Dr. Kemba L. Marshall is deeply engaged professionally as a relief veterinarian, executive consultant to the Diversify Veterinary Medicine Coalition and founder of Marshall Recruiting Consortium. She\u2019s a diplomate of the American Board of Veterinary Practitioners, specializing in avian medicine, and the former director of veterinary services at the Purina Animal Nutrition Center.<\/p>\n
I am a life learner and an open-minded, curious individual. I\u2019m a daughter, best friend, sister, concerned citizen and someone who has the absolute privilege of doing what I love every single day. I am also a fish mom and, until recently, a dog mom.<\/p>\n
I am the daughter of an attorney and a high school principal. I was encouraged every day to be involved in conversation and decisions. So, at 8 years old, I explained to my mother and father that I was going to be a veterinarian. From the day I was born, there was always a dog in our house.<\/p>\n
When I told my parents at 8, \u201cHey, this is what I, and therefore we, are going to do,\u201d they said, \u201cYou\u2019re going to have to put your hands on animals and have good grades.\u201d As for the grades, they were really good all through high school and college. As for putting hands on animals, in Jacksonville, Florida, we had the Museum of Science and History, which had a vivarium, so tarantulas, snakes, lizards, centipedes. I worked there until undergrad and then went to Howard University in Washington, D.C., and worked at the National Zoo.<\/p>\n
When looking for work at the National Zoo, I used a phone book and literally called every department. I said: \u201cI\u2019m in undergrad. I want to go to vet school. I want to do something with animals.\u201d Many of those departments never called back. After I made yet another call, one gentleman answered and said, \u201cDidn\u2019t I just talk to you?\u201d And I was like, \u201cYes, I\u2019m going through the phone book.\u201d He asked, \u201cAre you going to call every number?\u201d I said, \u201cI\u2019m going to call every number until someone says yes.\u201d<\/p>\n
He said yes. Poor guy. When I am determined, I\u2019m determined.<\/p>\n
I sit my parents down because I need to explain that I will be going to Colorado State University. My dad says, \u201cWell, how much is that?\u201d At the time, it was $70,000 a year. Then my dad asked, \u201cDoes the University of Florida have a school?\u201d I said, \u201cYeah, but that\u2019s not my dream.\u201d He asked, \u201cHow much is it if we send you to Florida?\u201d In-state tuition was $7,000 a year. My dad said, \u201cYour mother and I are going to take your things to Gainesville.\u201d It turned out to be the perfect decision for me.<\/p>\n
When I was in veterinary school, one of my zoo instructors and I were having lunch. I asked, \u201cI feel like the zoo or exotics world is where I\u2019m going to be. How do I get going?\u201d And he said, \u201cRemember that medicine is medicine.\u201d<\/p>\n
I went from private practice to lab animal to emergency medicine to overseeing the health of all the pets sold inside PetSmart to going to Purina and caring for the animals involved in nutrition research. Medicine is medicine.<\/p>\n
My dog, Manny, recently got his angel wings. He was a German shepherd I got from the pound. We had 13 wonderful years together. I\u2019m also a fish mom. There\u2019s a 125-gallon tank out there with my name on it.<\/p>\n
I walk the dog, feed the fish and make sure all those kiddos are OK. And then, once everyone\u2019s fed and watered, I grab something for sustenance, normally fruit and a protein bar. Then I sit down and reflect: \u201cWhat is the most important thing I have to do today?\u201d Let me do that first, and then let me figure out what I\u2019ll do the rest of the day.<\/p>\n
Because I want to be tied to the practice of medicine, I do relief shifts from time to time. When you\u2019re in the room, you\u2019re talking to your clients, working with your patients. You\u2019ve got your team behind you, and we\u2019re diagnosing, treating and preventing disease. If I\u2019m not doing a relief shift, I\u2019m working on presentations or something that might be described as a keynote or opening lecture.<\/p>\n
Yes. In order, I go football, basketball, baseball and soccer. I don\u2019t post a lot on social media, but everyone I\u2019m connected with knows that at least once a year, my mom, dad and I travel to Pittsburgh because we\u2019re die-hard Pittsburgh Steelers fans.<\/p>\n
The colors you\u2019ll see me in often are black and yellow \u2014 the official uniform for those of us in Steelers Nation. As for other favorites, there\u2019s nothing like a comfy pair of scrubs. We\u2019ve all done it. You\u2019re not going to work, but you\u2019re like, \u201cI\u2019m going to put these scrubs on and run to the grocery store.\u201d When the weather is right, the best uniform is shorts, T-shirts and flip-flops.<\/p>\n
Music is the backdrop to everything for me. I listen to country, jazz, R&B, hip-hop, classics, Broadway tunes. When I\u2019m working and have to get it done, like a presentation, I listen to a song I don\u2019t know so I don\u2019t get distracted. I listen to a lot of Indian flute. When I\u2019m driving, the music is turned up, the windows are down, and I\u2019m singing badly but with gusto.<\/p>\n
When I was 8, a C.S. Lewis book, The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe<\/em>, changed my life. That\u2019s where the children get to the land of Narnia, where the animals can talk. It was the beginning of my veterinary journey. I like veterinary books on trends in HR, practice management and veterinary teams so I can continue to be relevant when I\u2019m presenting.<\/p>\n Expanding the boundaries of veterinary medicine. When I first told my parents, \u201cHey, I\u2019m going to vet school,\u201d I was thinking of the white coat, the stethoscope, the small animal clinic, spay, neuter, vaccines. However, very little of my professional career has been standard. With everything I do, I want to push past what I initially thought veterinary medicine was. Going after the most broad, expansive term of \u201cveterinary medicine\u201d fuels me.<\/p>\n If it\u2019s good, I\u2019m going last. And if it\u2019s bad, I\u2019m going first. I don\u2019t ask people to do things they\u2019ve never seen me do. And there\u2019s never been a time when people can\u2019t raise their hand and say, \u201cI have an opinion, a question, a concern, a comment.\u201d If I am with a team, we\u2019re shoulder to shoulder doing stuff. They\u2019re seeing me push them forward when the good is happening and push them backward when the bad is happening. If we\u2019re failing, we will do it together.<\/p>\n It depends on the day. Sometimes, self-care<\/a> is \u201cEat food, drink water.\u201d I mean, sometimes it\u2019s very basic things because we\u2019re doing this, that and the other. I\u2019m a firm believer in vacations and paid time off. So, at a minimum for my birthday, I take the week off. But when I\u2019m doing a really good job, I take the week off and go to another country, as I love to travel. And when I\u2019m on vacation, I shut it down. I don\u2019t check email. I don\u2019t answer text messages.<\/p>\n Everything. I can\u2019t tell you how many times I\u2019m in the exam room, talking to a client, and I start with, \u201cHow are things going at home?\u201d Sometimes, you hear the usual: \u201cThe kids are crazy, dog\u2019s good, just here for vaccines.\u201d But sometimes, they start crying, and now you\u2019ve got to lean all the way forward because they\u2019re about to tell you something that\u2019s very, very important. That type of relationship is always powerful, as is the relationship with the team. Every person who\u2019s working with me, from the receptionist to the technicians and assistants, is going to do something to make pet care better today. When the team is at its best, patient care is exceptional.<\/p>\n I am working with Wiley Publishing on a book called Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in Veterinary Medicine. It is a labor of love because my concept is that every letter in the alphabet is a standalone chapter. I\u2019ve gotten friends, co-workers and colleagues to write chapters with me and for me. We\u2019ve chosen terms and words that will expand the thought around the definitions of diversity, equity and inclusion in the veterinary medical profession. I look at this as my contribution to sustaining the profession. I mean, when you think about the Veterinarian Oath, one of the last lines is, \u201cI accept as a lifelong obligation the continuous improvement of my knowledge.\u201d This book will be a full-circle moment for me, and I hope it teaches someone something they didn\u2019t know before. I also would underscore that what veterinary professionals do today will determine how veterinary medicine looks 20, 30, 40 years from now. I also think each of us can do something to make the profession better.<\/p>\n Jimmy Webb never wore a Pittsburgh Steelers uniform, but he spent seven seasons as a defensive lineman with the San Francisco 49ers and San Diego Chargers. After retiring from the NFL, he earned a DVM degree from Mississippi State University and went into practice in Central California. In August, he will be inducted into the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame as a member of the Class of 2024.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Sports fan and music lover Dr.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":30,"featured_media":76018,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"iawp_total_views":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[520],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-76013","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-april-may-2024","column-20-questions","clinical_topics-personal-professional-development"],"acf":{"hide_sidebar":false,"hide_sidebar_ad":false,"hide_all_ads":false},"yoast_head":"\n16. What is your professional passion?<\/strong><\/h3>\n
17. How do you define leadership?<\/strong><\/h3>\n
18. How do you practice self-care?<\/strong><\/h3>\n
19. Relationships are?<\/strong><\/h3>\n
20. What are your goals in 2024?<\/strong><\/h3>\n
\nONLINE RESOURCES<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n
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\nSECOND CAREER<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n