Caitlin Palmer is changing the rules of the game

Caitlin Palmer is not your average veterinary receptionist. She’s also a Tik-Tok star and comedian with her alter ego, the Desk Wench, bringing much needed comedic relief to veterinary medicine while also working hard to help animals. Her hilarious videos will make anyone in the pet industry laugh and nod, and may just make a few customers think about how they treat people on the other end of the line.

One of the best pieces of advice Caitlin has received during her career is that there is always a person at the other end of the leash. When there are a flood of customers, a busy day, or someone who takes their frustrations out on staff, that can be difficult to remember.

Although Caitlin has been in the industry for many years, her career has come with its share of difficult choices. One of her hardest decisions involved moving from her first clinic to a new one. The first clinic she had worked for was like a second family, but as time went on she found a shift in new faces lead to an increasingly toxic environment.

Caitlin made the difficult decision to take a job at a different facility, where she found to her relief a much more welcoming atmosphere. She is now much happier and healthier as a person, working hard every day to make sure people get the veterinary care they need on schedule.

The change in career also lead to more opportunities for herself, and while she worried that she might be walking from one toxic environment to another, it ended up working out.

To relax after a difficult day at work, Caitlin likes to opt between one of two choices. Sometimes she’ll hit the gym to work up a good sweat and release endorphins—and sometimes she’ll curl up under a blanket with a good murder mystery. Usually it’s the murder mystery.

One of the deepest and most moving parts of her life was swimming with whale sharks in Georgia. Whale sharks are such large, vast animals that getting to spend time with them and appreciating their unique personalities and gentleness is a life changing experience.

It’s hard to imagine life outside of being a veterinary receptionist, but if she had to choose another career she sees herself as an art teacher at a college. She could surround herself with art, coffee, and wonderful people—and refreshingly if students are annoying or disruptive in her office she can ask them to leave.

If you only try one thing in your life, Caitlin highly recommends that it be ramen. Not cup-a-noodle from the store, but fresh, real ramen from a ramen shop. It’s some of the most amazing food you will ever experience in your life, plus, you’re supposed to eat it messily.

If you work in the veterinary field and you want a good laugh, you can follow Caitlin @deskwench on TikTok for great laughs you’ll understand because you’ve probably experienced that exact same scenario.

You can satisfy your hunger for comedy by subscribing to Catilin’s new podcast, Obsessed with the Palmers- where she and her husband, Clay, talk about urban legends and animal myths. Check it out on a podcast platform of your choice and see why they have been nominated for the Podcast of the Year by the People’s Choice Podcast Awards!