Behind the Stethoscope: Family, Support, and Starting This Journey

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Hi everyone and Happy New Year and welcome to Behind the Stethoscope, hosted by me, Dr. Elizabeth Bran. I am a new grad er veterinarian, and I am just trying to figure everything out just like the rest of you guys. I am so excited. To release everything. This has definitely been a long time coming. Definitely a lot of work behind the scenes, but I am so excited to kick everything off. So this podcast is gonna be talking about things that we don't normally talk about in veterinary medicine. So what goes on behind the stethoscope, the scrubs, the exam room, the whole nine yards. So if you have ever felt overwhelmed, like you don't belong in this profession, you don't really know what you're doing. This podcast is for you. So I wanna welcome you guys personally to episode number one, to the vet students out there, to the new grad veterinarians, to the seasoned vets, and even to the people who are not in veterinary medicine that want to know a little bit more about this profession. So let's get into it. So before we dive in, I wanna talk a little bit about me and my story. It is not extraordinary. It is not anything special, but it's definitely real. I knew I wanted to be a vet since I was like eight, as most vets usually are. I was born and raised in Houston, Texas. I was a kennel technician. I shadowed, I did everything possible to try to. Get in the clinic and kind of figure out what that meant was like little did I know the ride that I was putting myself on. I had no idea kind of the extent of everything and honestly how hard it would be. I went to undergrad at the University of Texas at Dallas, where I majored in biology. I played collegiate softball there, so I was a student athlete there. Luckily I was able to get in on my first try and I got into Kansas State University where I spent four years in Manhattan, Kansas. Shout out to Manhattan, Kansas. If you guys have not been there, you definitely should. The Midwest is amazing. Manhattan's amazing. I was born and raised in a big town. Went to undergrad in a big town, and moving to a small town like Manhattan, Kansas. I was scared and I had no idea what I was getting myself into. But it is truly the cutest little town. It's hilly, it's naturey, it is amazing. I fell in love with the town, but more importantly, I fell in love with the people there. The Midwest people are like no other. And I still talk to those people this day. So much love in my heart for the Kansas folk. So shout out Manhattan. I love you guys, but I spent four years there. Graduated in May of 2024. And then I did a six month training program in emergency medicine. I knew I wanted to go into emergency. I was an ER technician and it was a very easy transition for me to just go to emergency medicine. So I did six months an emergency medicine started in July of 24 through January of 25. And so this past year, so about a year now, I've been full-time as an emergency doctor. It has been nothing short of amazing. So fun. It keeps you on your toes. But there has definitely been some struggles that I was not expecting. So throughout this podcast, we'll get into the growth. The struggles. I don't have it all together. I am not gonna claim I have it all together, but we're gonna learn together and we're gonna talk about the things that I struggle with, that you guys struggle with. Hopefully I can help you guys. You guys can help me. And yeah, we're just gonna go through it together. A lot of people, when I started this idea of a podcast and what I wanted to do in social media the people that know me know I'm definitely not the person. To be starting a podcast or doing social media. I'm just not that kind of person. And so a lot of people were asking me like why I wanted to do this and what I wanted to do. I was listening to a Mel Robbins podcast, so shout out Mel Robbins, but there was a segment on there and they were talking about it there said, don't hog your journey. Let somebody else grow from it. You can hog it and take it with you to the grave, or you can share it and somebody can grow. So that really hit me hard. I felt like I had something to say. Vet med can be so isolating. And you can feel like you're the only one feeling those feelings. Nobody else knows what I'm going through. All of those ideas and thoughts have been in my mind. And so I want you guys to know that, like the feelings that you guys are feeling like. I also felt those feelings. I had no idea what I was doing my first day of work. I had no idea I was gonna fail every test. I didn't even know if I was gonna make it through that school. Those, all, those feelings are very valid, very real and everyone is also there with you. So transitioning from that to what we're gonna talk about on our first episode, the most important thing that you need to get through vet school to get through this career and this profession, and honestly get through life. And that's family. That's a support system. And yes, I am absolutely talking about your parents, your siblings, your extended family, your blood, but I'm also talking about the family that you make along the way. I was lucky enough to have a super great support system within my immediate family and my. Extended family. Like I said, I have an identical twin sister. She has been through it all with me. She is an honorary vet. I'm giving her that title. She doesn't know yet, but she was there through it all. She was there through high school, all the drama of the teens. She was there through undergrad and going through softball, and I call her every day. We talk about. Things that go well in our day, things that go bad in our day. She listens to me complain. She listens to me cry. She li she celebrates my wins. She has definitely been there through every step of the way. Another really important support system in my life is my parents, very corny, very cheesy to talk about our parents. But my mom and dad, I would not be here today if it wasn't without my mom and dad. Shout out, mom and dad, you guys are awesome. I love you guys so much. But they have been there through every step of the way through travel ball, through taking us to softball practice. Basketball practice on the side through travel ball. Coming to my games during undergrad, supporting me in my dreams of wanting to become a vet. They absolutely supported me in every step that I needed to take. And I never had to worry about falling because I knew that they would catch me. So shout out them. I love you guys. My extended family is amazing. I have so much love in my extended family. Headed by a monarch of my family is my nana. She passed about a year and a half ago, but she was so impactful in my life. I was lucky enough to get her for 27 years of my life, and I, she was one of my best friends. And again, I can't really talk about her without getting emotional, but one of my favorite stories I like to tell about my nana. I went to my advisor as everybody does to show her my applications for vet school. I was like, Hey, here's my grades, here are my essays, here's my application, whole my yards. And she goes, Hey, I just want you to know that like you need to be prepared to take a gap year. I truly never thought. That would be me. I was like, I know how hard it is to get into vet school, but obviously I'm gonna get into vet school. And she was like, your grades aren't good enough. Like you're probably gonna have to take gap year. Just be ready. And I was shocked. I was so devastated. My heart was broken and she didn't even think twice about it. She just told me. And I was again, distraught. So I called my N on the walk home. I was bawling, I was crying. And she goes, you're gonna get in. And I said. Nana, you don't understand. This advisor has done this for 20 years. Like she knows what she's talking about. And she goes, like you're special. You know what you can contribute. You have X, Y, and Z. You have X, Y, and Z. She was going through everything and she was like, you are special and you have something to get to those programs. And just the pure faith and pure I don't even know how to describe it, but like that support that she had, unwavering support that she had for me. Like I knew I could do it. All I needed was to get an interview and I knew that I could do it. And so I wouldn't be, I wouldn't have gone into vet school and I definitely wouldn't be here if it wasn't for her. And so that's my favorite story about my nana on the vet school side of things and vet med side of things. But it takes a village. And I think that was one of the moments in my life that. I needed somebody and she was that person for me. So that's like a little bit about my immediate family and my blood family. But let's talk about the families that you make along the way. I have multiple families throughout the entire country, but, growing up, I have my sisters, my two sisters who I've known since I was eight. They went through everything with me and I was in their weddings and I get they're amazing and such a great support system and they've seen the highs and the lows, the goods, the bads, the horrible and I love them. So much. And so there's that, there's my undergrad family and my undergrad family is so different. We were all majoring in different things, and so still to this day I'm just as close to them as I was then. But they challenge me like I think things are supposed to be a certain way. I see things through a different light and they show me that. Life is not always that way, or, Hey, did you ever think about this way? They give me like, tough love. Definitely when I need it. They hold me accountable. They know who they are. But I love them. We have such a big family. I remember in undergrad we had multiple like friends givings and hangouts, and I created a family that I honestly didn't even think about creating. It just happened and almost. What, 10 years later. Here we are like just as close of friends shout out them. I love you guys. And then last, but not definitely, but not least, is your vet school family going to Kansas again? I thought I was going to the middle of nowhere. I didn't need any more friends. I was good. I didn't need anything else. I had my families, I had my support system. And I'm gonna go for four years and I'm gonna come back to Texas. And that's how it was gonna be. And little did I know the family and the people that I was gonna meet along the way was so unexpected. I created a family and I still, to this day, we talk all the time. We talk about cases, we'd go on trips together, we'd do all of that stuff. And we were in the trenches together. We, and I think that was like so bonding for us. It was, everyone knew what we were going through. Everybody knew everybody. So it was, I'm struggling with this test, or I'm struggling with this professor, or Hey, this is what happened. And everyone was going through it and I felt that was something so special and so bonding and through the hard times, like we were able to smile, we were able to laugh, and I found a sister that. I never even knew that I needed. She knows who she is but she has helped me so much more than I could ever give to her, or like more than she even knows, but more than I could return to her. So she knows who she is. I want to thank her personally on my first episode. She gave me the tough love when I definitely needed it, and she still does. But she's also a shoulder to cry on someone to rant to someone to celebrate my wins. Yeah, and vice versa. And so I wanna challenge you guys to finding your family. Who is your family? Who is your support system? You cannot do this life and you cannot do this profession on your own. One, find it, but then two, lean on them. I, in all honesty, in full transparency, I had a really tough 2025. That was a really tough year for me. It was my first year as an ER veterinarian. But also it was my first year of like truly being a full adult outta school. I was trying to navigate life. Some other life things happened during that year that was really tough for me. And I wish I leaned on my family more. I wish I talked to them. I tried to internalize everything. I didn't wanna be a burden. And I said, I can do this on my own. I don't need anybody else. I can work through it. I can talk through it to myself, and I don't wanna cry. I don't wanna rant again about that certain situation, or I don't want to cry about that person again to that person. And so I internalized it. And that was like, I think one of my biggest regrets in 2025 is not leaning on my support system. I know they want to be there for me and I know they want to help however they can. And again, whether it is just a shoulder to cry on or someone on the other end of the phone just to rant to. So one, find it, two lean on them, but then three, be that person for somebody else. Be the per the shoulder for someone to cry on. Like your support system also needs you as well. And so I wish some of my family and my support system like leans on me a little bit more. I wanna help, I wanna be there just as much as they want to be there for me as well. So be there for that person. So if you're a vet student, if you're a new grad, veterinarian, or even a seasoned vet one. Lean on your family, lean on your support system. Days get hard. Days get long. We have tough cases. We lose patients that we don't wanna lose. We go through hard clients or difficult clients, again, difficult cases but someone's there for you. And if you don't feel like you have anybody. Find those people, whether that is family, whether that is social media, whether that is your coworkers and your veterinarians or your technicians or even spaces like this podcast. Just someone who you can relate to I think is so important. And again, I think that's exactly what you need just to help you through it all. So that was a lot. I know that was very heavy. But I think it is so important. And that is why I wanted to start with this on episode number one because it is so important. Lean on your support system, lean on your family. They wanna be there for you and you be there for them. So that is what we're gonna talk about. Second part, we're gonna do a little segments throughout this podcast. One I'm gonna do pretty regularly is called Case of the Week. So I'm gonna talk about the cases that I see in emergency medicine. We're gonna talk about the fun ones, the bad ones. Again, the gross, the struggles, the hard kind of it all. But this first one we're gonna talk about. I was the overnight doctor. So I walk in at 7:00 PM and the day doctor goes, Hey, I have a surprise for you. Surprises in the ER are never good. I would say most of the time never good. So I was scared or hesitant at first, and she spans to two male golden retrievers. For you guys that know me or don't know me, I have a golden retriever myself. We will talk about her, I promise I will show plenty of pictures of her. But there's two male golden retrievers who got into raisins. And for you guys that don't know. Raisin grapes can be very toxic to dogs and can cause kidney failure. And so the daytime doctor rounded these patients over to me. We're gonna induce vomiting. We're gonna try to see which golden ate the raisins. And then going from there. So I go up to mom, I introduce, saying, hi, I am Dr. Brand, learning about the history. And she says, this one did it. She knew. Victim number one did it. And I was like, okay, great. We can induce vomiting on this first one, and then if we don't get anything up, we can turn to victim number two. And she goes, she, he didn't do it. He is the golden child. He never gets into anything. He's so amazing. And the other one is just the problem child. So I was like, okay, great. So we make the first one throw up. He throws up only kibble. He does not throw up any raisins or anything like that. And then she goes, oh no, we induce vomiting on that second one. And the Golden child is the one that ate 28 ounces of raisins. The whole thing was just full of raisins. First off, side note, if you've never seen a dog vomit, it is hilarious. So freaking cute. I know that sounds weird. I know that. But they get bubbles. They start to smile. It's really cute. But anyway, so the second one threw up and she was like, I cannot believe that what I'm seeing. If you wouldn't have shown me, I would've never believed that the second one ate the raisins. So that one earned himself a stay overnight with 24 hours of IV fluids checking those kidney values. Everything went normal and so he went home after that. But I do like to point out the moral of the story is it's not always the guilty ones. Sometimes it's the innocent ones who actually do it. so as we wrap up episode number one, I want you guys to know that it's okay to ask for help. It's okay to lean on other people. The feelings that you guys are feeling are real and a lot of people feel those feelings. So again, thank you guys for showing up. If you liked it, please subscribe, follow, doing all the things. Next episode we're gonna talk about is imposter syndrome and how I felt as a new grad veterinarian walking into the clinic for the first time. So it should be good. I have unfortunately a lot of stories from my first day. If you guys also wanna follow me on Instagram or TikTok I'll be sharing the day in the life of me. We're talking about vet med cases, all of those nine yards. So thank you guys again, and I will see you next time on Behind the Stethoscope. Thanks guys. Okay, now the boring stuff I have to put in here. But this. Content. Behind the stethoscope is for educational and informational purpose only. This podcast does not provide medical advice or to establish a client patient relationship. Any cases that I discussed or that we talk about during this podcast or this content is generalized and anonymous. Pet owners should always consult their veterinarians for any medical decisions in regards to their animals. So I know that's the boring part, but I have to put this in here. But if you guys have any questions, feel free to DM me. Thank you guys.