If you follow us on social media, you may have noticed a moving announcement - that's right, we relocated from California to Iowa so that I can continue my education & work towards board certification. If you had asked almost anyone in my life right after leaving vet school, they would NOT have suspected this would happen.
So maybe you're thinking, "Why? You're already a vet & can teach. What's the point?"
Well, there are a few reasons.
I love teaching but I miss clinical practice & having the opportunity to teach clinical skills. The program I'm joining will allow me to simultaneously practice as an ambulatory veterinarian (in a truck, visiting farms) & be an important part of vet students' education at Iowa State University.
I want to move to the next level of teaching, at the university or veterinary school level. For most of these positions, board certification is strongly recommended or required, as it proves that the candidate has a well rounded academic background, as well as clinical experience at an "expert" level.
I want to gain some research experience so that I am better equipped to teach & understand new research, including experimental design, statistical evaluation & interpretation of results.
Board certification will allow me to expand VanderPlan by increasing veterinary offerings. I have a small veterinarian-specific store that offers resources for clinical practice & I'd love to have those extra letters behind my name to prove certification at that expert level.
So what does that mean for VanderPlan in the meantime?
We're still here! I'll just have less free time so it'll take me a little longer to respond to any requests or messages! I'll still be working on some new resources, but on a much smaller scale. We'd still love to hear from you & would love for you to share any comments with us about resources you've enjoyed!
With all that being said, we are very excited to have a booth set up at the following events!
California Agriculture Teachers Association Summer Conference from June 25-29 at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo - I'll be doing a school farm management workshop on June 25 & will be set up in the Farm Shop on June 27 to showcase all our resources
National FFA Convention from October 31-November 4 in Indianapolis - we'll have a booth set up every day! Stop by & check us out or just say hi!
Here's to new adventures!
