Duke School Under the Oak Magazine, Fall 2019

care, Emma is on call evenings and weekends
every other week to respond to the inevitable
emergencies.
Emma said her work is challenging, particularly
when facing medical issues that she cannot
successfully treat. However,
graduate vet school, you just know everything,
and that’s really not true,” Emma said. “I can be
in practice 10 years from now and there’s always
going to be new information that’s coming out.”
Emma still rides and occasionally enters
eventing competitions with
she has noticed an emerging
emphasis on work-life balance
in the profession and a
recognition that veterinarians
need to safeguard their own
mental health to be effective.
“I think that’s just a nice
change in perspective
that I’ve gotten,” she said.
“Yes, you can kind of give
everything to the job, but
you need to make sure that
“At Duke School,
I was always
made to feel
like [being a
veterinarian] was
something that I
would be able to
do,” Emma said.
“I just feel like it’s
such a positive
place.”
a neighbor’s horse named
Ignition. Her first horse, Indy,
is now retired but lives with
her in Southern Pines. She
said being around horses
in her down time helps her
recharge and remember why
she became a veterinarian in
the first place.
“My favorite part is being able
to see the horses and riders
out having fun and doing
you’re OK and that your colleagues are OK
because if they’re not, you can’t do your job.”
Being a veterinarian also means constantly
well,” she said. “There’s nothing more fun from a
riding perspective than riding a horse that loves
their job.”
learning. “I think I sort of thought that once you
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UNDER THE OAK