"Why Paying Attention to My Toes Keeps Me from Becoming Depressed" with Dr. Trisha Dowling - Part 1

Trisha Dowling is a veterinarian and professor of veterinary clinical pharmacology at the Western College of Veterinary Medicine. She graduated from Texas A&M in 1987 followed by a large animal rotating internship at North Carolina State. This was followed by 2 years of practice in Ohio and North Carolina, the latter a great source of humorous teaching stories. 

After a large animal medicine residency and Master’s at Auburn University, she became a board certified by the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine and the American College of Veterinary Clinical Pharmacology. In 1993, she came running away to Saskatoon for a short time, but met and married a local guy so has been here ever since. Given US politics, she’s glad that she did. 

The WCVM mostly pays her to teach clinical pharmacology, but in 2010 she snuck the first mindfulness based stress reduction course in to a veterinary school curriculum for credit – all without mentioning the words “yoga” or “meditation”. She has received numerous teaching awards including the Norden Distinguished Professor, the U of S Provost’s Teaching Award and the U of S Master Teacher’s Award.

In Part 1 of this 2-Part interview, our vivacious conversation touches on:

• The unscripted, unfiltered 'getting to know Trisha' introduction!
• The past, present, and future state of internships and residencies for students
• Curbing the intergenerational treatment of interns to develop new professionals the right way
• "The Hidden Curricula" students receive from mentors, both the good and the bad
• Shifts at the academic level in how the next generation of veterinary professionals is being taught to treat each other
• How Trisha dealt with bouts of depression
• Jon Kabat-Zinn and the art of mindfulness
• Understanding and utilizing the mind-body connection

Join us next week for Part 2 of 2 with Dr. Trisha Dowling as the conversation continues . . . 

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- Jonathan Leicht, DVM and Michael Bugg, DVM