun
6:50
Speaker 2: you're doing all these first things, and then there's a.
6:52
Speaker 1: Little bit of like a reality that sets in.
6:54
Speaker 2: It's like, wow, this is like hard, and this is
6:56
Speaker 2: what I'm going to be doing for the rest of
6:59
Speaker 2: my career. And I think there's For me at least,
7:02
Speaker 2: there was a little bit of a slump that happened
7:04
Speaker 2: in that period of time where just kind of the
7:07
Speaker 2: reality of life sets in, like, Okay, everything I've worked
7:10
Speaker 2: so hard for, and you work so hard in undergrad
7:13
Speaker 2: and then you work so hard INVET school and you
7:15
Speaker 2: get out into practice and I got married in that
7:18
Speaker 2: period of time as well, and so all these things
7:20
Speaker 2: that you've been kind of aiming for and striving for happen,
7:23
Speaker 2: and then there's a little bit of For me, at least,
7:26
Speaker 2: there was a little bit of a slump that was like, oh, okay.
7:29
Speaker 1: Is this it?
7:30
Speaker 2: And then at least for me, pushing through that slump
7:34
Speaker 2: and kind of reinvesting in myself and reinvesting in learning
7:38
Speaker 2: and continuing to grow as a veterinarian really helped get
7:41
Speaker 2: me through that period of time and to a place
7:43
Speaker 2: where I could really enjoy being a veterinarian and get
7:46
Speaker 2: through those tough days when maybe things don't grow as planned,
7:49
Speaker 2: or where maybe clients are more challenging than you would
7:52
Speaker 2: hope for, or staff interactions are more challenging than you
7:55
Speaker 2: would hope for. But that really helps reinvigorate me, was
7:58
Speaker 2: to kind of reinvest in myself from my education, learn
8:01
Speaker 2: new skills, and kind of push through that hard period.
8:05
Speaker 1: I really appreciate you sharing both the ups and the
8:08
Speaker 1: downs of that early career time. I've mentioned on the
8:11
Speaker 1: podcast previously, and I'll say it again that a lot
8:14
Speaker 1: of life stuff just tends to happen in that zero
8:18
Speaker 1: to five year timeframe on average for a that school graduate,
8:22
Speaker 1: and there's just so much to figure out personally and professionally,
8:26
Speaker 1: and I don't think we talk enough about those slumps
8:30
Speaker 1: that we may experience. And it may be at that
8:32
Speaker 1: two to three is year mark that you're talking about,
8:35
Speaker 1: or it may be another time, but I think it's
8:36
Speaker 1: important to acknowledge that that might happen and that there
8:40
Speaker 1: are ways to work through that and find fulfillment again.
8:45
Speaker 1: So I would actually love to get a little bit
8:48
Speaker 1: more detail on that if you'd be willing to share, like,
8:50
Speaker 1: what did that reinvesting in yourself look like? Was that
8:54
Speaker 1: diving into your CE budget? Was that kind of on
8:57
Speaker 1: your own and how did you manage that with your
9:00
Speaker 1: personal commitments that you had going on at the same time.
9:03
Speaker 2: Yeah, I think it was kind of twofold for me.
9:05
Speaker 2: Part of it was reinvesting in myself professionally. That for me,
9:10
Speaker 2: I started to learn ultrasound, which I'm old enough to
9:14
Speaker 2: be able to say ultrasound was a little bit of
9:16
Speaker 2: an emerging technology when I graduated from VET school. Not
9:19
Speaker 2: completely we had it, but it wasn't something that was
9:22
Speaker 2: really common in general practice at that point in time.
9:25
Speaker 2: And so I really invested in learning ultrasound and it's
9:28
Speaker 2: something that to this day I really enjoy doing. My
9:31
Speaker 2: team really kind of jokes because they know if someone asks, hey,
9:34
Speaker 2: can you stay into an ultrasound can you squeeze an
9:36
Speaker 2: ultrasound in? I will say yes one hundred percent of
9:39
Speaker 2: the time. And so for me, learning that new skill
9:41
Speaker 2: and kind of reinvesting in myself as a veterinarian was
9:45
Speaker 2: really helpful. But that's also the point in time where
9:48
Speaker 2: I started being a runner. I was not a runner.
9:51
Speaker 2: In VET school, I was not someone that did and
9:53
Speaker 2: during sports at that point in time, I was definitely
9:56
Speaker 2: I was an athlete in high school, but through college
9:58
Speaker 2: and VET school I was not a ray exerciser. And
10:01
Speaker 2: so reinvesting in myself in that period of time and
10:04
Speaker 2: kind of finding those interests outside of work, I think
10:07
Speaker 2: there's a real tendency for us to look for all
10:09
Speaker 2: of our happiness to happen at work and to think
10:13
Speaker 2: that being a veterinarian is kind of all that we are.
10:16
Speaker 2: And for me, it was learning that yes, that's a
10:18
Speaker 2: part of who I am, but it's not the only
10:20
Speaker 2: part of who I am, And there have been other
10:23
Speaker 2: slumps that have happened along the way. And for me,
10:26
Speaker 2: what I have learned about myself is that that's when
10:29
Speaker 2: I need to go to continue in education. When I
10:31
Speaker 2: start feeling like I don't know if I want to
10:33
Speaker 2: keep doing this every day, I need to learn something new.
10:36
Speaker 2: I need to like refill that cop of knowledge and
10:40
Speaker 2: education and grow as a veterinarian. It's very easy to
10:44
Speaker 2: slip into patterns and bad habits, and so for me,
10:47
Speaker 2: I have learned that when I have that feeling, it's
10:50
Speaker 2: time to learn something new, whether that's something from a
10:52
Speaker 2: management perspective as a practice owner or learning a new skill.
10:56
Speaker 2: You know, going to like the convention and being able
10:58
Speaker 2: to sit through all of those CE sessions and hear
11:00
Speaker 2: true experts talk about things that are emerging and new
11:03
Speaker 2: ways to treat patients. That's just really inspiring for me,
11:07
Speaker 2: and I get excited to go back to practice and
11:09
Speaker 2: change the change the way that I'm doing things, and
11:11
Speaker 2: that really helps me again kind of feel that fresh, new,
11:15
Speaker 2: excited feeling about being a veterinarian.
11:18
Speaker 1: Oh, such great insight and really practical things that each
11:21
Speaker 1: of us can apply. It might look a little bit different,
11:25
Speaker 1: but expanding yourself professionally to finding new ways to bring
11:29
Speaker 1: you joy. I think that's one of the great things
11:31
Speaker 1: in our profession that there's so many things that we
11:34
Speaker 1: can get involved in, get interested in, get exposed to that.
11:37
Speaker 1: There's no lack of that. It's our desire to discover.
11:41
Speaker 1: So CE is something for you that you found works
11:44
Speaker 1: really well, and reminding ourselves that we have other sources
11:51
Speaker 1: of success outside of our career, other definitions of success.
11:54
Speaker 1: And I love that you found a new love there
11:57
Speaker 1: in running and have been able to develop that sort
11:59
Speaker 1: of alongside your career moving forward as well.
12:02
Speaker 2: Yeah, I personally, I'm a practice owner now and I've
12:05
Speaker 2: watched a new and recent graduates that have worked for
12:09
Speaker 2: me and with me, and I think it's really common
12:11
Speaker 2: for us to go through these ups and downs in
12:14
Speaker 2: our professional life, and I think we do have to
12:18
Speaker 2: remind ourselves that we're more than a veterinarian. We're not
12:21
Speaker 2: just We're not just this person that's at the clinic
12:24
Speaker 2: and finding things outside of work that bring us fulfillment
12:27
Speaker 2: and joy and really refill our cup because this profession
12:30
Speaker 2: can be so hard at times, and so finding things
12:34
Speaker 2: outside of work to bloss seem and relieve some of
12:36
Speaker 2: that stress, but also to find enjoyment and fulfillment with.
12:40
Speaker 1: Yeah, yeah, that makes a lot of sense. And as
12:43
Speaker 1: a fellow runner who sort of established herself later in
12:46
Speaker 1: that running journey, it is it's nice to have something
12:48
Speaker 1: else look forward to, separate goals, different challenges, right, Just
12:52
Speaker 1: like in our career, there can be challenges in the
12:55
Speaker 1: things that we pursue outside of that, and that can
12:57
Speaker 1: be really fun too. Well. I would like to talk
13:00
Speaker 1: a little bit more about that practice owner journey because
13:04
Speaker 1: that is such a valuable perspective on that new grad
13:07
Speaker 1: experience and in your own professional development. So what did
13:11
Speaker 1: the path to practice ownership at the practice that you
13:14
Speaker 1: were currently working in look like.
13:17
Speaker 2: Yeah, So, my family, when I was a child, owned
13:21
Speaker 2: a hardware store in a small town, and so business
13:25
Speaker 2: ownership is something that I have been exposed to my
13:28
Speaker 2: entire life and the ups and downs of business ownership.
13:32
Speaker 2: My family actually closed that hardware store when I was
13:34
Speaker 2: I think in high school because of some economic changes
13:37
Speaker 2: in the town that it was in, and so I
13:40
Speaker 2: really saw the ups and downs of what business ownership
13:44
Speaker 2: could look like as I watched my parents navigate that.
13:47
Speaker 2: But I also knew that I wanted to be in
13:49
Speaker 2: control of my own destiny and kind of what my
13:52
Speaker 2: career would look like. And I think the best way
13:56
Speaker 2: to do that is to be a practice owner. I
13:58
Speaker 2: can shape the culture at my practice, I can shape
14:01
Speaker 2: the medicine at my practice, and really build a practice
14:04
Speaker 2: that fits my life and my lifestyle. You know, we
14:08
Speaker 2: talk a lot about work life balance and work life
14:11
Speaker 2: harmony and finding a place that maybe is family friendly
14:14
Speaker 2: or a place that has a flexible schedule, or whatever
14:17
Speaker 2: it is that's important to you. And for me, the
14:20
Speaker 2: way to do that was to be a practice owner
14:22
Speaker 2: so that I could build a culture and build a
14:23
Speaker 2: practice that fit what I wanted it to be. And
14:26
Speaker 2: that's not without challenges, and it's certainly not perfect. I
14:30
Speaker 2: don't want to make it sound like everything works perfectly
14:32
Speaker 2: all the time. It definitely doesn't. But for me, finding
14:37
Speaker 2: mentors that had that same philosophy as me that was
14:41
Speaker 2: a really important part. And again I found them on
14:43
Speaker 2: my preceptorship. I never would have expected that, but I
14:46
Speaker 2: found them on my preceptorship, and they really nurtured my
14:50
Speaker 2: growth as a veterinarian and my growth as i'll say,
14:53
Speaker 2: a leader within the practice and maybe a leader in
14:55
Speaker 2: a more kind of global way as far as growing
14:59
Speaker 2: those leadership skills. And they welcomed me into part of
15:02
Speaker 2: the essentially management team really early in my career. So
15:05
Speaker 2: I went to the management meetings and they asked for
15:08
Speaker 2: my feedback. They certainly saw me as a potential owner.
15:11
Speaker 2: I've been an owner of the practice for I think
15:14
Speaker 2: fourteen years now at this point, and just became the
15:17
Speaker 2: kind of senior and managing partner a couple of years ago,
15:20
Speaker 2: and so for me, it's been a long process. It's
15:23
Speaker 2: something I always knew I wanted to do, and I
15:25
Speaker 2: think as a veterinarian, there's so much opportunity for us
15:30
Speaker 2: to again invest in ourselves and invest in this profession
15:33
Speaker 2: and make the profession what we want it to be.
15:36
Speaker 2: You hear so much people talk about burnout and fatigue
15:40
Speaker 2: and all of these challenges that come along with that,
15:43
Speaker 2: and I feel very lucky that I can control for
15:45
Speaker 2: some of those things in my own life, because I
15:48
Speaker 2: am really in charge of my own destiny and what
15:51
Speaker 2: that looks like moving forward.
15:53
Speaker 1: No, that is really great to hear and sort of
15:56
Speaker 1: listen to the trajectory and the growth within the practice,
16:00
Speaker 1: because as we know, there are many paths to practice ownership,
16:03
Speaker 1: from building something to the ground up, buying in partnering,
16:08
Speaker 1: and so I love that you were able to find
16:10
Speaker 1: the mentorship within the practice that you were at, have
16:13
Speaker 1: a little bit of an on ramp with some of
16:16
Speaker 1: those managing meetings initially and then becoming a partner and
16:19
Speaker 1: then ultimately kind of moving forward or advancing in the
16:23
Speaker 1: leadership of the practice. So I think it's good to
16:26
Speaker 1: just know that that is also a path that folks
16:29
Speaker 1: can take and be thinking when we're thinking about our opportunities.
16:34
Speaker 1: Is this somewhere that I could see myself in a
16:36
Speaker 1: leadership position if that's something that I'm interested in. I
16:39
Speaker 1: am curious though, since it's very clear that the culture
16:44
Speaker 1: and kind of the values of the practice are really
16:46
Speaker 1: important to you. Would you be willing to share something
16:48
Speaker 1: that you're particularly proud of that your practice does, either
16:52
Speaker 1: for its partners or for its employees, and something about
16:56
Speaker 1: that culture. I think it's kind of twofold. The first
16:59
Speaker 1: is that you have to put people and the pets first,
17:02
Speaker 1: you know, And so I think as long as we
17:04
Speaker 1: center our decision making around putting people and the pets
17:07
Speaker 1: and that human animal bond, as long as Dad stays
17:10
Speaker 1: at the center of what we're doing, I think you're
17:12
Speaker 1: on the right path if you can do that. When
17:14
Speaker 1: you put maybe other outside influences and I'm going to
17:18
Speaker 1: say the big dirty profit word, when that becomes.
17:20
Speaker 2: The sole focus, you really lose focus on the people
17:23
Speaker 2: and the animals. And so for me, keeping the people
17:26
Speaker 2: and the animals at the center of the decisions that
17:29
Speaker 2: we make and making those a core part of our culture,
17:31
Speaker 2: I think really is a fulfilling place for me to
17:34
Speaker 2: be that's why we all get into this. We don't
17:37
Speaker 2: become veterinarians for any reason other than wanting to care
17:40
Speaker 2: for animals and the people that love them. At least
17:43
Speaker 2: in general practice, that's what we were there for. That's
17:46
Speaker 2: really the bread and butter of what we do. And
17:47
Speaker 2: so focusing my decision making as a leader on those factors.
17:52
Speaker 2: It doesn't mean there aren't hard decisions, it doesn't mean
17:54
Speaker 2: there aren't hard conversations that have to happen. But as
17:58
Speaker 2: long as I keep that as my true north, I
18:02
Speaker 2: feel like we can we can make our way through
18:04
Speaker 2: those situations.
18:05
Speaker 1: Yeah. I love that leading values first and helping that
18:11
Speaker 1: get you through the inevitable challenges that will arise, but
18:15
Speaker 1: giving some direction to guide yourself and your team. I
18:19
Speaker 1: love that as a leadership quality, and I think that
18:23
Speaker 1: moves us into sort of the second phase of our
18:25
Speaker 1: conversation here about your leadership outside of the clinic. So,
18:30
Speaker 1: in addition to practice ownership, you also wanted to take
18:33
Speaker 1: on the challenge of being involved in organized veterinary medicine.
18:38
Speaker 1: So what were your first impressions of AVMA and why
18:43
Speaker 1: did you decide to become involved Initially.
18:45
Speaker 2: So I would say My initial impression as a new
18:48
Speaker 2: graduate about AVMA was that I needed them for insurance,
18:52
Speaker 2: which I think is what a lot of people say.
18:54
Speaker 2: Man in the beginning, that's really all that I thought
18:57
Speaker 2: of AVMA as and I was involved in SAVA when
19:00
Speaker 2: I was in school, but again I really didn't know
19:04
Speaker 2: what that was all about. And my pathway to ABMA
19:07
Speaker 2: leadership really started at the state level. I became really
19:11
Speaker 2: interested in some of the legislative advocacy things and really
19:15
Speaker 2: again keeping the people and the pets at the center
19:18
Speaker 2: of what we're doing. And so when you talk with
19:22
Speaker 2: legislators that are trying to shape policy that maybe is
19:25
Speaker 2: inappropriate for the veterinarian profession, that's really my pathway into
19:30
Speaker 2: leadership was like, Hey, some of these things just don't
19:32
Speaker 2: make sense. Some of these laws you're trying to pass
19:34
Speaker 2: just don't make sense for veterinarians. And the example I'll
19:37
Speaker 2: give in my state had to do with the opioid
19:40
Speaker 2: prescription drug monitoring programs that they wanted to start and
19:44
Speaker 2: the kind of the requirements that were going to be
19:46
Speaker 2: placed on veterinarians. They just didn't make sense. We were
19:49
Speaker 2: going to have to do weekly reporting through this like
19:51
Speaker 2: online portal, and there wasn't a way for us to
19:55
Speaker 2: really do that as veterinarians. It wouldn't sync with our
19:58
Speaker 2: practice management software was really written for human medicine. And
20:02
Speaker 2: so that's where I really got started in the advocacy pathway,
20:06
Speaker 2: and through that I became involved in the WSVMA, and
20:09
Speaker 2: then the opportunity presented itself to move to a position
20:13
Speaker 2: in the AVMA House of Delegates and it's kind of
20:15
Speaker 2: grown from there. As I got more involved in the
20:18
Speaker 2: WSVMA and then more involved in the AVMA, you start
20:21
Speaker 2: realizing all the things these organizations do and at that
20:25
Speaker 2: point then it was like, well, I really need to
20:27
Speaker 2: be a part of this. I want to be to
20:28
Speaker 2: steal a line from Hamilton, I want to be in
20:30
Speaker 2: the room where it happened. I want to be a
20:32
Speaker 2: part of that decision making and help direct the path
20:35
Speaker 2: of these things moving forward. The House, the delegate body,
20:39
Speaker 2: is really tasked with writing the AVMA's policies and position
20:42
Speaker 2: statements on the practice of veterinary medicine. And again, that
20:46
Speaker 2: true north for me is what's right for the animals
20:49
Speaker 2: and what's right for the people that take care of them.
20:51
Speaker 2: And so I think working with the House of Delegates,
20:54
Speaker 2: and that kind of leadership role really helps fulfill that
20:58
Speaker 2: true North guiding star that we want to do us
21:01
Speaker 2: right by the animals and right by the people.
21:03
Speaker 1: What a fascinating path. So it's kind of sparked by
21:07
Speaker 1: a need the legislation was impacting you and your daily practice,
21:11
Speaker 1: but that really opened the door to understand some of
21:15
Speaker 1: the inner workings of organized that MED on the local
21:17
Speaker 1: level and then led you to the state level, which
21:20
Speaker 1: then led you to the national level. And so I
21:23
Speaker 1: love that there are some parallels there with sort of
21:26
Speaker 1: unlocking different passions in your discovery of the ultrasound or
21:31
Speaker 1: pursuing different sea and then also kind of peeling back
21:33
Speaker 1: the layers of Organized that MED and stretching yourself and
21:36
Speaker 1: getting involved in different levels there as well. And you
21:40
Speaker 1: are so exemplifying that currently and that you has served
21:45
Speaker 1: as a delegate in the House of Delegates for AVMA, but
21:49
Speaker 1: now you are serving as the chair of the House
21:52
Speaker 1: Advisory Committee for AVMA. So I would love to know
21:56
Speaker 1: what sparked that decision to make that leap or take
21:59
Speaker 1: on that next challenge, and also maybe a little bit
22:01
Speaker 1: about what that position does for those who might not
22:04
Speaker 1: be familiar with it.
22:05
Speaker 2: Yeah, so you touched on it when you said you
22:08
Speaker 2: start peeling back the layers of organized veterinary medicine. I
22:11
Speaker 2: think that that is like really what drove me to
22:13
Speaker 2: want to be on the House Advisory Committee. So just
22:16
Speaker 2: a little bit of background about the AUMA government structure.
22:19
Speaker 2: The House of Delegates, there's two representatives from each state organization,
22:24
Speaker 2: and then we have the Allied Veterinary Organization, so that's
22:27
Speaker 2: groups like the bovine practitioners or the feline practitioners, So
22:31
Speaker 2: those kind of specialty areas within veterinary medicine are represented
22:35
Speaker 2: as well. And that House of Delegates body works on
22:39
Speaker 2: those policies that affect the practice of veterinary medicine and
22:43
Speaker 2: directs kind of what we think best practices would be.
22:47
Speaker 2: The House Advisory Committee oversees and directs that body, and
22:50
Speaker 2: so we lead the committees within that body. And again,
22:55
Speaker 2: as we peel back these layers, you start learning, Oh,
22:58
Speaker 2: I didn't know the AVMA did that. Oh I didn't
23:00
Speaker 2: know that that was the thing. Oh I didn't know
23:02
Speaker 2: that that was an opportunity. And so the more that
23:04
Speaker 2: I learned about all the different things that the AVMA did.
23:07
Speaker 2: The more I wanted to essentially dig in and learn more,
23:10
Speaker 2: it was like, oh, wait a second, they already have
23:12
Speaker 2: a program for that. And I find that that is
23:14
Speaker 2: so common when I talk to people about being in
23:16
Speaker 2: the AVMA. You know, and even within the House of Delegates,
23:19
Speaker 2: we will be sitting in committee meetings and someone will say, well,
23:22
Speaker 2: the AVMA should have a resource on xyz, and then
23:25
Speaker 2: a staff member will chime in and say, the AVMA
23:28
Speaker 2: does have a resource on that. And the reality is
23:31
Speaker 2: the AVMA is doing so many things that no one
23:34
Speaker 2: person can know all of the things that they do.
23:37
Speaker 2: But by becoming a member of the House Advisory Committee
23:40
Speaker 2: and then now be in the chair of the House
23:41
Speaker 2: Advisory Committee, you just get to be that much more
23:43
Speaker 2: engaged in what's happening and have a better understanding. And
23:46
Speaker 2: I've learned so many things about veterinary medicine. I'm going
23:50
Speaker 2: to use the example of New World screwworm.
23:52
Speaker 1: I'm a small.
23:53
Speaker 2: Animal practitioner in Washington State, so I'm a long ways
23:56
Speaker 2: from where this is happening, but I know so much
23:59
Speaker 2: more about it, and I can speak more eloquently and
24:01
Speaker 2: educated about it and really prepare myself for what might
24:05
Speaker 2: be coming. And you know, I think until you start
24:08
Speaker 2: looking at what the organization is doing, you just don't
24:11
Speaker 2: have an understanding of it. It's such a big organization
24:14
Speaker 2: that does so many things for so many people, and
24:17
Speaker 2: as I learned more about it, I just wanted to
24:18
Speaker 2: be more and more engaged in that process.
24:21
Speaker 1: Now that makes a lot of sense, and I think
24:24
Speaker 1: that's a really relatable experience of having that sort of
24:27
Speaker 1: first exposure to ABMA, knowing that the organization is out
24:31
Speaker 1: there advocating for the profession somehow, but not being acquainted
24:35
Speaker 1: with the specifics. But the thing that I really appreciate
24:38
Speaker 1: about your experience is that instead of having that be
24:41
Speaker 1: intimidating and just say, well, I'm just not going to
24:44
Speaker 1: know the extent of the resources, you really base that
24:47
Speaker 1: head on and what was very intentional about wanting to
24:50
Speaker 1: learn more about what those resources were and then positioning
24:52
Speaker 1: yourself in leadership positions to be aware and to contribute
24:57
Speaker 1: to those resources. And I think that's an important to highlight,
25:00
Speaker 1: especially for our audience, that students and early career veterinarians,
25:04
Speaker 1: that there is a place in the room where it
25:06
Speaker 1: happens and it's a valuable experience to be involved in
25:09
Speaker 1: that process and to be aware of things that might
25:11
Speaker 1: be going on around you that you just might not
25:14
Speaker 1: be exposed to otherwise. It's one of the great things
25:16
Speaker 1: about organized that med.
25:18
Speaker 2: IM just going to say, I think that there's a
25:20
Speaker 2: real tendency to feel like there are all these problems
25:23
Speaker 2: or challenges with our profession, and I think there's a
25:26
Speaker 2: tendency to feel like there's somebody else's problem, somebody else
25:29
Speaker 2: should do something about it. And I always ask myself, well,
25:33
Speaker 2: why then why not me? If I want something to change,
25:36
Speaker 2: maybe I should be that force of change. Maybe I
25:38
Speaker 2: should be the person to say no, we need to
25:41
Speaker 2: do something differently about this. So I would really challenge
25:44
Speaker 2: new and recent graduates to lean into that this is
25:48
Speaker 2: our profession. We get to be the people that shape
25:51
Speaker 2: what this looks like. But we can't be that if
25:54
Speaker 2: we don't lean into that, if we don't step up
25:56
Speaker 2: to the plate and say, hey, we want this whatever
26:00
Speaker 2: might be for our profession, those things can't happen. It's
26:03
Speaker 2: not somebody else's problem to solve, it's for us to
26:06
Speaker 2: lean into and address.
26:08
Speaker 1: I can't think of a better way to kind of
26:11
Speaker 1: wrap our conversation today and leave our listeners with a
26:15
Speaker 1: challenge that resonates with you personally. Right. Challenge was one
26:19
Speaker 1: of the first words that we talked about at the
26:21
Speaker 1: beginning of your career story, and finding ways to embrace
26:24
Speaker 1: both the challenge and the fun and taking ownership of
26:28
Speaker 1: some of those things. Is there something that we don't
26:30
Speaker 1: love asking that question, pushing ourselves how can I help
26:35
Speaker 1: or what can I do to contribute? I love that
26:38
Speaker 1: mindset that you have. I think that it is a
26:41
Speaker 1: challenging mindset, and I think that that is a challenge
26:44
Speaker 1: that we should all take a moment to consider after
26:48
Speaker 1: listening to our conversation today. Thanks Sanny, Thank you so much,
26:53
Speaker 1: Doctor Tomay. I've learned a lot, I've been inspired. I
26:57
Speaker 1: really enjoyed learning more about your story and just appreciate
27:00
Speaker 1: the time and the energy and enthusiasm you're brought to
27:03
Speaker 1: our conversation today. Thank you so much for joining us
27:06
Speaker 1: on this episode of the My Veterinary Life podcast. We
27:09
Speaker 1: love sharing this journey with you, and remember, we want
27:11
Speaker 1: to hear from you, so please be sure to leave
27:13
Speaker 1: us a rating and review on Apple Podcasts or whatever
27:15
Speaker 1: platform you listen. To, and you can also email me
27:18
Speaker 1: at MVL podcast at ABMA dot org. Take care and
27:21
Speaker 1: we'll see you next time.