Own Your Career: Making Intentional Choices in Veterinary Medicine | Dr. Rae Hutchins

Yeah,

it's a great question.

I

mean, I think one is there were internal things that I did and then also actions that I took.

So internally, I think one of the things that I did was really truthfully accept and come to peace with the fact that When you become a veterinarian, I think a lot of people see that, well, now I've become a veterinarian.

I am a veterinarian.

And I think that what I realized on that journey is that becoming a veterinarian was just one piece of who I am.

And Veterinarian was a label for the things that I cared about, meaning that it was quality of care, an excellent background of critical thinking, an unbelievable understanding of science and the ability to understand and grow with the latest research developments, etc., determining how patient care could be accelerated with certain systems and processes.

When you say veterinarian, there are so many things that that word encompasses.

And I think that one of the very most important things that I did is I came to peace with, I am a veterinarian because I got my degree, but I am a veterinarian because I also embody the incredible skill sets and competencies and beliefs and mission that a veterinarian embodies.

And so coming to peace with that was one of the most important steps because once I really, truly embraced that, that it is a label for all of those things that are critical to our career, then it was really easy for me to stay very connected to those things when I walked into a room that might have felt far from the exam room.

And then the other thing is that I physically stayed connected.

So a big part of every role that I've had is I stayed very current in continuing education.

Like I'm sucking in information and then like every conference that I can, I'm connecting with people.

leaders who are at the forefront of what they're thinking.

I'm talking to people who are within academia.

So I retained my adjunct professor position at NC State for a long time, like doing things where a state connected to what are the advancements and the literature and the research, etc.

And then also it was a built in part of my operational process that I was in hospitals.

And I don't mean just going in and shaking hands with people and saying, thank you for seeing this patient.

Wow, it seems like you really love dogs.

Like I would go in and I would.

see patients with them.

I would consult on cases.

I would participate in training programs for endoscopy, things like that, that kept me not necessarily feeling as though I'm a competent veterinarian, but very connected to what is the thought process? What is the reactions? What are the feelings that people are experiencing while they're delivering care? Because that was the part of being a veterinarian that I think would be really easy for me to lose sight of.

And absolutely critical for me to stay connected to.

Yeah,

it's a great question.

I

mean, I think one is there were internal things that I did and then also actions that I took.

So internally, I think one of the things that I did was really truthfully accept and come to peace with the fact that When you become a veterinarian, I think a lot of people see that, well, now I've become a veterinarian.

I am a veterinarian.

And I think that what I realized on that journey is that becoming a veterinarian was just one piece of who I am.

And Veterinarian was a label for the things that I cared about, meaning that it was quality of care, an excellent background of critical thinking, an unbelievable understanding of science and the ability to understand and grow with the latest research developments, etc., determining how patient care could be accelerated with certain systems and processes.

When you say veterinarian, there are so many things that that word encompasses.

And I think that one of the very most important things that I did is I came to peace with, I am a veterinarian because I got my degree, but I am a veterinarian because I also embody the incredible skill sets and competencies and beliefs and mission that a veterinarian embodies.

And so coming to peace with that was one of the most important steps because once I really, truly embraced that, that it is a label for all of those things that are critical to our career, then it was really easy for me to stay very connected to those things when I walked into a room that might have felt far from the exam room.

And then the other thing is that I physically stayed connected.

So a big part of every role that I've had is I stayed very current in continuing education.

Like I'm sucking in information and then like every conference that I can, I'm connecting with people.

leaders who are at the forefront of what they're thinking.

I'm talking to people who are within academia.

So I retained my adjunct professor position at NC State for a long time, like doing things where a state connected to what are the advancements and the literature and the research, etc.

And then also it was a built in part of my operational process that I was in hospitals.

And I don't mean just going in and shaking hands with people and saying, thank you for seeing this patient.

Wow, it seems like you really love dogs.

Like I would go in and I would.

see patients with them.

I would consult on cases.

I would participate in training programs for endoscopy, things like that, that kept me not necessarily feeling as though I'm a competent veterinarian, but very connected to what is the thought process? What is the reactions? What are the feelings that people are experiencing while they're delivering care? Because that was the part of being a veterinarian that I think would be really easy for me to lose sight of.

And absolutely critical for me to stay connected to.