September MentorVet Mentor of the Month: Dr. Pam Nichols, DVM

Join us in celebrating our September 2022 Mentor of the Month, Dr. Pam Nichols.

Pam Nichols, DVM

MentorVet Mentor

Dr. Pam Nichols, DVM, has mentored several mentees for the MentorVet program and has been an active mentor for the past year. One of her mentees expressed that, "My mentor has a ton of amazing experience not only as a veterinarian, but as a business owner. Some of the ideas she suggested to address roadblocks I am experiencing in my career were invaluable. I really appreciated her wisdom!"

As her friends and colleagues affectionately know her, Dr. Pam, is full of enthusiasm and has infectious energy. Read below about her passion for mentoring!

Dr. Nichols, tell us a little bit about your career journey. What do you currently do in veterinary medicine and how did you end up here?

I have been a practice owner since starting my first hospital in 1999. I currently only own one in South Jordan, Utah. I built it because I didn’t want to have to leave my VMG 6 buddies. I practice part-time and live in Scottsdale, AZ where I am learning equine medicine. I love how far we have come in small animal and I feel like we have a lot to improve upon in Equine medicine. I am the immediate past President of AAHA, where I met some of the most amazing people in our industry. I never want to leave vet med, I just want to keep helping to mold and shape it. I got “here” because people believed in me, even when I didn’t!

Why did you choose to be involved with MentorVet?

I love veterinary medicine and I am passionate about helping the next generation of vets love it as much as I do. And, if that’s not possible, maybe I can just make it easier to see the good in our jobs and lives. I feel strongly that leadership is learned and mentoring is a way to give back. The reason I joined up with MentorVet is that it gave me a framework to meet more early career vets and it is teaching me to be a better, more intentional mentor. Oh, and I am a die-hard fan of Merck Animal Health (the founding sponsor of MentorVet). Truly.

Will you share an example of something you and your mentee have discussed?

I’m on my third and fourth mentees now. My first two and I just became friends. We talked about everything from difficult cases to difficult clients. We talked about workplace negativity and ways to change the narrative! Earning respect versus demanding respect was a common theme. The current two mentees (I hate that word. May we call them protégés?) and I are off to a great start talking about work life balance, and we have talked a fair bit about practicing medicine; practice hacks to get faster, etc.

What is the most enjoyable aspect of being a vet mentor?

Meeting brilliant humans that have the potential to change the world!

What is one thing that you have learned through your time mentoring for MentorVet?

That I still have so much to learn!

What is the best piece of advice that you have ever received from a mentor or the best piece of advice that you have ever given?

Best advice given both to me and from me: Do your best. Then, when you know better, do better. I think of things like using cold sterile trays which were anything but. That was the best we knew at the time. Same for sterile endotracheal tubes… that used to not be a thing… now I know better. It is advice that will serve you well, but only if you are humble enough to recognize when there might be a better way to do something.

Would you recommend volunteering as a mentor for MentorVet to other veterinarians?

Every single day I recommend serving as a mentor. As I mentor, I’m better able to understand the point of view of a new generation. It’s important to me to not become the old vet, stuck in my ways, complaining that these young vets “just don’t want to work or know how to work”. I think it’s important to remember how we suffered in our early years with those 80 hour work weeks and $35,000 salary, and to recognize that it wasn’t that smart. That it was our reality, and now we get to do better. One other thing for me is that I didn’t have a mentor. I would call professors from CSU (still do) to ask questions about how to handle XYZ. I would have loved having a mentor. I love that I get to do that for someone.

What is your favorite self-care activity?

Riding my horse Bam Bam is my best therapy. Actually just breathing into her nostrils, getting a giant endorphin hit from that soul connection is even better than the ride.

Fun Fact:

“I love a good County Fair!. I love the food/sounds/smells and watching the kids show livestock. I was lucky enough to get to show my chicken, my pigeon and my Shetland pony! (I once showed my cat Blackie, too!) I still love walking up to the cages at the fair and seeing ribbons on the side!”

Thank you, Dr. Nichols!

You are such a wonderful mentor in our community!

Interested in becoming a mentor for MentorVet? We are always looking for more mentors to join our community! — Check out some next steps here!