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This week's episode of The Vet Blast Podcast presented by dvm360 welcomes special guest Alexa Romano, DVM to discuss navigating what it was like entering veterinary medicine during the COVID-19 pandemic, plus her passions within the industry. Host Adam Christman, DVM, MBA, and Romano also take a deep dive into her new business venture, Cool Beans Coffee Company and what it is like to work as a veterinarian while also having a business on the side outside of the industry.

Below is a partial transcript, edited lightly for clarity.

Adam Christman, DVM, MBA: So, for 5 years, what do you think of the profession where it is now? Like, what are some things that you're seeing that maybe we could do better? What are your thoughts?

Alexa Romano, DVM: That's a tough one. I heard just because I shadowed and I 'teched' before I went to vet school, so I got to kind of see pre-COVID and like pre those times vet medicine. And I don't know what changed it, but I think, like the work-life balance and also kind of setting your boundaries. I think that's kind of something people are getting better at, but I also think it's something that not all clients are used to sometimes, you know? So I feel like that's been the hardest thing.

I don't know if it's the old school vets. Like, they would stay all night, they would tell you to come in, they would give you their personal phone numbers and I think [that's] shifted a lot. I think that that's something that in vet school, they're telling us a lot, like work-life balance, mental health. I think they're making that more known, which is great, yeah, but I think that it's getting people used to that too.

Christman: I think it's great that this newer generation of veterinarians know how to do work-life balance. If I had to tell the younger Adam Christman, I'd be like, what were you thinking? You know, because the fact that you have these boundaries, I find that [with] the new graduates, they work smarter in the sense that they know how to be more efficient.

I think their communication skills are outstanding, outstanding. Their ability to relay to the pet owner, I think it's just incredible. And to your point, I think a lot of the new graduates too, have worked as technicians, so they kind of have like appreciation for all aspects within the field of vet med.