Jessica Hirsch is a rebel with a cause

Veterinary school can be challenging at the best of times.

There is homework, endless assignments, late nights spent studying and volunteering, plus all the emotional and mental energy that goes into pursuing a life dedicated to caring for animals.

As a fourth year vet med student, Jessica Hirsch knows all about overcoming big challenges and caring for others. In fact, her veterinarian journey so far has largely been focused on helping not just pet patients, but the veterinarians who treat them too! Today, she is a disability and chronic illness activist who (by graciously sharing her own recovery story) is a leading voice for veterinarians with disabilities everywhere.

Becoming an Advocate for Disabilities and Invisible Illnesses Through Personal Experience   

Did you know?

According to the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, there are 61 million adults currently living with a disability in the United States.

Jessica Hirsch is one of them.

She shares, “My story started in 2014, my freshman year of undergrad, when I sustained my fourth concussion. Ever since, I have suffered from syncopal episodes, dizziness, nausea, migraines, GI issues, joint and muscle pain, pelvic pain, edema, fatigue, brain fog and concentration issues, plus much more.”

Determined to finish veterinary school, Jessica juggled nurse visits, physical therapy, MRI scans, and wearing a neck brace, all while attending classes and working at the vet school as a tech.

However, her symptoms became so intense they eventually started to interfere with school. After sleeping 18 hours a day and failing three classes due to extreme fatigue and pain, she finally concluded that her health had to be a priority. Yet, as most veterinary professionals know, it can be tough to “slow down” in our field. Veterinarians are expected to be go, go, go 24/7! Nonstop work, minimal breaks, and a constant pressure to push yourself to your physical and mental limits…it is what’s expected of us.

Unfortunately, operating in this capacity is neither healthy nor sustainable long-term. It can lead to burnout, illness, anxiety, depression, etc.

So, it is key that our community (both aspiring and practicing veterinarians alike) become more aware of how to take care of themselves, while simultaneously fostering a safe and welcoming place for fellow professionals who may require an accommodation or medical leave of absence.    

Hirsch explains, “There is a place for people with disabilities and chronic illness in veterinary medicine. I have personally experienced countless barriers and ableist standards, and the veterinary industry is no exception. It is my goal to make veterinary schools more accessible for students with disabilities.”

As Jessica so rightly concludes, “There is no shame in taking time to take care of yourself.”

Read Along at the Disabled DVM Blog

It’s often said that sharing stories makes us feel less alone.

By reading about other people’s experiences, it is also easier to open up and talk about your own struggles. For Jessica Hirsch, blogging is one way to show the world that it’s okay to take a medical leave of absence when you need it, and to denounce negative stigmas about veterinarians with chronic illnesses and/or disabilities.

Check out her blog at DisabledDVM

And don’t forget to visit her Instagram page! With over two thousand followers, @disabled.dvm is a safe space for vets to ask questions, find information, and see firsthand that it is 100% possible to tackle veterinary school with chronic illnesses and disabilities.

Jessica’s final words?

“Normalize showing compassion to our colleagues in addition to pet parents and patients. Normalize caring about the well-being of those around us. We need to protect and preserve veterinary medicine and it starts right in your own practice.”

Vet Candy cannot wait to see what the future holds for this powerful young advocate and veterinarian to be!