Biologically-leaning Liz Rawson wasn't pre-med because the idea of doctoring to people just didn't appeal. Once she realized what was keeping her away wasn't the medicine part but the people part, she set her sights on veterinary school, even if she had to play catch-up a little. Though her career has concentrated her surgery work on cats and dogs, she most resembles the Energizer bunny, just going and going, no matter the circumstances. Find out how sometimes just getting through is the way ahead.
Guest Liz Rawson was biologically-minded, but wasn't pre-med in college. The idea of doctoring to people just didn't appeal. Once she realized what was keeping her away wasn't the medicine part but the people part, she set her sights on veterinary school, even if she had to play catch-up a little. She got the work experience and extra training she needed in Boston to be able to apply and enrolled at Tufts. In school, she found what she didn't love (farm animals) and what she did (surgery), but had to stay scrappy to realize the dream.
Her surgical residence ultimately led her to Florida, where she has practiced for nearly two decades. Her tendency to keep her head down and her eye on her career played out in two interesting and different ways over the years—once to get her through things and another against all odds. Though her career has concentrated her surgery work on cats and dogs, she most resembles the Energizer bunny, just going and going, no matter the circumstances.
In this episode, find out from Liz how sometimes just getting through is the way ahead...on ROADS TAKEN...with Leslie Jennings Rowley.
About This Episode's Guest
Liz Rawson is a board-certified small animal surgeon who spent nearly two decades in the hospital setting and now works in private practice in South Florida. She’s going to call us the next time she cares for a gator.
Executive Producer/Host: Leslie Jennings Rowley
Music: Brian Burrows
Find more episodes at https://roadstakenshow.com
Email the show at RoadsTakenShow@gmail.com
Liz Rawson: I had kind of been thinking for a while that I should do something else, but I really just didn't know what else I would do. Like, I love, you know, I love my career. And I was like, I'm doing what I love to do. And I thought about other things that I just couldn't think of what else I would like to do.
Leslie Jennings Rowley: Biologically leaning Liz Rawson wasn't premed because the idea of doctoring to people just didn't appeal. Once she realized what was keeping her away wasn't the medicine part, but the people part, she set her sights on veterinary school, even if she had to play catch up a little bit. Though her career has concentrated her surgery work on cats and dogs, she most resembles the Energizer bunny, just going and going no matter the circumstances. Find out how sometimes just getting through is the way ahead on today's Roads Taken with me, Leslie Jennings Rowley.
I'm here today with Liz Rawson, and we are going to talk about how our paths can be filled with creatures great and small, and you come out with new perspective. So welcome, Liz. Thanks so much for being here.
Liz: Thank you, Leslie. Good to be here.
LJR: All right. I start this the same way every time, asking when we were in college, who were you? And when we were getting ready to leave, who did you think you were going to become?
Liz: OK, so when we arrived to college, I actually went to high school in New Hampshire in a small town in New Hampshire. So it was actually close for me. Back then and now I notoriously have a hard time making decisions, especially big decisions. So I applied early admission for Dartmouth because I figured it was a great school and close to home. And I got in early admission. So that my decision was made, which was the best thing for me. I grew up in a military family, so I was in New Hampshire at that time, but I have lived in various areas, so I felt a little more exposed in some of my high school classmates. But still, obviously, a lot to learn. Pretty naive. Didn't know exactly what I wanted to do, but definitely more on a sciencey side versus the like everyone was in history or government, I didn’t take any of those classes the whole time. And then by the time I was leaving, I had taken a lot of science classes, although I did not go premed like many did. I didn't think I wanted to be a doctor, at least for people. I was a biology major and an environmental studies minor. So I was very interested in, even back then, the climate and the environment and, you know, knew—again, way back then—that things were not heading in the right direction. And I thought maybe I would do some type of research involving environmental habitats and animals and things like that. And that's where I thought I may end up. There was already a pivot because in junior year of Dartmouth, I decided I didn't want to do like research because I would never actually get to see or interact with the animals I was researching. So I decided I wanted to go to vet school so that I could actually, like, touch the animals and interact with them. But having said that, most of the classes I needed to go to that school were also the premed classes, which I hadn't taken in a lot of biology classes, but not the orgo, organic chemistry or physics that I needed. So I tried to cram in as much as I could like in what was left of my junior year and senior year. But I didn't, I couldn't finish all my requirements that I needed to for vet school.
LJR: You were still on that path. And you needed to kind of shore those up. So right after college that’s what you did, right?
Liz: Yeah so, well, right after college, again, I didn't know exactly what I would be doing. I couldn't apply to vet school yet. So I ended up getting a job in Boston in a research lab just as like a tech in the lab, which was great. I got a lot of experience. And then also had time to take classes. So I took classes at night, physics and organic chemistry and biochemistry. So not fun, but yeah.
LJR: There are a lot of premeds that didn't make it all the way through thinking that is not how I would have wanted to spend my early 20s right after college.
Liz: Right and also to get into vet school, a lot of times you need some type of experience. I didn't have any veterinary experience, so I also volunteered on weekends at a vet clinic just so I could have that, you know, on the application.
LJR: Well, and to get that experience, to make sure that you were about to commit a number of years to something that you like.
Liz: Yeah and I think that's why they require it.
LJR: Yeah Yeah. So what part of it really was drawing you and was it really just the kind of love and cuddles that some people think like just being around animals or what was the draw?
Liz: Well, again, you know, I've always been drawn towards science, biology, anatomy, even in high school. Those are my favorite classes. And so I took a lot of neuroanatomy and cell biology at Dartmouth and enjoyed those. And so the medicine part really appealed to me. But for whatever reason, like working with people in medicine was like, gross. And I didn't do that, whereas I had the love of animals, too, so, yeah. You definitely can't go into veterinary medicine if all you want to do is cuddle with the cute pets. You definitely have to have that strong, strong science drive as well.
LJR: Yeah, the intellectual side. So you did go to vet school and you did have a practicing life. So tell us kind of about what is the life of a veterinarian?
Liz: Yeah, well, it can be very varied. So I was living in Boston. And I applied to vet schools after like two years. I got into Tufts and the University of Pennsylvania. And so, again, I had to make that decision. Where do I go? I kind of went with the closer to home version. Tuft's, the first year of Tufts, at that time, school was in Boston. And you didn't move out to the vet school campus, which is sort of in the middle of the state until your second year. So I was already living in Boston. I had other Dartmouth roommates at the time. And one of them was applying to Med school. So my first year, I stayed in that apartment in Boston and went to veterinary school in Boston. I did that and then I moved to central Massachusetts, did the rest of that school. And in the process in my last year and a half, we did clinical rotations. And so I rotated through a bunch of different types of practices. And one of the cool things about Tufts is they give you a lot of elective time. So you rotate through the vet school quite a bit. And then at risk of going through too much detail of vet school, you have to do all animals. Some schools allow more tracking than others. Tufts, at least when I went, was no tracking at all. And so I had to see horses and pigs and cows and all of the farm animals, which didn't really interest me. But you had to go through all that. But again, for clinical they allowed you to do a lot of elective time. So not only was I at the University doing all of these core rotations, I was able to go out into private practices and see what I really kind of sample different types and see what I liked. And what I realized through that experience is that I really didn't enjoy general practice, the general vaccinating and first line health care, illness and stuff like that. I didn't really like it. I didn't enjoy it. I wasn't interested or intrigued by that. And what I did find that I loved is surgery. So I did several rotations with surgeons that were practicing in other areas, not just the University. And that's what I really loved. So in order to specialize in veterinary medicine, and a lot of people who don't specialize and just want to better themselves before they go into practice, do an internship. So it's not required after vet school, unlike Med school, I think. But I did a year rotating internship in New York at AMC in Manhattan, which is or at least was at that time basically the biggest animal hospital there is in the country. So that was an amazing experience. Amazing, amazing. Just living it, breathing it. 24 hours a day, seven days a week. But also the energy of New York is amazing. So I felt like I didn't need to sleep that much. And we also had a great time. I made amazing friends. And it was a really cool time. But then after your internship, you have to apply if you want to kind of, again, figure out what you want to do. And I really wanted to pursue surgery specifically. So I applied for residency and they do it the match the same way they do in medicine. And I didn't match that first year, so I was super bummed about that. I didn't match for a surgical residency. And obviously, I was really upset. And I was like, oh, well, I guess I can't you know, one of the clinicians at AMC said, well, what are you going to do? And I said, you know, I don't know, I didn't match. I guess I won't do that. And he's like, oh, so you don't want to be a surgeon? And I was like, well, yeah, I do. And he's like, well, then keep going. Like, you have to do something else. So I go, in the scramble after the match, I got a surgical internship, so it was another year of internship, but but specifically for surgery at a private practice in Florida, which ended up affecting the rest of my life, actually. But so I just ended up in this place practice in Florida and did a surgical internship for another year, did another round of residency applications, and then got my residency at the University of Illinois.
LJR: And when you're talking about these private practices and you've already foreshadowed that you didn't love the farm animal. Are we talking about pets like dogs?
Liz: Yes, we’re really dogs and cats pretty much exclusively at AMC. We also had to see what we call exotics, which are like bunnies, rodents, lizards, birds, things like that. But after that, pretty much. Yeah, dogs and cats.
LJR: Yeah, OK. And I think I hear a dog of yours. Do you have a dog right there with you? [Liz: Yep, pretty much always.] We figured as much in this one. So there you are in Florida and it's not now just about matching and getting that right. Next thing, life comes and knocks. Tell me about that.
Liz: Yes so during my surgical internship, somebody that I was working with there, we ended up hitting it off and started dating. And then really quickly, things became serious. And when I match for my residency in Illinois, he actually proposed to me, which is still surprising to me how quickly that happened based on like my previous relationships that did not move that quickly. But Yeah. So I got engaged and we moved together to Illinois, which neither one of us really wanted to do. No offense to the midwest, but it just wasn't where I was brought up or and he had grown up in Florida. So it was for him to both of us and the University of Illinois. And the vet school is not anywhere near Chicago. It's in the middle of the state. So in the middle of the cornfields. Yeah.
LJR: And so how long is the residency?
Liz: Three years.
LJR: But he knew what he was getting into.
Liz: Yeah, exactly. He knew what was coming. But anyway, yeah, we spent three years in the cornfields of Illinois, not really enjoying that part, but just getting my training in. And what I needed to do to move on. And was the first move on back to Florida. It was, Yeah. So again, after residency, I interviewed around. I interviewed an Arizona, California like I would have loved to, maybe ended up out West somewhere. But the way the jobs worked out, we ended up coming back to South Florida. I worked at Coral Springs Animal Hospital. That's who hired me right out of residency. And I stayed there for over 13 years.
LJR: And that probably made your spouse happy kind of being in that world. And it's a great place to of be a family and have that career. But even the things that you love more and you've shared with me that there came a time when you started thinking about pivots. And so let's talk about the next chapter.
Liz: Right so working at Coral Springs was great. It was a very large hospital. We had over 26 doctors, staff was over 150 people. So it was a specialty hospital, but also had a general practice side. We had surgery myself when they hired me, there were three surgeons, and then some people left, some people came in. So there were only two of us for most of that time. And then we had internal medicine, cardiology, oncology, like all the major specialties for veterinary medicine. And so I was really happy there, a very happy with my coworkers, my colleagues, my work. I love doing what I do. And doing surgery on pets and helping their problems.
LJR: I have to ask, were any of the exotics alligators?
Liz: Not for our practice .
LJR: Ok. Yet, despite your loving it, I know there were things in the work life that needed a second look, but personal things were also requiring some of your energies. You said you could tell us about that.
Liz: In 2014, when I was 40, I was diagnosed with breast cancer. And I went through kind of a rough road with that for a couple of years, which was a big part of my life, but now seems like so far away.
LJR: So all that was happening to you while you were in this, you know, being half of a surgical unit.
Liz: Yes so high pressure situation. It's actually when I turned like 35, they said, oh, you should probably get a mammogram. But that's when I was having my kids, like I had my kids later than a lot of people. And because it's actually, because I was doing all that career stuff, I needed to get all these boxes checked to get my residency done and the line and passed my boards. And then I was like, OK, now we can have a family. So we had kids, but during that 35 to 40 is when I was having them and nursing and doing all these things where I couldn't really get a mammogram or didn't want to. So I after my 40th birthday, my doctor was like, OK, I really need to do this. So I did. And on my very first mammogram that I ever got, they saw not a lump, but this conglomeration of little calcifications. And where I went, the doctor said, that's not normal. It's you know, it doesn't look like a tumor. I don't know about it, but we have to biopsy it and see, but it'll probably be fine. And so I did a biopsy, and then I get this call that it's breast cancer. And so I come in to meet with her and we're talking about surgery. And my husband, thankfully, came with me to the appointment because we're about like we're scheduling the surgery and stuff. And he was the one that was like, wait a minute. Like this is too rushed. It's too much. Let's back up. I spoke with a friend of mine who knew somebody, who knew somebody, you know, and I went to a different doctor and she examined me, which in hindsight, I realized the other one really hadn't done a full physical exam, which is so funny. And somebody in the medical field and my own health, I was like, just oblivious. But she did a physical exam and she's like, oh, one of your lymph nodes is big. We need to look at this and figure out what's going on there. And so I had a lymph node like biopsy or ask for it. And they're like, well, it's in your lymph node. So it was surreal. And she said, look, this isn't, you know, we need to do chemotherapy first before we do surgery. And that was kind of the newer way to go about it. So I ended up going through chemo, lost all my hair like the whole deal for six months. I went through chemo
LJR: With, like, late stage toddlers.
Liz: Yes so two and four years old, and I worked the whole time. Like the entire time. And I don't again, I didn't really think about it, I just was like, OK, I scheduled my chemo on my days off. There were a couple times, and I would always be like, can we hurry this up? I got to go, like, I got to go, I got things to do. And the nurses were always like, so, like, annoyed by me. And then I had to do radiation. It was a long. It was a bad year for me.
LJR: Yeah, I can imagine. And I mean, who knows, maybe you needed that work to keep you sane, but that's a lot. So was that, would you say that was the beginning of when you were thinking, how am I going to do all this? I can't do this or did that come later?
Liz: It came later, believe it or not, I was still just in that, I don't know. Work, work, work. Keep doing what you're doing and. I don't know, but yeah, but it didn't occur to me, like I said, until later, that I had a friend go through it that like, oh, like I could have at least taken a couple of days off somewhere in there that I didn't like. I don't know.
LJR: Yeah, but now you're healthy.
Liz: But now. Yeah, but now I look back, and it almost seems like it would happened to somebody else, you know, because it's so out there.
LJR: Right but you did keep working through all of that. And as you say, you loved it. But there did come a time when you needed to re-examine it.
Liz: Yeah so I really enjoyed it. But yeah, over the years, we had a couple of kids and they were slowly getting there, quickly actually getting older and having more activities. And I felt that I was missing a lot of their activities because the life of a veterinary surgeon, probably similar to a human surgeon, is very busy and in demand. So I was supposedly only working for full time days a week, but I was in addition to that, on call 50% of the time because there's only one other surgeon. So the two of us split. We were open 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Oh so every holiday, every weekend, everything was covered by 2 people. So it became a lot. A lot. A lot. And even if you didn't happen to be called in, you were still on call. You still have limitations of what you could do or where you could go. And so I started missing a lot of activities for my kids, you know, baseball games and school plays like I cut out of work for like two hours for my son's graduation and stuff like that. And then I was in my scrubs and I had to go right back. And and so I had kind of been thinking for a while that I should do something else, but I really just didn't know what else I would do. Like, I love you know, I love my career. And I, I was doing what I love to do. And I thought about other things. And I just couldn't think of what else I would like to do or be able to do, not have to relocate. And so eventually last year, an opportunity arose with a colleague of mine that used to work at Coral Springs animal hospital, but had sort of also gotten, wanted to step back from all the crazy emergency, chaotic big hospital stuff. And he and another veterinarian started a smaller specialty practice that was only open from like eight to five. And they did, he did mostly outpatient surgeries. And she is an oncologist, an internal medicine specialist. So they just stayed away from the Emergency and Critical Care type stuff that we were doing and just did that. And they started that practice, I guess, like eight years ago. Then last year, the stars aligned and we reconnected. And he said he was like, so busy. He was looking for another surgeon. And I said, well, I'm looking to cut back a bit, especially my hours and emergency duties. So over the course of at least six months or so, we figured it out. And I started there in February of this year.
LJR: It sounds perfect.
Liz: Yeah, it's wonderful.
LJR: So I think there's just like a lesson somewhere in there of where you weren’t really, like, shouting from the rooftops of your animal hospital, like, I need something new. And it was, you said, kind of this internal struggle for a long time. How was the energy put out there and how did you know? How did that kind of happen?
Liz: Yeah, one of the specialists at the practice was kind of thinking the same thing. And we thought, you know, with that model that we knew about, maybe he and I could start something similar in a different area. They had been so successful, we thought we could set up a similar thing. And so I actually reached out to this other veterinarian and to kind of get some ideas, some pointers to figure out how it went and how it was. And so we talked actually a couple of times. And he was like, oh, very accommodating and very open about giving me information. And he's like, I can share with you numbers and this and that of what we…but he's like, but I will tell you, it was the hardest thing I have ever, ever done. And he said it was amazing. And he's super happy with it. But he said it was immensely difficult to get a practice on off the ground, like from zero, you know. So he said, if you're looking to work fewer hours, starting a brand new practice might not be what you really want to do. And he's like, you know, you've got me thinking because I've been really busier then I've wanted to be, and he started it to get also that work life balance, and he said, you know, I'm working way more than I want to as well. And I've been thinking about getting a new surgeon, but probably now's the right time. We have known each other and work together. So he knew what I mean. It wasn't like an unknown entity. Same with me. So it just it worked out. The timing just worked out for both of us.
LJR: But it required you to be a little vulnerable and, you know, share something and ask questions and, you know, be open to, you know, when you started asking those questions, you weren't thinking, oh, I'm going to join those guys’ practice, you know, you know, being open to thinking of something else, which ultimately does sound like you didn't have to start from ground zero and you're tin he right environment. So I'm glad that worked out. And so now I know it's new, but are you finding that you know, the balance is at least within reach if you haven't found it already?
Liz: Yeah, I mean, I'm yeah, I'm getting there. It's still an adjustment, but not being on call on the weekends just immediately was just such a huge game changer for me. And anything that came up, you know, in the future for plans, it was always like, let me check my schedule, let me see if I'm on call. And if I was like, would I be able to switch with this one other person? You know, it was I it's funny because when I told people I was leaving, which came as a big shock to us because I was there for so long, they said, I can't I don't know how you did it. I don't know how you did it for so long. And I like you know, I don't know how I did it. You know, it's just like you just day after day, you just do. It was a long time coming. You know, in hindsight, would have been nice if I made that decision earlier. But there may not have been there wasn't the same opportunity at that time.
LJR: So so in real hindsight, looking back to the college Liz, what could you have told her? What's your advice?
Liz: I guess everybody has to just, like, give yourself a break and allow yourself to some time. I think because I felt in such a rush. And when I couldn't apply for that school right after college, it was like this catastrophe, which is when you realize how, you know, how much time has gone by and how old we feel, but still how much time is left to go. Like, you know, there's plenty of time, I think, to do things. And the other thing I would say is as far as like negotiating and advocating for yourself, because I felt at that time, like I just stuck, like that's what my job is. And that's what I got to deal with. But, you know, we're looking for something that makes you like fulfills your life in a different way. If it was it's totally lopsided career wise, I was able to finally get back to, like a better balance. And once I reach that point, I was like, I got to get out of here. You know, I'm going crazy. I just have to leave. And then when I told even my boss and some other people, they were like, well, you know, maybe we could have negotiated less time on call. And that. And then I'm like, I never it never occurred to me to ask for that. I was just like, this is my job. And I have to do it and/or I have to leave. That was. But yeah, if I had some better negotiating skills, maybe it would have been different.
LJR: Yeah well. One of the other things that I, I was so struck with that just reminded me and saying you weren't able to go to that school right away. And then frankly you weren't able to get matched. There were these, you know, moments that kind of forced you to take a breather or to kind of really just take the time just to try something that's going to, you know, still be on your path and put you forward, which is kind of interesting for someone who says, like, I can't make decisions. You actually were putting yourself into positions where decisions were kind of forced upon you. OK, now how are you going to make use of this year or this time? Right and so in the end, I will say you made a big decision. So I'm not sure if your characterization of yourself or about time, you know. Yeah, well, Liz, it's been great to talk to you. I am so glad you found this new sweet spot, it seems like for you and your career. You just have to call me the next time you get a gator in there, because I want to hear about it.
Liz: OK, sounds good. Thank you.
LJR: Thanks. It's great to talk to you.
Liz: You, too.
LJR: That was Liz Rawson, a board-certified small animal surgeon who spent nearly two decades in the hospital setting. And now works in private practice in South Florida. Each week. I talk with classmates about the things that keep them going and how they're finding time for what's important. Follow us wherever you get your podcasts where rose taken, show to hear me, Leslie Jennings Rowley, talk to them on the next episodes of Roads Taken.