In this thoughtful, honest, and deeply relatable episode of Ready Vet Go, Dr. Dani Rabwin sits down with early-career veterinarian Quinn Bauer, DVM, to talk about the real transition from vet school to practice, what mentorship actually looks like on the ground, and how culture, autonomy, and community shape whether a new grad thrives—or burns out. 🩺✨

Quinn shares her unique path into veterinary medicine, starting with a rare high school pre-vet program, early hands-on exposure, and a vet school experience that blended gold-standard education with a growing curiosity for wildlife, exotics, and conservation. Together, they unpack the pressure of NAVLE, the loneliness of vet school, using social media to build real connection, and how choosing the right first job can make all the difference. 🤝🐾

📌 What You’ll Learn:

How early hands-on exposure can clarify whether vet med is truly for you 🐾

Why culture matters more than perks when choosing your first job 🏥

Using recruiters strategically without losing autonomy 🗂️

What mentorship looks like when it supports and gives freedom 🤝

Transitioning from gold-standard vet school medicine to real-world GP 🔧

Learning spectrum of care without guilt or shame 💛

Advocating for better medicine (like dental radiographs) as a new grad 🦷

How being a pet owner builds empathy and trust with clients 🐶

Using social media to reduce isolation and build community 📱

🎬 Timestamps:

01:40 – Connecting through TikTok and building new-grad community 📱

04:30 – High school pre-vet program: knowing early if vet med is right for you 🐾

09:10 – Vet school at Midwestern: hands-on learning from day one 🏫

13:40 – Discovering wildlife, exotics, and conservation medicine 🦒

18:30 – South Africa and Phoenix Zoo experiences 🌍

24:10 – NAVLE reality: endurance, mindset, and self-care 🧠

30:20 – Job searching as a new grad: waiting, fear, and culture fit 🏥

35:30 – Using a recruiter intentionally (and why it helped) 📋

40:10 – What mentorship really means: support without control 🤝 4

5:40 – Bringing new medicine into an “old-school” clinic 🦷

51:20 – Spectrum of care: navigating real-world limitations with clients 💛

56:30 – Being a pet owner and practicing with empathy 🐕

01:01:40 – Social media as connection, not comparison 📱

01:06:30 – Wrap-up: confidence, culture, and finding your footing

👇 QUESTION FOR YOU: What mattered most to you when choosing your first job—or what do you wish you had prioritized?

Season 1 • Episode 23

✅ If this episode resonated, share it with a vet student or new grad who’s navigating the leap from school to practice.

🎧 Available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and all major platforms

📲 Follow: @readyvetgo_

📧 Contact: info@pacificlensstudios.com

#ReadyVetGo #VeterinaryMedicine #VetMentorship #NewGradVet #VetSchoolReality #VetLife #SpectrumOfCare #VetCommunity

In this engaging and laugh-out-loud (but deeply meaningful) episode of ReadyVetGo, Dr. Dani Rabwin sits down with her friend and beloved Ready Vet Go mentor Jeff Klemens, DVM to talk mentorship, relief practice, real-world “cowboy medicine,” and what it actually takes to build a sustainable career in veterinary medicine. 🩺✨

Jeff shares how a sixth-grade classroom visit with a lovebird sparked his path into vet med, what it was like not getting into vet school the first time, and how early mentorship shaped him long before he even had words for it. They also dive into learning medicine without perfect tools, building a full-time relief career from scratch (before apps existed), and why honesty with clients is non-negotiable when mistakes happen. 🤝🎲🍺

📌 What You’ll Learn:

• How mentorship can shape you before you even realize it 🤝
• Not getting into vet school the first time—and why it’s normal 📨
• Practicing without “perfect” tools (and still doing good medicine) 🔧🩺
• Why “give bowel a chance” is a real clinical philosophy 🌀
• Relief practice: freedom, burnout protection, and building your own schedule 🗓️
• A memorable mistake story (ITP misdiagnosis → pneumonia) and how to own it 😬🐱
• Why client communication determines whether mistakes become disasters 🗣️💛
• The importance of hobbies, joy, and life outside vet med 🎲🍺🐉

🎬 Timestamps:

00:00 – Intro: Meet Dr. Jeff Clemen 01:10 – Sixth grade spark: the lovebird that changed everything 🐦

03:40 – Kennel kid to clinic assistant: mentorship before he knew it 🤝

06:40 – Not getting into vet school the first time 📨

09:40 – What he did differently before reapplying

12:30 – Vet school realities: species overload + “city mouse” perspective 🐾

16:10 – Dentistry ambitions + doing extractions without the right tools 🦷

21:30 – “Cowboy medicine”: learning to treat without perfect conditions 🔧

25:30 – Give bowel a chance: the golf ball dachshund story 🌀

30:10 – Becoming a Ready Vet Go mentor + helping rural new grads

34:10 – Life outside vet med: board games, craft beer, and Gen Con 🎲🍺

40:20 – Why full-time relief: burnout, nights, and sustainability 🗓️

45:10 – Building Reliable Relief Services before apps existed ✉️

52:10 – Mistake story: sticky platelets, ITP diagnosis, and pneumonia 😬🐱

56:40 – The hard part: owning the mistake and talking to the client 🗣️

59:10 – Wrap-up + why mentors love Ready Vet Go 💛

👇 QUESTION FOR YOU: What’s one mistake that taught you more than any success?

Season 1 • Episode 22

✅ If this helped, subscribe and share with a vet student or new grad who needs it today.

🎧 Available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and all major platforms.

📲 Follow: @readyvetgo_

📧 Contact: info@pacificlensstudios.com

#ReadyVetGo #VeterinaryMedicine #VetMentorship #ReliefVet #NewGradVet #VetLife #ClientCommunication #VeterinaryMistakes

In this engaging and eye-opening episode of ReadyVetGo, Dr. Dani Rabwin sits down with Dr. Adam Gassel, DVM, DACVS—a board-certified veterinary surgeon—to talk mentorship, surgical training, and what it really takes to build confidence in practice (especially when mistakes happen). 🩺💪

Adam shares how he went from pre-med at UCI to taking a “gap year” as a vet tech in Sherman Oaks, falling in love with veterinary medicine, and eventually training through Purdue, internship, and a surgery residency at the University of Tennessee. Along the way, he breaks down how mentorship actually works in the real world—how taking initiative attracts great mentors, why internship structure matters, and how to create training environments where interns learn to be doctors (not just coverage). 🤝🏥

This conversation is packed with real-world perspective on specialty culture, building strong internship programs, empowering new grads to do more surgery safely, and the communication skills that protect client trust when something goes wrong. 🗣️✨

📌 What You’ll Learn:

• Why surgery wasn’t the original plan—and how mentorship shaped the path 🤝
• The training roadmap: vet school → internship → residency → specialty practice 🎓
• What mentors look for (initiative, preparation, follow-through) ✅
• How to build an internship program that actually trains doctors 🏥
• Why confidence comes after you do the thing (not before) 💪
• When referral makes sense—and when GPs can absolutely do the surgery 🩺
• Corporate ownership + transparency in specialty medicine 🧩
• A powerful “walk of shame” mistake story—and how honest communication saves trust 😬🗣️

🎬 Timestamps:

00:00 – Intro: Meet Dr. Adam Gassel (board-certified veterinary surgeon)

01:10 – UCI pre-med → vet tech “gap year” → falling in love with vet med

03:10 – Pierce College + first clinic job in Sherman Oaks

04:45 – Purdue vet school → back to Southern California

06:00 – Rotating internship + specialty internship (Animal Specialty Group)

07:20 – Choosing surgery: how mentorship guided the decision

09:00 – Taking initiative: reading cases, writing up reports, earning opportunities ✅

10:30 – Spouse support + kids during residency (real life during training) 👨‍👩‍👧‍👦

12:10 – First job as a surgeon: still needing mentorship after residency 🤝

13:40 – Culture without ego: learning both ways in specialty practice

15:10 – Internship programs: what was broken and how he rebuilt it 🏥

17:10 – Letting interns be doctors (not just coverage) + why it pays off

19:10 – New grads + surgery fear: how reps build confidence 💪

21:00 – Corporate ownership + transparency in vet med 🧩

22:30 – Mistake story: misplaced screw + the “walk of shame” 😬

24:40 – Preventing board complaints: ownership, documentation, and communication 🗣️

👇 QUESTION FOR YOU: What’s one procedure you wish you got more reps on before you were alone in practice? 💛

Season 1 Ep 21

✅ If this helped, like, subscribe, and share with a vet student or new grad who needs it today.

🎧 Available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and all major platforms.

📲 Follow: @readyvetgo_

📧 Contact: info@pacificlensstudios.com

#ReadyVetGo #VeterinaryMedicine #VetMentorship #VeterinarySurgery #DACVS #VetInternship #NewGradVet #ClientCommunication #VetResidency #EarlyCareerVet