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Equine practice to state veterinarian with Dr. Kristin Haas · My Veterinary Life

• 0:10
  Speaker 1: Welcome to this week's episode of the My Veterinary Life podcast.
• 0:13
  Speaker 1: I'm your host, Dr. Annie Chavant, and my pronouns are she, her.
• 0:17
  Speaker 1: And our guest today is Dr. Kristen Haas. Dr. Haas
• 0:20
  Speaker 1: served as a state veterinarian in Vermont for 17 years,
• 0:23
  Speaker 1: is an avid contributor to organized veterinary medicine, and has
• 0:26
  Speaker 1: a background in equine medicine.
• 0:29
  Speaker 2: I am so excited to share Dr.
• 0:30
  Speaker 1: Haas's story today, but before we do, I do want
• 0:33
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• 1:27
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• 1:29
  Speaker 2: And with that, welcome to the show, Dr.
• 1:31
  Speaker 1: Haas.
• 1:31
  Speaker 3: Thank you. Thanks for having me. I'm excited to be here.
• 1:35
  Speaker 2: It's going to be great.
• 1:36
  Speaker 1: We have so many things to look forward to as
• 1:38
  Speaker 1: we talk through your career story, but we will start
• 1:42
  Speaker 1: as we like to do at the very beginning.
• 1:44
  Speaker 2: So how did you first become interested in veterinary medicine?
• 1:49
  Speaker 4: Oh gosh, it seems like such a long, long time ago.
• 1:51
  Speaker 4: But animals have really always been a consistent priority for
• 1:56
  Speaker 4: me throughout my life. So it seemed, it always seemed
• 1:58
  Speaker 4: completely rational and natural to form a career around them.
• 2:02
  Speaker 4: I really never wanted to do anything else other than
• 2:06
  Speaker 4: a couple months, maybe up to six months stint of
• 2:09
  Speaker 4: wanting to be an FBI agent after the movie Silence
• 2:12
  Speaker 4: of the Lambs came out. But that faded and I
• 2:15
  Speaker 4: went back to pursuing veterinary medicine. I have an uncle
• 2:19
  Speaker 4: who is a veterinarian. My dad was a marine biologist,
• 2:22
  Speaker 4: so come from a science-oriented family, and I guess it's
• 2:26
  Speaker 4: in my blood. But what I didn't realize at that
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  Speaker 4: time early on as a kid and a teenager is
• 2:32
  Speaker 4: how many different facets of veterinary medicine and different types
• 2:36
  Speaker 4: of practice there are. So I do feel fortunate to
• 2:39
  Speaker 4: have had a career that has exposed me to some
• 2:42
  Speaker 4: of those sort of best-kept secret portions of veterinary medicine
• 2:46
  Speaker 4: that we're going to be talking about today.
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  Speaker 2: Very cool. Very cool. Well, things would have looked a
• 2:52
  Speaker 2: lot different if you went down the FBI path, but
• 2:54
  Speaker 2: I'm glad you stayed true to your roots.
• 2:58
  Speaker 4: We wouldn't be able to be having this conversation right now.
• 3:01
  Speaker 4: So that's that's one perk to not having pursued that.
• 3:05
  Speaker 2: Fantastic.
• 3:06
  Speaker 1: Well, to your point about many different avenues, you've explored
• 3:09
  Speaker 1: lots of aspects of vet med during your career, but
• 3:13
  Speaker 1: the first stop is equine medicine right after vet school.
• 3:16
  Speaker 1: So what did you find most challenging and what did
• 3:20
  Speaker 1: you enjoy most about this first phase of your career?
• 3:24
  Speaker 3: Yeah.
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  Speaker 4: So I was an equine ambulatory veterinarian in a couple
• 3:28
  Speaker 4: different practices over about a 13-year span in a couple
• 3:33
  Speaker 4: different states.
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  Speaker 3: So I think had a good exposure to that realm.
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  Speaker 4: The things that I found most challenging, I think, are
• 3:40
  Speaker 4: not very different from what I hear from other colleagues
• 3:44
  Speaker 4: in large animal practice or ambulatory practice. So similar to others,
• 3:49
  Speaker 4: I found it to be challenging to sort of have
• 3:51
  Speaker 4: this professional solitude. Even though I worked for somebody, my
• 3:56
  Speaker 4: farm calls and my appointments were solo, didn't have a
• 3:59
  Speaker 4: technician or assistant.
• 4:01
  Speaker 3: To share that with.
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  Speaker 4: So there was a lot of solitude, a lot of
• 4:04
  Speaker 4: time to reflect and think and get a little bit
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  Speaker 4: nervous early in my career. Also, that work-life balance was
• 4:12
  Speaker 4: a challenge for me. I was on call a lot,
• 4:15
  Speaker 4: anywhere from 30% to 50% of the time over those
• 4:16
  Speaker 4: 13 years, and I That wore on me after a while.
• 4:24
  Speaker 4: And then something that I didn't expect, but in reflecting
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  Speaker 4: on this question, I realized that really the sort of
• 4:32
  Speaker 4: repetitive nature of that type of job wore on me.
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  Speaker 4: And after a period of time, I didn't always feel
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  Speaker 4: the same sense of professional challenge.
• 4:43
  Speaker 3: In the day-to-day. So we were a sort of primary
• 4:46
  Speaker 3: care practice.
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  Speaker 4: And so I did a lot of dental floating, a
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  Speaker 4: lot of vaccines, a lot of sheath cleanings, a lot
• 4:53
  Speaker 4: of castrations. And those things are all important, but not
• 4:57
  Speaker 4: always the most stimulating work after years of doing them.
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  Speaker 4: So that was a challenging piece of it that I
• 5:04
  Speaker 4: realized once I started thinking about this question that you posed.
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  Speaker 4: But also, this was a very enjoyable time of my career.
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  Speaker 4: I think of it as where I sort of cut
• 5:14
  Speaker 4: my teeth. I was finally doing what I had always
• 5:16
  Speaker 4: wanted to do. And that was super rewarding. Those years
• 5:20
  Speaker 4: helped me gain confidence in my decision making because I
• 5:24
  Speaker 4: was autonomous so much of the time. I learned how
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  Speaker 4: to problem solve and taught clients through really tough situations
• 5:31
  Speaker 4: and helped them make hard decisions. And I think it
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  Speaker 4: honestly helped me develop a stronger sense of empathy, which
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  Speaker 4: I had always had for animals, but the interaction with
• 5:41
  Speaker 4: my clients helped me develop that on the human side
• 5:44
  Speaker 4: as well. So although the equine medicine years had their
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  Speaker 4: challenges and it was a sector of the profession that
• 5:50
  Speaker 4: I ultimately left, it was absolutely.
• 5:53
  Speaker 3: essential to me.
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  Speaker 4: I think it made me a better professional and a
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  Speaker 4: better human and provided me with a real-life perspective that
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  Speaker 4: I do think has served me well in public practice
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  Speaker 4: and has allowed me to better serve the public as
• 6:07
  Speaker 4: a state veterinarian.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, thanks so much for that thoughtful response and sharing
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  Speaker 1: both sides of the experience because that's something that I
• 6:19
  Speaker 1: think is important to talk more about is that things
• 6:22
  Speaker 1: can be incredibly valuable and difficult at the same time,
• 6:28
  Speaker 1: enjoyable and difficult at the same time. I think that
• 6:31
  Speaker 1: you highlighted a few things that new grads might not
• 6:35
  Speaker 1: think about as potential challenges and opening our eyes to
• 6:39
  Speaker 1: some of those things based on other people's experience is
• 6:42
  Speaker 1: why these conversations are so, so valuable. I love hearing
• 6:46
  Speaker 1: about your experience in equine practice, and I'm glad that
• 6:48
  Speaker 1: it was a great decade plus in that sector of
• 6:53
  Speaker 1: our profession.
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  Speaker 2: But as you alluded to, you did make the leap.
• 6:57
  Speaker 1: From clinical practice to a state-level regulatory position in animal health.
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  Speaker 1: So what prompted you to make that change at the
• 7:05
  Speaker 1: time that you did?
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  Speaker 3: Yeah, so my leap was pretty unsexy. to be quite honest.
• 7:13
  Speaker 4: It was the result of really life logistics rather than
• 7:17
  Speaker 4: a light bulb moment or a newly realized opportunity to
• 7:22
  Speaker 4: follow a revised passion or something that makes for a
• 7:26
  Speaker 4: really good story. At that time, my husband and I
• 7:29
  Speaker 4: had been living in Vermont for five years. We loved it.
• 7:33
  Speaker 4: He is a small animal veterinarian and he was in
• 7:35
  Speaker 4: a job that he liked. We had already moved for
• 7:38
  Speaker 4: my job and we didn't want to move again.
• 7:40
  Speaker 3: We like living in New England and specifically Vermont.
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  Speaker 4: So I started looking for something else where I could
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  Speaker 4: still use my vet degree. formal training and not feel
• 7:51
  Speaker 4: like I was giving up on that, but also stay
• 7:53
  Speaker 4: put in Vermont. Vermont's a small state, so there wasn't
• 7:58
  Speaker 4: a lot of choice in that regard. And I became
• 8:00
  Speaker 4: aware of the state veterinary position opening through, actually through
• 8:04
  Speaker 4: word of mouth within our veterinary medical association. So that's
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  Speaker 4: always interesting how that works. So I looked into it.
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  Speaker 4: Required a degree, a veterinary license, but I really had
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  Speaker 4: not much of an idea otherwise what the day-to-day would
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  Speaker 4: look like. But the job description looked sort of cool, intriguing,
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  Speaker 4: and it seemed to offer a better work-life balance, so
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  Speaker 4: I applied. I took a leap of faith in it.
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  Speaker 4: it paid off because being a state veterinarian was absolutely
• 8:32
  Speaker 4: the furthest thing from anything I ever thought I would
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  Speaker 4: be doing. And it also was hands down the most
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  Speaker 4: rewarding thing.
• 8:40
  Speaker 3: That I did in my career. I can't say enough
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  Speaker 3: good about that sector. Yeah.
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  Speaker 1: And I think that those stories are just as important
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  Speaker 1: to share because, um, Sometimes it's not always this glamorous
• 8:56
  Speaker 1: aha moment.
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  Speaker 2: And I think that sometimes we can discount the.
• 9:02
  Speaker 1: significance of the logistics that are around our jobs, but
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  Speaker 1: it's the logistics that are what make our careers sustainable.
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  Speaker 1: The fact that you have a partner who had a
• 9:12
  Speaker 1: job that he enjoyed, you had a location that you enjoyed,
• 9:16
  Speaker 1: that's what makes life outside of work work.
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  Speaker 2: And those things are important.
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  Speaker 1: And so thinking about that holistically, um, Looking at the
• 9:26
  Speaker 1: job description, making sure that's a good fit, but also
• 9:29
  Speaker 1: are the factors around the job a good fit as well?
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  Speaker 1: I'm glad that you took a chance on a position that.
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  Speaker 2: You admittedly did not know a lot about.
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  Speaker 1: And I would like to move us there next, actually,
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  Speaker 1: because I suspect that you are not.
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  Speaker 2: The only one with a little bit of.
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  Speaker 1: Haziness around what state-level regulatory positions involve. So....
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  Speaker 2: In your own words, how would you describe that role?
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  Speaker 1: And was there anything that surprised you about it over
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  Speaker 1: your 17 years?
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  Speaker 4: Oh, gosh, there was Everything surprised me about it, and
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  Speaker 4: mostly in a good way. But generically speaking, and what
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  Speaker 4: veterinarians will often see in job postings, is that a
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  Speaker 4: state veterinarian is the chief animal health expert in the
• 10:16
  Speaker 4: state in which they serve. So that's sort of the
• 10:18
  Speaker 4: generic description. But what I think is so important to
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  Speaker 4: remember is that depending on where you are in the
• 10:25
  Speaker 4: country and the scope that you are hired for, the
• 10:28
  Speaker 4: day-to-day can look so different, even within the same job title. So,
• 10:34
  Speaker 4: for instance, a state veterinarian in the greater Yellowstone area
• 10:37
  Speaker 4: might focus on brucellosis management versus a state veterinarian in
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  Speaker 4: my area of New England who might have more companion
• 10:44
  Speaker 4: animal responsibilities and a heavier focus on rabies and other zoonoses.
• 10:51
  Speaker 4: So very different depending on the part of the country
• 10:53
  Speaker 4: you're in. I definitely was still a clinical veterinarian. There
• 10:57
  Speaker 4: was a fair bit of hands-on animal work through tuberculosis testing,
• 11:02
  Speaker 4: foreign animal disease investigations, emerging disease consultations with practicing veterinarians.
• 11:09
  Speaker 4: I was a policy developer at the state, regional, and
• 11:12
  Speaker 4: national levels, and those times spent doing that were very valuable.
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  Speaker 3: Rewarding.
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  Speaker 4: A subject matter expert, that is definitely true. So I
• 11:21
  Speaker 4: was often called on by our legislative body, by my
• 11:26
  Speaker 4: agency leadership team or, you know, hierarchy, the secretary within
• 11:30
  Speaker 4: the agency, members of the media, colleagues in related sectors
• 11:34
  Speaker 4: like public health, industry groups, individual producers, and even clinical
• 11:40
  Speaker 4: veterinarians during reportable disease situations. So called on to provide,
• 11:45
  Speaker 4: you know, information. on various topics to those different sectors.
• 11:50
  Speaker 4: I was an emergency manager, which is something that surprised me.
• 11:53
  Speaker 4: Didn't know about that. So I had the opportunity to
• 11:56
  Speaker 4: work with experts in other sectors on the protection of people, animals,
• 12:01
  Speaker 4: and infrastructure in my own state, and also working on
• 12:05
  Speaker 4: methods to prevent foreign animal disease incursions like foot and
• 12:09
  Speaker 4: mouth disease, African swine fever, and avian influenza, and then
• 12:13
  Speaker 4: also having plans in place to mitigate those cases if
• 12:16
  Speaker 4: we ever, ever had one. So, and we did have
• 12:19
  Speaker 4: multiple avian influenza cases. So that was always an interesting experience.
• 12:24
  Speaker 4: Loved having the opportunity to liaise with different sectors. So
• 12:29
  Speaker 4: projects and initiatives that we worked on often were done
• 12:32
  Speaker 4: in concert with public health colleagues, wildlife health colleagues, and
• 12:36
  Speaker 4: USDA and others.
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  Speaker 3: So that was great fun.
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  Speaker 4: I was a supervisor and a mentor, both for veterinary
• 12:43
  Speaker 4: and non-veterinary staff within my agency. So that was an
• 12:47
  Speaker 4: experience I had never had before. Hope I did.
• 12:49
  Speaker 2: A good job.
• 12:50
  Speaker 4: Certainly was a regulator of animal movement into and within
• 12:55
  Speaker 4: the my state and then was tasked with enforcing many
• 12:59
  Speaker 4: of the animal-related state laws. And I would say most importantly,
• 13:04
  Speaker 4: and in a very rewarding context, I was a student
• 13:07
  Speaker 4: throughout my career in public practice. There were only a
• 13:11
  Speaker 4: handful of days that I can think of in 17-plus
• 13:14
  Speaker 4: years where one day was very much like the prior day.
• 13:19
  Speaker 4: The norm was that there was no norm. Every day
• 13:22
  Speaker 4: was different with new challenges. So there was definitely no
• 13:26
  Speaker 4: time to get bored. And it was a career of
• 13:30
  Speaker 4: learning something new at least every week, if not every day.
• 13:33
  Speaker 3: And that was fascinating.
• 13:35
  Speaker 4: There were things that surprised me, not all in a
• 13:38
  Speaker 4: bad way, but definitely came as a surprise. So I
• 13:40
  Speaker 4: had to really change my mindset and redefine what it
• 13:45
  Speaker 4: meant to be, what it means to be successful in
• 13:48
  Speaker 4: a job focused on population medicine and policy work versus
• 13:53
  Speaker 4: individual animal case medicine. I'm a list person. I like
• 13:58
  Speaker 4: to make a list. I like at the end of
• 14:00
  Speaker 4: a shift or a day to button everything up and
• 14:03
  Speaker 4: check things off. Sometimes I write things on lists just
• 14:06
  Speaker 4: to check them off because I feel satisfaction, but that's
• 14:10
  Speaker 4: often not possible. in a public sector job. Things take
• 14:15
  Speaker 4: longer to complete. There are many more, sometimes many more
• 14:19
  Speaker 4: external forces involved and things that you have to overcome.
• 14:23
  Speaker 4: There may be a lot of sort of midstream pivoting required,
• 14:27
  Speaker 4: but those things just make the successes that much more
• 14:30
  Speaker 4: rewarding when they do happen. I was also pleasantly surprised
• 14:35
  Speaker 4: by the significant positive impact that colleagues in this sector,
• 14:40
  Speaker 4: including myself, were able to have. on the development of
• 14:43
  Speaker 4: animal and public health policy that is of great benefit
• 14:47
  Speaker 4: to society, even if sometimes society doesn't realize that the
• 14:51
  Speaker 4: work's being done on their behalf. I was never, during
• 14:55
  Speaker 4: my formal training and in veterinary school, we were never
• 14:58
  Speaker 4: at that time exposed to any of these other sectors.
• 15:01
  Speaker 4: So that was a really pleasant surprise to see the
• 15:03
  Speaker 4: impact that veterinary medicine can have in that way. And
• 15:07
  Speaker 4: then also the professional closeness and networking and camaraderie within
• 15:13
  Speaker 4: the state veterinary group is amazing. It's a small group,
• 15:17
  Speaker 4: 50 states, and some states only have one person operating
• 15:21
  Speaker 4: at that level. But despite that, I knew I could
• 15:24
  Speaker 4: pick up the phone at any point and get advice.
• 15:27
  Speaker 4: or sometimes just reassurance or validation on my decisions from
• 15:32
  Speaker 4: counterparts all over the country, Alabama, Montana, Colorado, anywhere in
• 15:37
  Speaker 4: the country. So the expertise within this group is deep,
• 15:41
  Speaker 4: and the willingness to help each other is even deeper.
• 15:44
  Speaker 4: And I never felt isolated in that job, thanks to
• 15:48
  Speaker 4: those colleagues across the country and in my own agency.
• 15:51
  Speaker 4: And then lastly, I really felt like another thing that
• 15:55
  Speaker 4: surprised me was I really felt like I used my
• 15:58
  Speaker 4: formal training and degree much more consistently and honestly in
• 16:04
  Speaker 4: a more enjoyable and challenging way than I did in
• 16:07
  Speaker 4: my clinical practice years. And that was not only rewarding,
• 16:11
  Speaker 4: but it was fun. It made every day different and
• 16:14
  Speaker 4: exciting and something to look forward to and be challenged by.
• 16:18
  Speaker 2: Wow. Yes. No days are the same is an understatement.
• 16:23
  Speaker 1: And I think it's so interesting how the things that
• 16:27
  Speaker 1: you enjoyed and the things that you highlighted about that
• 16:30
  Speaker 1: role were that mirror of the things that you did
• 16:33
  Speaker 1: not find as fulfilling ultimately prior to the transition. So
• 16:36
  Speaker 1: being able to build that professional network, not only with
• 16:40
  Speaker 1: individual colleagues, but then working with those external entities, like
• 16:43
  Speaker 1: you mentioned. And the variety that you are experiencing, that's
• 16:47
  Speaker 1: a lot of species. That's a lot of different problems
• 16:50
  Speaker 1: to solve. But that sounds like something that's really energizing
• 16:53
  Speaker 1: for you. And it filled your cup in a different
• 16:56
  Speaker 1: way and helped you use your degree to your point
• 16:59
  Speaker 1: in a way that was really fulfilling.
• 17:01
  Speaker 4: So.
• 17:02
  Speaker 1: I love that you put in the work to know
• 17:04
  Speaker 1: yourself prior to the transition and then leaned into the
• 17:07
  Speaker 1: things that energized you on the day-to-day with the state
• 17:11
  Speaker 1: vet position. And thank you for helping shed some light
• 17:14
  Speaker 1: into what those days look like. It sounds like you
• 17:17
  Speaker 1: can't really be prepared for day-to-day, but you can be
• 17:22
  Speaker 1: prepared with the problem-solving and skills and the frameworks that
• 17:27
  Speaker 1: we know and apply them in different ways, which can
• 17:29
  Speaker 1: be fun and exciting.
• 17:31
  Speaker 3: Definitely. Wonderful.
• 17:33
  Speaker 1: And so in addition to the exciting things that you
• 17:36
  Speaker 1: were doing on the state veterinarian level, you've also been
• 17:40
  Speaker 1: very active in organized vet med from the United States
• 17:43
  Speaker 1: Animal Health Association to the Vermont State VMA and also
• 17:47
  Speaker 1: to AVMA.
• 17:49
  Speaker 2: Can you share a little bit about what your roles
• 17:51
  Speaker 2: have looked like in each of these organizations as well?
• 17:55
  Speaker 4: Sure. Yeah, that's been a really fun extension of the day-to-day.
• 17:59
  Speaker 4: So my roles in each of these organizations have looked
• 18:02
  Speaker 4: different from, you know, one has looked different from the other,
• 18:05
  Speaker 4: but they kind of all follow a common theme in
• 18:09
  Speaker 4: that they've all been built upon or piggybacked on my
• 18:12
  Speaker 4: state vet role.
• 18:14
  Speaker 3: And they've all allowed me to continue.
• 18:16
  Speaker 4: Serving the public through an animal health context, which I
• 18:20
  Speaker 4: just find so rewarding.
• 18:22
  Speaker 3: So The USHA, U.S.
• 18:24
  Speaker 4: Animal Health Association, is a committee-based one, policy development organization.
• 18:30
  Speaker 4: And so I had the really good fortune and fun
• 18:33
  Speaker 4: opportunity to serve on their board of directors for the
• 18:37
  Speaker 4: entirety of my public service career and still serve in
• 18:40
  Speaker 4: that capacity. I also was a member of their executive
• 18:44
  Speaker 4: committee for six years and served as the organization's president
• 18:49
  Speaker 4: in 2019, I think it was. And as part of that,
• 18:52
  Speaker 4: I got to go to Paris even as part of
• 18:54
  Speaker 4: the U.S. delegation for the World Organization of Animal Health meeting.
• 18:59
  Speaker 4: So I'm not sure of many veterinary jobs where you
• 19:02
  Speaker 4: get a trip to Paris, but that was great and fascinating.
• 19:06
  Speaker 3: And I've also started.
• 19:08
  Speaker 4: And now continue to help write the organization's member newsletter.
• 19:12
  Speaker 3: I love to write. And so that gives me an
• 19:14
  Speaker 3: outlet for that. So we have fun doing that.
• 19:18
  Speaker 4: It's a wonderful organization for anybody interested in public practice.
• 19:21
  Speaker 4: It brings together veterinarians at all levels, industry and state
• 19:25
  Speaker 4: and federal government, alongside the industry members and producers that
• 19:30
  Speaker 4: we serve. And it's a great opportunity for networking.
• 19:33
  Speaker 3: And members of.
• 19:35
  Speaker 4: USHA also receive a weekly public service job posting. So
• 19:39
  Speaker 4: it's a wonderful way to job hunt. So that's been
• 19:42
  Speaker 4: a really rewarding thing that I've enjoyed. The AVMA, I
• 19:46
  Speaker 4: was always a member throughout, a student member and then
• 19:49
  Speaker 4: a member during my clinical days, as well as public service,
• 19:53
  Speaker 4: but I never really engaged very much. So with the
• 19:57
  Speaker 4: perspectives and experience I gained during my years in public
• 20:00
  Speaker 4: practice and now with a little bit more time, I've
• 20:03
  Speaker 4: grown more to appreciate AVMA's mission and I've been able
• 20:08
  Speaker 4: to contribute to that mission as a member and the
• 20:11
  Speaker 4: current chair of the Council on Public Health. and then
• 20:14
  Speaker 4: also as an alternate member of the American Agriculture Liaison Committee.
• 20:18
  Speaker 4: So it's been fun to see how AVMA works and
• 20:21
  Speaker 4: the benefits that it provides for all of us. And
• 20:24
  Speaker 4: then at the state level, my state VMA role, I
• 20:27
  Speaker 4: was a member of their leadership team that, by definition,
• 20:31
  Speaker 4: the state veterinarian serves in that way. And then I've
• 20:35
  Speaker 4: participated on their government relations committee for a number of
• 20:38
  Speaker 4: years and so have the opportunity to collaborate on those
• 20:42
  Speaker 4: issues that impact veterinarians and animal health in my own
• 20:46
  Speaker 4: state and help develop policies and influence legislation that impacts
• 20:50
  Speaker 4: these areas. So these roles in organizational medicine have been
• 20:54
  Speaker 4: really enjoyable ones, and none would be possible without my
• 20:57
  Speaker 4: time as a state veterinarian because that portion of my
• 21:01
  Speaker 4: career oriented me to the idea that there is a
• 21:04
  Speaker 4: huge need for animal health collaboration across all these different levels, state, regional,
• 21:10
  Speaker 4: and national, to serve the public. And those efforts augment
• 21:14
  Speaker 4: the good work that clinical veterinarians are doing. And since
• 21:17
  Speaker 4: we live in a global society and are at the
• 21:20
  Speaker 4: mercy of a global economy, it's really more important than
• 21:23
  Speaker 4: ever that there's a collective veterinary voice in these discussions
• 21:27
  Speaker 4: aimed at public protection. And organizations like USHA and AVMA
• 21:32
  Speaker 4: provide a forum for that voice. And I think public
• 21:35
  Speaker 4: practice jobs do a really great job of prepping veterinarians
• 21:40
  Speaker 4: to engage in those discussions. So I see the two
• 21:42
  Speaker 4: public service jobs and organizational veterinary medicine really working hand
• 21:46
  Speaker 4: in hand in many ways.
• 21:48
  Speaker 1: I really like that perspective of the collaboration and kind
• 21:52
  Speaker 1: of symbiosis between those two areas of veterinary medicine.
• 21:57
  Speaker 2: And I also really appreciate.
• 21:59
  Speaker 1: That while the role does lend itself to serve in
• 22:03
  Speaker 1: these volunteer positions, you really embraced that and leaned into
• 22:07
  Speaker 1: it and got involved in multiple organizations that had impact
• 22:11
  Speaker 1: at multiple levels as well.
• 22:13
  Speaker 2: So really appreciate your contributions there. Thank you. Now, you officially.
• 22:19
  Speaker 1: Retired in 2024, not too long ago.
• 22:23
  Speaker 2: So what led to that big decision? And how are
• 22:27
  Speaker 2: you deciding how you want to spend this next chapter?
• 22:30
  Speaker 4: Yeah, well, check back with me on that second part
• 22:34
  Speaker 4: of your question because I'm still figuring it out. And
• 22:38
  Speaker 4: I think my reasons for deciding to retire are now
• 22:41
  Speaker 4: going to sound a little bit counter to everything I
• 22:43
  Speaker 4: sped up to this point, but I don't see it
• 22:46
  Speaker 4: that way. So hopefully I can convey it in the
• 22:49
  Speaker 4: same manner, but I have so much respect for that
• 22:52
  Speaker 4: position and the importance of it. And I enjoy, I've
• 22:55
  Speaker 4: enjoyed it so much that I didn't want to stay
• 22:59
  Speaker 4: until the bitter end and be resentful or had a
• 23:03
  Speaker 4: poor attitude about that position. I didn't want to risk
• 23:06
  Speaker 4: being unhappy in the position. Additionally, I was working at
• 23:10
  Speaker 4: the time with our assistant state veterinarian who very capable,
• 23:14
  Speaker 4: young professional and wanted to stay in the agency and
• 23:18
  Speaker 4: have some opportunity for upward mobility. So it just seemed
• 23:22
  Speaker 4: like a good time to exit stage right and allow
• 23:26
  Speaker 4: that to perhaps happen if she was interested in pursuing
• 23:29
  Speaker 4: the state vet position and give myself the opportunity to
• 23:33
  Speaker 4: pursue some other things. And, you know, life is really
• 23:36
  Speaker 4: short and I wanted a chance to focus on some
• 23:40
  Speaker 4: other things that I enjoy.
• 23:42
  Speaker 3: So even though.
• 23:42
  Speaker 4: It's been two years plus a few months, I'm still
• 23:46
  Speaker 4: figuring it out, figuring out what retirement looks like. The
• 23:49
  Speaker 4: organizational medicine has been a great way to stay connected
• 23:54
  Speaker 4: to veterinary medicine and I've enjoyed that. I do some
• 23:57
  Speaker 4: volunteer work with our local state level therapy dog organization
• 24:02
  Speaker 4: and crisis response. So love doing that and then pursue a.
• 24:07
  Speaker 3: Few other hobbies.
• 24:08
  Speaker 4: And I still have my vet license because it's really,
• 24:11
  Speaker 4: I can't bring myself to give that up yet. And
• 24:13
  Speaker 4: you never know, it's easier to keep it than to
• 24:16
  Speaker 4: get it back. So I'm Maintaining that in case there's
• 24:20
  Speaker 4: another turn that I'm not expecting and there's the opportunity
• 24:23
  Speaker 4: to get back into it.
• 24:25
  Speaker 1: It's great to hear that thought process because admittedly on
• 24:29
  Speaker 1: the podcast, we do focus on those early career years
• 24:32
  Speaker 1: and getting started out in vet med. And it's an
• 24:36
  Speaker 1: equally big decision of what does that sort of sunsetting
• 24:40
  Speaker 1: process look like?
• 24:42
  Speaker 2: And I really appreciate the number of factors that.
• 24:45
  Speaker 1: Went into your decision in terms of, personal fulfillment and
• 24:50
  Speaker 1: what energizes you and what you want to have the
• 24:53
  Speaker 1: time and energy for in the life that you have,
• 24:56
  Speaker 1: as well as making sure that opportunities are available for
• 25:00
  Speaker 1: other folks in a field that you enjoyed so much.
• 25:04
  Speaker 2: So as we wrap up today, Dr. Haas, I do.
• 25:08
  Speaker 1: Have to ask you from your vantage point and the
• 25:11
  Speaker 1: career story that you've had so far, what is the
• 25:14
  Speaker 1: best advice that you could offer to a colleague who
• 25:17
  Speaker 1: might be considering regulatory medicine, considering public practice as a
• 25:22
  Speaker 1: career or career change?
• 25:25
  Speaker 3: Oh, gosh, yes.
• 25:26
  Speaker 4: But I have lots of advice, but I'll try and
• 25:28
  Speaker 4: distill it down. So not to sound cliche, but my
• 25:32
  Speaker 4: overarching piece of advice would be just do it. You
• 25:35
  Speaker 4: will not regret it. It's just phenomenal. So just do it.
• 25:39
  Speaker 4: But don't do it like I did it. So again,
• 25:42
  Speaker 4: I was running away from something more so than towards something.
• 25:46
  Speaker 4: And I happened to get lucky and stumble into something
• 25:49
  Speaker 4: that I truly loved. But if I had to do
• 25:51
  Speaker 4: it over again, and since I get to offer suggestions
• 25:53
  Speaker 4: on how others should do it, I would say make
• 25:56
  Speaker 4: your transition and your choice in a very intentional way.
• 26:00
  Speaker 4: There's so much diversity in the public sector that the
• 26:03
  Speaker 4: decision deserves a lot of due diligence. So Take steps
• 26:07
  Speaker 4: to help ensure that a particular job is the right
• 26:09
  Speaker 4: fit for you.
• 26:11
  Speaker 3: Research it.
• 26:11
  Speaker 4: Shadow people already in it. Write down your likes and
• 26:15
  Speaker 4: dislikes and prioritize different attributes of a job. For instance,
• 26:19
  Speaker 4: do you want to be inside behind a desk or
• 26:21
  Speaker 4: do you want to be outside hands-on with animals? Is
• 26:25
  Speaker 4: travel an option for you? Can you relocate? What kind
• 26:28
  Speaker 4: of work-life balance do you want?
• 26:30
  Speaker 3: Et cetera, et cetera.
• 26:32
  Speaker 4: So if you're interested in public practice, there's a job
• 26:35
  Speaker 4: out there for you. It just might take some legwork
• 26:37
  Speaker 4: to find the right one. And then the most important
• 26:41
  Speaker 4: bit of advice I can give comes in the form
• 26:44
  Speaker 4: of reassurance. And that is, Whether you have just graduated
• 26:48
  Speaker 4: or are transitioning from clinical practice, you are qualified for
• 26:53
  Speaker 4: a public service position, period. You are qualified for a
• 26:57
  Speaker 4: public service position. So veterinarians, by definition, were qualified. We're
• 27:02
  Speaker 4: very good communicators. We're expert problem solvers. We are good
• 27:07
  Speaker 4: critical thinkers. And that is the skill set you need
• 27:11
  Speaker 4: for these types of positions. The clinical-based skills that you
• 27:14
  Speaker 4: learned in veterinary school and perhaps fine-tuned in clinical practice
• 27:19
  Speaker 4: translate really well into public practice. You still, in public practice,
• 27:24
  Speaker 4: collect and analyze and use data. You develop a plan.
• 27:27
  Speaker 4: except rather than that plan being a treatment for an
• 27:30
  Speaker 4: individual animal, as is the case with clinical practice, it
• 27:34
  Speaker 4: may instead impact an entire population of animals or translate
• 27:37
  Speaker 4: into a statewide policy. So it's a different scenario, but
• 27:40
  Speaker 4: same techniques, and you're flexing the same muscles in a
• 27:43
  Speaker 4: different way. And then lastly, I'll just reiterate that the
• 27:47
  Speaker 4: colleague support and allowance for on-the-job training is robust in
• 27:52
  Speaker 4: all instances. So even though there are only 50 state
• 27:55
  Speaker 4: veterinarians involved, Again, that camaraderie across the country was amazing.
• 28:00
  Speaker 4: So you will have the support to learn and to
• 28:03
  Speaker 4: gain experience in a way that will be very satisfying
• 28:06
  Speaker 4: to you. So, you know, the veterinary world is your oyster.
• 28:10
  Speaker 4: So you just got to find your pearl. And I
• 28:12
  Speaker 4: think the public practice sector is a really great pearl.
• 28:15
  Speaker 4: So I hope if you're thinking you want to do it,
• 28:17
  Speaker 4: that you pull the trigger and pursue it.
• 28:20
  Speaker 2: You are qualified.
• 28:22
  Speaker 1: I want to repeat that so that it comes through
• 28:26
  Speaker 1: because I think there is that doubt that can come
• 28:30
  Speaker 1: along with any transition.
• 28:32
  Speaker 2: And just keeping in mind that.
• 28:34
  Speaker 1: We have a really powerful set of skills as veterinarians
• 28:39
  Speaker 1: and There are support systems in place.
• 28:41
  Speaker 2: There are amazing colleagues.
• 28:43
  Speaker 1: That can further enhance that and make a transition really
• 28:48
  Speaker 1: a wonderful experience as you have seen throughout your career.
• 28:51
  Speaker 2: So really appreciate that advice and those words of encouragement.
• 28:55
  Speaker 3: Thank you.
• 28:55
  Speaker 4: I'm glad to be able to offer it and I
• 28:57
  Speaker 4: just can't stress it enough. So appreciate it.
• 29:01
  Speaker 1: Wonderful.
• 29:02
  Speaker 2: Well, thank you so much for your time today, Dr.
• 29:05
  Speaker 4: Haas.
• 29:05
  Speaker 1: Kristen, we have really enjoyed learning about your career, learning
• 29:10
  Speaker 1: about regulatory medicine more broadly, and congratulations on your retirement recently.
• 29:18
  Speaker 3: Thank you very much.
• 29:19
  Speaker 4: Appreciate the chance to be here and to share this information,
• 29:22
  Speaker 4: and I hope it sheds some light on a great part.
• 29:25
  Speaker 3: Of our profession.
• 29:26
  Speaker 2: Absolutely.
• 29:28
  Speaker 1: And thank you to each of you for joining us
• 29:29
  Speaker 1: on this episode of the My Veterinary Life podcast. We
• 29:32
  Speaker 1: love sharing this journey with you. And remember, we want
• 29:35
  Speaker 1: to hear from you. So please be sure to leave
• 29:37
  Speaker 1: us a rating and review on Apple Podcasts or whatever plug.
• 29:30
  Speaker 2: Take care, and we'll see you next time.