Blog

This week’s Uncharted Member Spotlight features Dr. Jessica O’Neill! Jessica is a small animal veterinarian from Louisiana and has had a lot of experiences outside of the veterinary world that she has brought to her career. She’s excited about empowering her staff, and the support she has found in our community. Read on to learn more about her!

For anyone who doesn’t know you, could you tell us a little about yourself?

I’m Jessica O’Neil from Baton Rouge, Louisiana.  I am a 2006 LSU graduate (Geaux Tigers).  I am a junior partner at a 3 FTE companion animal practice just outside the LSU campus. I’m an extroverted introvert. I love being around people but it wears me out. I love my profession but it has definitely knocked me around a bit through the years. I love fishing, though I don’t go as often as I want. I’m also a mom, a step-mom and a wife.

What were you looking for when you joined Uncharted?

When I found Uncharted I had been in a burnout phase and I was looking for the inspiration and motivation that is usually renewed after any CE meeting. What I found was SO much more. I’m pretty shy typically and especially so around people I see as more successful, more learned, etc. I wasn’t expecting the sense of community that comes from going to a meeting and meeting people in real life that you “met” on the internet. I also wasn’t expecting to feel close enough to these people that I have no problem reaching out to any of them for advice or with questions.  

What are your 2 favorite groups in the Uncharted Workplace community and why?

Sorry that this is a lame-o answer.  I like the General group overall but my favorite is the meeting-specific one. Especially in the month leading up to the conference when everyone is getting geared up to go. It sets the tone for what is to come.  

Who is one of your favorite people you’ve met through Uncharted and why?

Jamie Holmes is my favorite person! I asked her for help keeping me accountable for my plan when I went a little emotionally haywire. She didn’t even know me but was invaluable to me. Now we have become “friends on purpose” and talk every few weeks and mostly NOT about veterinary medicine. 

What is one thing you never thought you could do (or were afraid to try) that you’ve done since joining Uncharted? 

Empowering the staff. I have been trying to do this more and moreover the last 2 years and it has been really good for me. I am learning to let go of some control (especially when it comes to returning phone calls that my technicians are capable of doing). And I am trying to protect my time; both away from work and in the exam room.  

What is your end-of-workday guilty pleasure?

Wine.

Have you ever worked outside of the veterinary field? What was it like?

I had many jobs through school but they were part-time and just a means to an end.  Here is a list: 

– Lifeguard/camp counselor of a summer camp.  This was SO fun.  

– Worked in accounts receivable for an engineering firm. I filed charts… that’s it. Also, I’m dyslexic, so I’m pretty sure I did a lot of misfiling.  

-Worked for the State of Louisiana for a summer in high school. I typed their entire training manual into Microsoft word because it had been created on a Mainframe computer and the files wouldn’t transfer. Within the next year, the scanner that could recognize text was invented and could have done in 20 minutes what took me 3 months.  

– I became the “marketing” person for a wholesale sign company while in college. I created their catalog in Microsoft word. I was the only person in the place who could use the program. I was also responsible for manually faxing the newsletter (that I created) each week with their specials. I had to type in each number for about 100 places. It took 4 hours. I tried to explain that there was software for this but they didn’t go for it.  

– I worked for Poultry Science as a student worker at LSU.  I cleaned the quail room and worked with chickens. My boots always stunk and I’m pretty sure people avoided sitting next to me in class after I had to clean the quail room.  

Where is one place in the world you would love to see? 

Egypt. Australia is high on the list.  

What is one thing you believe all veterinary professionals can do right now to make Vet Med even better? 

Work on establishing healthy boundaries and helping everyone in the clinic do the same.  

You can join the Uncharted community and meet people like Jessica by visiting www.UnchartedVet.com and registering to become a member!

In this episode, Dr. Andy Roark and the amazing Stephanie Goss tackle an issue that seems to be everywhere right now. What do you do when your team is goofing off, shopping online, and generally wasting time? Here we go…

If you enjoy the podcast, maybe you should be part of the Uncharted Veterinary Community! Head over to www.unchartedvet.com and get your membership today!

How do you handle being overwhelmed in your veterinary career?

In this episode, Dr. Andy Roark and Stephanie Goss dive into how to handle feeling constantly overwhelmed in both your personal and professional lives.

• Topics we cover today:
• How do you know when you’re feeling overwhelmed
• What can you do when you need to take a personal or mental health day
• How do you recognize certain triggers that mean you need to take a step back

Love the podcast? Maybe you should be a member of Uncharted!! Head over to www.unchartedvet.com and get registered. Registration for our April conference will open soon. DON’T MISS IT!

By Ericka Mendez, DVM

My daughter says to me, I’m gonna go and make friends.

And that is exactly what she does. It takes her 90 seconds to befriend a girl around her age on the beach.


And before you know it they are giggling in the water, jumping over waves, and diving under the water like two sleek and shiny fish. 


I’m envious of her ability to make friends so easily. So seamlessly. Without any of the self-doubt or anxiety that plagues me when faced with the same situation. 

I know that not all kids are like her. I also know that she hasn’t learned her magical friend-making abilities from me. 

She has however figured out, that playing on the beach with kids her age is way more fun than playing by herself. 

And so it is in veterinary medicine. 

We have an innate need for love and connection. Sometimes we fill this need with our spouse. Sometimes we fill this need with our children. Sometimes we fill this need with extended family. And sometimes, we fill this need with friends. 

In the veterinary world, it isn’t “nice” to have friends who are also members of this world – it is a necessity. 

A necessity that is so often overlooked because so many of us are introverted and plagued with the anxiety that comes with making friends. Usually, it doesn’t happen instantly because we are so hesitant to walk up to someone you don’t know and say hi. I’m Ericka. And start a conversation with a complete stranger. 

So, year in and year out I’ve gone to veterinary conferences to complete my continuing education and I have not made a single friend – until now.

You see, the Uncharted Veterinary Conference is a horse of a different color. From the outside, it looks like any other conference. But from the inside, it is unlike anything I’ve ever seen in the veterinary world.  

The thing that makes it so different is that it is a place where people come to see their friends and to make new friends. It is a family unit of founding fathers and mothers with the shared goal of friendship. And they pull it off. They’ve figured out how to put 150 veterinarians into one room and create an environment where friendships can be found and fostered. 


Because they have figured it out too. That it’s way more fun when you have friends who are living a life similar to yours to play with. 

So if you can’t quite figure out what Uncharted is all about, know this.  It is about friendship, positivity, and a group of people that will not only cheer you on but will also pick you up when you fall down. It is a place where you can be yourself in all of your social anxiety, introverted glory. Because even if you can’t bring yourself to muster up your inner child and strike up a conversation with a total stranger, they will. Because they know what it feels like and they’ve got your back. 

The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the position of the Unchartedvet.com editorial team.

---

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Dr. Ericka Mendez is a small animal veterinarian and veterinary professional mentor on the east coast of Florida. She loves reading, teaching and writing about veterinary wellness and channels all her loves into her blog, The Purposeful Vet.  She shares her life with her husband and daughter and can often be found at the beach, at a Disney park or on the couch watching Harry Potter movies.

In this episode of the Uncharted Veterinary Podcast, Dr. Andy Roark and Practice Manager Stephanie Goss tackle the question “What do I do with a so-so employee who is coming up on 90 days of employment?”

If you enjoy the Uncharted podcast, you should check out the Uncharted Community. There is tons of great content and training coming down the pipes, and this community is vibrant, supporting and positive! Check it out and get registered at www.unchartedvet.com!