Dr. Serena Nayee on fighting for what she wants
Although Dr. Serena Nayee, deeply cares about animals, she almost chose a very different path. She has always walked a fine line between human and animal health for a long time.
Although Dr. Serena has no regrets about her choices, one of the hardest career decisions she made was to choose between animal and human health. She believes both have a serious problem with equality and accessibility.
At one point during her studies, she actually considered leaving veterinary medicine for a path towards human health. Dr. Serena found it difficult to justify the cost of veterinary studies when there was such a huge gap to fill in the world of human health.
Fortunately for animals everywhere, Dr. Serena did decide to stick with her veterinary career. While there are problems with equity and fairness in human medicine, that problem is also in veterinary medicine. Her major goal is to help close that gap.
Dr. Serena believes that one of the biggest problems facing the veterinary industry today is the inaccessibility of education and healthcare available. She believes that education and healthcare should be inclusive for everyone, and that it should not be difficult to access.
Financial accessibility is an important example of the difficult path becoming a vet can be. The amount of debt young veterinary students must take on is extraordinary, and this can deter many otherwise potentially great vet students from enrolling.
Dr. Serena hopes to change some of that through her work. Her biggest career goal is to improve inclusion within the veterinary professional community, in addition to the pet parent and family community. That’s why she created Chapter VIII: Veterinary Inclusion and Intersectionality Initiative.
She hopes Chapter VIII creates more accessible educational programs, so that everyone has an opportunity to learn about vet medicine and health.
Although Dr. Serena is passionate about her work and the cause she supports, it’s not her only side. She loves to spend time outdoors and with her family, as well as cooking and writing. After a stressful day at work, Dr. Serena likes to unwind by turning off the screen and reflecting on her day.
This time of reflection may be used in the form of writing to help sort out her thoughts, talking with a friend or family member, or simply thinking.
Like many in our profession, she is not a stranger to mental health troubles. She suffered from depression in college, made worse by her lack of access to culturally appropriate therapy. Today, she has a therapist that works well with her needs, but she worries about the larger community.
She thinks that having better access to appropriate healthcare for everyone would lead to great improvements in the mental health of the veterinary community—and everyone else too.
Dr. Serena has great hopes for the future, and plans to continue creating a path to more equal care, and to help others reach their career goals. One of her biggest hopes is to work with others who are passionate about seeing change in human and environmental health sectors, and to create accessible educational program opportunities with them.
Follow her journey on Linked In