If she wasn’t a veterinarian, she would be a detective.

It is an interesting choice of second careers…

But for Dr. Lauren Adelman, being a veterinary internal medicine specialist is all about finding clues, noting down symptoms, and solving the mystery of an illness, so imagining herself as a sleuth isn’t too farfetched.

Luckily for her animal patients, she decided to pursue vet med!

Currently, Dr. Lauren Adelman is an Internal Medicine Specialist with Canada West Veterinary Specialists. She graduated from The University of British Columbia after studying microbiology and immunology and later went on to achieve her DVM from University of Calgary.

With over 10k followers on Instagram (@the_tinyvet), she is the go-to source for all things internal medicine related.

Recently, Vet Candy had the opportunity to chat with Dr. Lauren Adelman. Today, she tells us about the best career advice she ever received related to being kind to yourself, plus opens up about her favorite reality TV shows as destressing tools.

Introducing, the amazing Dr. Lauren Adelman!

Be Kind to Yourself First

In this profession, we strive for perfection.

It’s only natural. Of course we want the best outcomes for our clients and their furry and four legged family members. In school, students push themselves to the extremes – often feeling mentally drained and physically exhausted – all to reach their goal of becoming a veterinarian.

The bar is raised even higher once we begin practicing for real.

Unfortunately, we are sometimes so busy taking care of everybody else, we forget to be kind to the person who matters the most…yourself.

Dr. Adelman explains:

“Most veterinarians have worked very hard just to get into vet school and then for those who choose to specialize, it only gets more and more competitive. We strive to be perfect during the journey and we carry that with us into practice. When I first began practicing, I would beat myself up a lot over the small things.”

For example, not finishing paperwork quickly. Or losing a patient she wished she could have saved.

However, at the end of the day she says, “You can only do your best and that IS good enough. It is important to be kind to yourself and recognize we are only human beings and are only capable of so much. Beating yourself up or working so hard you let yourself burn out is only doing a disservice to yourself and your patients.”

Vet Candy 100% agrees.

Self-care and kindness must be priorities. 

Wash Away the Stress of the Day

Additionally, Dr. Adelman knew she wanted to specialize right away.

“I am the type that would rather know a lot about one area of veterinary medicine than have a broader sense of knowledge about all aspects,” she shares.

One look at her Instagram page, and you can see the remarkable cases she tackles, such as removing a swallowed tennis ball, pulling out porcupine quills, and dislodging worms, carrot slices, decorations, scissors, and other astounding foreign objects.

Understandably, she needs a way to relax after a long 9-5.

Her favorite destressing tool: reality television.

“I watch lighthearted reality TV,” she says. “I usually don’t have the aptitude on workdays to watch anything heavy. Some of my favorites are Ru Paul’s Drag Race, Survivor, plus bad dating shows like Love Island and Too Hot to Handle.”

“Don’t judge me,” she adds with a laugh.

Don’t worry, Dr. Lauren. We aren’t!

Her final words of advice?

“Work hard but take time to enjoy yourself along the way,” she encourages colleagues. “You will get to where you need to be but try to enjoy the journey and the people you meet.”