PVMA Keystone Veterinarian Winter 2021 - 13

it was extremely difficult for me to get my foot in the door.

deciding that I wanted to go the nursing route.

Alyssa: Why was that?

When I made that choice, I came back to my hometown and
was picking up more hours at [a local clinic] and the lead
technician there graduated from Harcum. That is where I saw
my opportunity. I graduated from Harcum, went to Penn Vet
for my practicum, and made a lot of connections through that.
One of the best choices I ever made was choosing Harcum
to be able to be affiliated with Penn Vet. Then I came back to
Douglassville because they partnered with Harcum. I applied for
a scholarship through that [partnership]. That's how I ended up
at Douglassville. First as a regular veterinary nurse. Six months
after I graduated, I became the lead nurse at Douglassville, and
2½ years later, I am training to become the Practice Manager.

Danny: To be honest, it is probably the same for anybody who is
trying to get into it in the beginning unless they know someone
in the veterinary field. I didn't know anyone, and I didn't have
any experience. I didn't have any knowledge. I was literally a
17-year-old kid who was just graduating high school who was
looking for college and a job. I was working at the YMCA as a
counselor working with kids and that was not good enough
in the eyes of the veterinary field when I was trying to get in.
So, my way to get my foot in the door was just to volunteer
my time. I would go in and watch surgeries, I would watch
what the doctors were doing, kind of shadowing them at the
hospital where I was volunteering. [This is] one of the funniest
ways to get a job; I was in the surgery suite with one of the
doctors and they were amputating a leg. They cut the femoral
artery and there was literally blood spurting everywhere. I think
somebody walked in and mentioned that the kennel technician
was retiring, and as he was tying off that artery, he asked me if I
wanted the job! I was like, " Yep, sure! "
Alyssa: I guess if you get arterial spray on you, I guess you can
handle cleaning a kennel.
Danny: Exactly! I think it was just the fact that I didn't pass out.
So, that is where it started - kennel technician. I was cleaning up
after the dogs, walking them, all sorts of things like that. Then I
just kind of moved up as I could. I picked up on the restraining
techniques, which a lot of people do not realize that is a huge
part of veterinary medicine. Then after that they allowed me
to start training as a veterinary technician. At the time I was in
the middle of my pre-vet program at Penn State and I ended up

Alyssa: That's amazing! I mean, kennel tech all the way up to
running a practice.
Danny: It hasn't been easy; I'll tell you that.
Alyssa: I haven't sat in that managerial chair and I give anyone
credit who does. It takes a special person; I'm NOT that person.
As you were going through this process, did you have any people
who stood out for you as a mentor? On the other side of that,
were you someone's mentor and had that really great mentee
that you worked with?
Danny: For mentor, one person [who] stands out is the Lead
Nurse who was in my position before I was at Douglassville;
her name is Tiffany Long. She showed me the ropes when it
came to anesthesia in an advanced setting. I knew the basics of
sedation and the pulse ox, and that kind of stuff, I knew what I
knew from learning things at Harcum. But she really instilled in
me the " whys and hows "
Pennsylvania Veterinary Medical Association | 13
PVMA Keystone Veterinarian Winter 2021

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