Vet Spotlight: Dr. Pope-Robinson focuses on the well-being of the veterinary professional

Meet Dr. Pope-Robinson, veterinarian in Ellicott City, Maryland, licensed in several states, who treats small animals. She started a company called 1 Life Connected; a space that gives veterinary professionals permission to find their unique path to career sustainability in vet med. In November 2022 she started seeing clients through Vetster.

“I am able to provide a level of education to clients that then help them as they do follow up with their regular vet teams”

I am not one of those individuals who knew they wanted to be a vet as a child, although no one in my family was surprised when I shared that I wanted to go to vet school. I liked my science classes and loved analytically working through problems and enjoyed the idea of practicing medicine. I could not imagine working on humans for a number of reasons and being that I loved all animals, it made logical sense to go the direction of becoming a veterinarian.

Throughout my childhood, I rode and worked with horses and this is the space that I focused on as I entered my veterinary career. I also was heavily involved in environmental sustainability and felt that a veterinary degree may allow me to help make a difference in society through research and education.

I would have to say finding a true sustainable, resilient career is at the top of the list of challenges. Part of the factor involved with our well-being is the overwhelming need for patient care and the limited availability of the vet team. I wanted to better understand how telehealth/medicine could help provide relief in this area.

In November 2022 I started seeing clients through Vetster. Not only did it confirm the need for supplemental support since the vast majority of the clients I saw could not get into their regular vet for 2-3 weeks, but I observed other areas of how virtual care provides support for clients unable to access a full-service veterinary team.

I found that I am able to provide a level of education to these clients that will help them as they do follow-ups with their regular vet teams. I personally feel this will only help the vet team since the client goes in armed with the education in what needs to be done outside their “Dr. Google” search. Clients have shared that they feel better able to understand the value around the recommendations, and appreciate that I prepare them with knowing the cost that will be involved with the diagnostics and therapies discussed. Since they know I gain no financial benefit for what I recommended, I have found that it actually allows the clients time to better emotionally and logically process the situation. It also allows them to preplan what they can financially afford and make a plan to secure financial support ahead of time.

I started a company called 1 Life Connected that gives veterinary professionals permission to find their unique path to career sustainability in vet med. It provides resources and a framework people can utilize as they navigate their path within veterinary medicine.

Although I saw people talking about well-being within our industry, often it was telling people what they need to do with specific direction. The issue I found was that people would write these specific tasks down and then never take action.  In addition, often there are a number of emotions associated with supporting the unspoken connection that is the human-animal-bond. For example, although we know we should take time off, actually doing it and truly enjoying the time off requires working through a number of emotions with self-forgiveness. I personally felt this space was being missed in helping us all truly find our authentic career in this beautiful yet challenging industry. As someone who was almost a statistic to suicide myself, which I share in my book “The Unspoken Life”, I wanted to do what I could to help even just one person know, that they are not weak and that they are seen as a human being whose life is deserving.

During the holiday season in 2022 I provided support to many clients who were unable to get into their regular veterinary team for 2-3 weeks. Most cases were skin and ear infections, and a few mild first time suspected bladder infections. One patient I saw was a middle aged male Yorkie, and the owner noted on the appointment request that the pet appeared to have a urinary issue, possibly a UTI. She noted on the request that she called her regular vet and they could not get her in for 2 weeks. She wanted to talk with someone to see if there were options to help in the meantime. During the beginning of the call the history the client provided did in fact suggest a bladder infection or something of that nature involving the urinary tract system. When she provided the pet for me to visualize through the video, I was taken aback as the pet looked very sick. I had her gather vitals and I explained that this could in fact be a bladder infection. However, based on how the pet looked this could be more serious and they needed to get in asap. I recommended to call their vet back to beg to be seen today and if they can’t see her to take the pet to an ER clinic. We left the call and she did in fact call her vet and they took the pet in right away based on my suggestion.

They determined that the pet was in fact blocked and her regular vet confirmed that if she had not brought the pet to be seen that day, he likely would have not recovered. She had no idea of the complications that could be associated with a UTI and was extremely appreciative for my education and support. I feel strongly that the pet received the care it needed because a virtual exam provided the urgency the owner was initially unaware of.

If you're interested in being featured in our blog, please contact Jennifer, our Manager of Veterinary Success by emailing jennifer@vetster.com.