The secret life of Rhonda Bell

Rhonda Bell is a social media expert for veterinarians, specializing in helping them grow their businesses from the digital side of things. Her business, Dog Days Consulting, has been helping veterinarians with their social media accounts for the last 4 years.

Although most people know her through her wonderful work as a social media expert, she’s also had her hands in the veterinary field for a long time. Rhonda Bell spent over 15 years working as a Certified Veterinary Practice Manager, retiring only after a medical condition forced her to.

With so many years of experience, Rhonda has developed a good understanding of the veterinary field as a whole, and has some thoughts on how up and coming veterinarian students and other members of the community can live better lives.

“If you were hit by a bus your employer would replace you quickly at work. You can’t be replaced at home. Take care of your health, happiness, and family first,” she said in an interview with Vet Candy.

Many veterinarians and their staff fall victim to putting work first. When you exhaust yourself trying to help one more pet, one more family, at the expense of your own, it can lead to burnout and exhaustion. You are replaceable at work, but you’ll never be replaceable to those you love. That’s where you should put your energy.

She’s also concerned about the toxicity currently present in the veterinary environment. It’s easy to let burnout consume you, and to become part of that toxic setting. If everyone makes a conscious effort to change that little by little however, it would transform the industry.

If she could give advice to her younger self, it would be to balance work and life a little better, and to remind herself that working more won’t make you happier.

Rhonda has had many heroes in her life that have been a big influence in how she approaches living. The first is her mother, who was the first female entrepreneur she saw. Her mother ran a couple of businesses, and showed her that it was possible to own her own business and be successful at it.

The other is her best friend, Linda, who has fought more than anyone should have to in one lifetime. Despite a serious car accident as a child that left many of her family member’s dead and her severely injured, and later a breast cancer diagnosis, Linda has fought for a quality life and succeeded. 

Life is an adventure. If you’re too busy stressing out over work, you’ll be missing out on the grand adventure. Go and do things. Things that scare you! Things that move you. Build experiences that will last a life time. There’s a whole world out there, and it’s well worth exploring.

Rhonda has changed her life for the better, by not letting a medical diagnosis get in the way of helping the veterinary community, and still having a hand in the field she loves. In the future, she hopes to continue to enrich and sustain the community that has given her so much.