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Join VIN Foundation Executive Director Jordan Benshea as she chats with VSPN Director Charlotte Waack about her journey to veterinary medicine, how a back injury set her on an unexpected course, and why the medicine continues to elicit excitement. Charlotte shares an inside look at the veterinary support field, the areas she sees as stressors with room for improvement, and how Support4Support is helping colleagues feel not alone. 
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Charlotte Waack, AA, AAS, BS, CVT, RVT
 Charlotte started working in the field of veterinary medicine in 1990, as a veterinary assistant. She ended up loving the field and pursued the education to become a credentialed veterinary technician. Charlotte graduated from St. Petersburg Distance Learning Veterinary Technology program in 2004, and in 2006 started working for Veterinary Information Network (VIN), assisting with Continued Education (CE) courses for VSPN (Veterinary Support Personnel Network). Charlotte currently serves as the Director of VSPN and VSPN CE. In addition to driving all content to the VSPN website, she is also in charge of hiring instructors and coordinating the CE courses offered to technicians and support staff, is the co-founder and Team Lead of the VIN Foundation peer support group Support4Support, and is a vital member of the VIN Conference team, working at conferences in the US, Canada, and Europe, and has recently started to host interview type vlogs for VSPN, called #lovevspn.
Charlotte served on the National Veterinary Technician Association executive board from 2012-2014, Missouri Veterinary Technicians Association board from 2008-2012; Illinois State Veterinary Medical Association board from 2014-2017. She coordinated three CE conferences for Missouri Veterinary Technicians Association and has served on the CVT and CE committees for ISVMA since 2015 and co-chair of the ISVMA yearly convention since 2017-2019, as well as the technician program chair for Chicagoland Veterinary Conference.
Charlotte’s speaking engagements have included the Wild West Veterinary Conference, Association of Veterinary Technician Educators Symposium, presented webinars for VSPN, Illinois Veterinary Medical Association, and has given presentations to Illinois veterinary technology programs. She has also been published in NAVTA Journal, ISVMA Epitome and Veterinary Technicians Magazine.
As an educator, Charlotte has taught CE courses for VSPN CE, a veterinary assistant course at John Wood Community College in Quincy, IL, and was an adjunct instructor for San Juan College Veterinary Technology Distance Learning program. She also serves on the curriculum advisory committees for San Juan College Veterinary Technology Program and Pima Medical Institute (Las Vegas) Veterinary Technology Program.

LINKS AND INFORMATION:

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Listen in as we talk with Dr. Kate Creevy about her fascinating and insightful path in veterinary medicine. She shares how decisions she didn’t see as impactful at the time played crucial roles in her career development, and the important role of science and research for the future of human and animal kind. Plus, learn how a phone call that started with “I got this guy in genetics” led to her role as Co-Founder and Chief Veterinary Officer with the Dog Aging Project, and her advice to veterinary students and colleagues as a veterinary school professor. This is one of those episodes you will want to listen to, save, and listen to again.

As always, we want to hear from YOU. Please share your thoughts by sending an email or joining the conversation.  
 
Photo credit: Texas A&M University College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences photo, Dr Creevy with two Border Collies at different parts of their lifespan journey – Poet at age 3, and Sophie at age 14.

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Kate Creevy, DVM, MS, DACVIM-SAIM
Dr. Creevy’s educational path includes Georgetown University (BS), the University of Tennessee (DVM), the University of Minnesota (small animal rotating internship) and the University of Georgia (internal medicine residency and MS in Infectious Disease). Along the way she has worked in emergency practice in the Twin Cities and Washington DC, as well as academic emergency practice at UGA, and completed a Cancer Research Training Award Fellowship developing protocols for chimeric bone marrow transplantation in immunodeficient dogs at the NIH’s National Cancer Institute. After ten years as a small animal internist on UGA’s faculty, she joined the faculty at Texas A&M University’s School of Veterinary Medicine where she is now a Professor in Small Animal Internal Medicine.  Dr. Creevy is the Chief Veterinary Officer for the Dog Aging Project, a multicenter, multidisciplinary research collaboration, with over 50,000 dogs enrolled across the US. The long-term goal of the Dog Aging Project is to understand the genetic and environmental determinants of healthy aging in companion dogs. In addition to her work on canine aging, Dr. Creevy’s research interests include infectious disease, and the development of lifelong learning skills and critical thinking skills among professional students and early-career veterinarians.
 
 
LINKS AND INFORMATION:

Dog Aging Project: https://dogagingproject.org/
University of Tennessee, College of Veterinary Medicine: https://vetmed.tennessee.edu/
University of Georgia, College of Veterinary Medicine: https://vet.uga.edu/
Texas A&M College of Veterinary Medicine: https://vetmed.tamu.edu/
One Health: https://www.who.int/health-topics/one-health#tab=tab_1
Zoobiquity book: https://www.zoobiquity.com/
Lessons in Chemistry book: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/58065033-lessons-in-chemistry

 
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If you like this podcast, we would appreciate it if you follow and share. As always, we welcome feedback. If you have an idea for a podcast episode, we’d love to hear it!

Listen in as Dr. Jim Clark takes the time to share the story of his fascinating veterinary career path. From how he started his first practice, to the importance of listening to your colleagues, and how his path took him through multi-practice ownership and teaching at UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine to his three-legged approach to success in the profession. Dr. Clark also spends the time to share his tips for veterinary colleagues who are interested in being independent practice owners, including a recommended timeline and the most important things to consider. 
 
This episode has all the makings of how we as humans are a work in progress, and provides relatable insights into leadership, partnerships, finance, teaching, and a love for animals.
 
As always, we want to hear from YOU. Please share your thoughts by sending an email or joining the conversation.  

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Jim Clark, DVM, MBA
U.C. Davis School of Veterinary Medicine
Dr. Jim Clark is an animal lover, entrepreneur, multi-practice owner, clinician, and educator. After working in general and emergency practice for more than 20 years, earning an MBA, and serving as an owner in four ER/Spec practices, Clark joined the faculty of the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine in 2010, assuming leadership of their Professional Skills curriculum. He currently provides instruction in communication, mental health, career planning, DEI, and business management skills.
 
LINKS AND INFORMATION:
Veterinary Education and Communication Coaching: http://www.petpracticepartners.com/
VIN Foundation Start Up Club: https://vinfoundation.org/resources/veterinary-practice-start-up-club/
VIN Foundation Student Debt Education: https://vinfoundation.org/studentdebtcenter
Get updates to stay tuned for the VIN Foundation webinars on student debt. 
You may learn more about the VIN Foundation, on the website, or join the conversation on Facebook, Instagram, or LinkedIn.
If you like this podcast, we would appreciate it if you follow and share. As always, we welcome feedback. If you have an idea for a podcast episode, we’d love to hear it!