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Excel tears, suitcase math, and a research poster that still has to survive questions from strangers across the world. We are doing a quick catch-up because our planned guest fell through, and honestly, the timing could not be more perfect: Bianca is hours away from flying to Japan while trying to finish figures, understand her tables, and stay ahead of vet school exams. We talk through the real mechanics of getting ready for a conference presentation, from trial-and-error in Excel to leaning on a mentor, a statistician, and sheer stubbornness to make the data make sense.

We also get into the unglamorous side of travel planning, like bag fees, tiny hotels, and the fantasy that you will “pack light” when your toiletries are basically a second carry-on. Gary shares a painfully funny luggage story from an overnight train in Italy that turns into an accidental lesson on what compact travel really means.

Then we shift into the veterinary heart of the episode: meeting Miss Waffles, a senior shelter cat we adopted with hyperthyroidism, biopsy-confirmed intestinal lymphoma, hypertension, and deafness. We walk through how we think about quality of life, monitoring lab work, adjusting meds, and the surprisingly tricky task of finding compounded chlorambucil in a tiny, precise dose. If you love veterinary medicine, shelter adoption, feline internal medicine, and honest behind-the-scenes talk, this one will land.

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Gary Marshall, DVM = @it.might.get.weird
Bianca Plowman = @bianca_plowman & Sara Rae = @its_sara1231

https://itmightgetweird.buzzsprout.com/

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We are posting our Halloween-worthy True Crime epsisode again!. Besides,
If you're a true crime fan, especially if you want to learn a bit of veterinary related crime history, please listen to this episode. This story is truly shocking! Warning: Don't listen if you're triggered by stories of murder. Maybe don't listen while you're in a taxi or a ride share or if you've just gotten into a car with a random stranger. Maybe just don't hitchhike and get into cars with random stranger's anyway.
Otherwise, wait until all the trick-or-treaters are done for the night, lock your doors, turn out the lights, light some candles, and curl up on the couch and listen to this very true, very much crime related story about an inventor of a very common companion animal surgical instrument.

The following are reference materials used in the production of this episode.

Wikipedia

True Detective January 1930

True Detective February 1930

"A Roaring Twenties Murder" by Amy Drake

Your ratings, reviews and feedback are always appreciated. Please share us with your friends

Gary Marshall, DVM = @it.might.get.weird
Bianca Plowman = @bianca_plowman & Sara Rae = @its_sara1231

https://itmightgetweird.buzzsprout.com/

Click here to text us your questions & comments.

You can be a brand-new veterinarian and still have something to say. Dr. Haley Clark, a 2024 University of Glasgow graduate, joins us to talk about the moments that pushed her from “maybe I should wait” to “why not me?” and how that mindset took her from early practice nerves to real leadership in the Washington State Veterinary Medical Association. Along the way, she shares a surprisingly moving highlight from UK vet school: lambing week. It is hands-on, messy, and unforgettable, and it changed how she thought about large animals, farmers, and what “real” clinical learning feels like.

We also get honest about the trade-offs in veterinary education, including what you gain when you train near a teaching hospital with barns, daily case conversations, and a culture you can feel, and what might be different in a distributive model. If you are choosing a vet school, mentoring students, or thinking about curriculum design, this part will spark opinions in the best way.

Then we dig into the early-career reality: second-guessing yourself, panicking over decisions, and craving reassurance from people who truly get the day-to-day. Dr. Clark breaks down Power of 10, a leadership development program for early-career veterinarians focused on mental resilience, communication skills, and financial literacy, plus the surprising power of building a peer network. We wrap with practical encouragement for anyone considering overseas veterinary education through AVMA-accredited schools.

Subscribe, share this with a new grad who needs a boost, and leave a review if this conversation helps. What is one leadership step you will take this month?

Thanks for listening.

Hayley Clark, BS, BVMS on Linked In

University of Glasgow School of Biodiversity, One Health and Veterinary Medicine

Student AVMA (SAVMA)

Washington State Veterinary Medical Association

WSVMA Power of 10

Your ratings, reviews and feedback are always appreciated. Please share us with your friends

Gary Marshall, DVM = @it.might.get.weird
Bianca Plowman = @bianca_plowman & Sara Rae = @its_sara1231

https://itmightgetweird.buzzsprout.com/