‘Share Why’ Campaign - Dr. Sophia Leone, DVM
MentorVet strives to help vets and tech pursue healthy boundaries, develop professional skills, and create purpose in all they do! Dr. Sophia Leone, one of our past mentees in the MentorVet Leap program, shared with us how she stays passionate in her career and life.
Dr. Sophia Leone, DVM
Small Animal GP & ER Veterinarian
Read below as she shares why she started in vet med and what keeps her going!
Why did you begin your vet med journey?
When I was growing up, I had a lot of pets and loved animals very much. By 5 years old, I could not imagine doing anything else for a job than working as a veterinarian. One of my favorite things to do when I was playing by myself was act out my stuffed animals taking care of the other stuffed animals that were sick and injured. I have never considered anything else as a serious career, other than perhaps lawyer as a back-up. There was never any reason to doubt being a veterinarian is what I was supposed to do.
What are a few of the biggest challenges you face in your work currently?
I was just recently facing serious burn out. I was pushing myself to work more and more days each week, starting just a few months out of graduation, so that I could become debt-free as soon as possible. I went from a 5-day work week, to 6 days, and finally a consistent 7-day work week. I was stress eating, always tired, and irritable. I didn't have a full social life and often felt some episodes of depression. But, alas, I just paid off my last loan! In 29 months, I paid off $310,000, all by myself! I am so thrilled and already feeling better! I get to finally begin reducing my work week down from 7 days to 5-6 again.
Why do you continue?
I love this profession. While it is a challenging and frustrating job oftentimes, it is equally, if not more rewarding. I get to take animals that are so sick and injured, and provide them the treatments they need to relieve their suffering, including oftentimes providing humane euthanasia to quickly end their suffering. I recently helped an 8 year old female spayed terrier mix who came into my ER with acute onset depression and being minimally responsive, dehydrated, hypotensive, hypothermic, and weak/shocky. I performed thorough and detailed, above-and-beyond diagnostics and treatments, including calling Pet Poison control to review the case. I spoke with a toxicologist about the physical exam findings and lab results, getting specific directions on how to best help the patient, even without any suspicion of toxin ingestion. The dog's liver values were off the charts and her PCV was 82%! I started her treatment plan and made edits to it until I left for the night, then by the next morning the overnight doctor texted me and let me know the dog was looking so much better. I followed up with the case when I next came in for a shift and was so pleased her bloodwork began to improve steadily, and she ultimately went home! It was such a wonderful case outcome and I was so proud of myself and the dog for fighting.
How do you continue when things get tough?
There are so many ups and downs, making it feel like a rollercoaster. However, true to the rollercoaster design, there are an equal number of positives (oftentimes more) than the number of negatives. For every angry/upset client, or the client that comments on how young I look, or for every animal that may have been able to be saved if the owners would try, there are equal or more cases of pets that get to leave after getting thorough sick work ups that showed nothing wrong, exceptionally grateful clients, and happy pets leaving with tails wagging. Cases of elderly, sick animals that were allowed to have a graceful, *painless?* and humane euthanasia via their owner letting them go, prioritizing the animal's condition over their own needs. Cases of animals that I have been able to take in as owner surrenders or "rescue" surrenders, perform all their medical treatments and get them healthy, practice my surgical skills on them, and then find them wonderful homes!
What other words of encouragement would you like to provide to the veterinary community?
Don't limit yourself! There are so many opportunities to be taken in veterinary medicine to enjoy your time in the field.
Thank you for sharing with us your reasons why, Sophia!
We are happy you are a part of our MentorVet community of amazing vets and techs!