Hi vet fam! I’m Kirsten Ronngren, the veterinarian behind Vet Redefined.

I can’t remember a time where I didn’t thrive on providing for others (both two and four legged), which is probably the major reason many of us got involved in veterinary medicine. Serving people and animals lights a fire in my heart that few other things do, but along with that comes many of the heavy struggles we face on a daily basis as veterinarians. Fatigue, depression, anxiety, frustration, and helplessness are words I wish we weren’t so familiar with and accepting of.

Excellent mentorship when we first start in the veterinary world as doctors can be hard to come by. Many of my classmates left their first jobs due to lack of mentorship, which personally I was fortunate to have. I felt lucky to have a good system of people guiding me through the challenges of evolving into a confident doctor however it still seemed like there were several little holes that needed filling. 

Here at Vet Redefined, we aim to provide the mentorship, resources, support, and tools that seemed to lag in the training most of us received at the end of school and our first endeavors outside of it. It’s important to utilize the fantastic doctors who have come before us, but also to recognize the demands of the veterinary world have escalated profoundly over the last 10-15 years. What’s your debt to income ratio? Do you know what local and national organizations are available to you? How do you talk to your boss about what you need? Do you know what is expected when it comes to your student loan repayment? Do you have a functional monthly budget? What do you do when you feel like you are totally overwhelmed? Have you set explicit boundaries at work to keep your mental health care for? My goal is to light the confidence fire under your butts! I want veterinary medicine to strive for positivity and passion despite the heavy burdens that we are faced with on a daily basis. This is the greatest job in the world and there are so many ways to not only survive in it but THRIVE in it. Who’s gonna work you if you don’t? You in? 🙂