EP03 Meet the Team - Mary Beth McKee

Vet Tech Talk

This is Vet Tech Talk, a podcast about Appalachian State University's online four year bachelor of science in veterinary technology degree program. Welcome back! I'm your host, Dave Blanks! In this episode, you’ll hear some familiar voices as well as a new one! I welcome back Program Director Virginia Corrigan and Assistant Program Director Jen Serling to the studio and we meet Lead Instructional Designer, Mary Beth McKee for the very first time. We’ll learn more about her role in the program and hear about how she joined the team as well as the animals in her life. We also discuss building a brand new program with compassionate experts, dive deeper into curriculum and explore a few of the many career paths the program will prepare you for. Now, onto the conversation!

Dave:

I'm here with the entire crew from the Appalachian State Veterinary Technology Program, a new program here at App just starting this year. We have Jen Serling. Hello, Jen. How are you?

Jen Serling:

Hello. Thank you.

Dave:

I'm glad you're back. Welcome back to studio.

Jen Serling:

Thank you.

Dave:

Yes, Virginia Corrigan is here also, Virginia, you're the Program Director. Jen, the Assistant Program Director. Hello, Virginia.

Virginia Corrigan:

Good morning.

Dave:

How are you?

Virginia Corrigan:

I'm fantastic. How are you today?

Dave:

Most excellent. I'm very good. But we're joined by someone that we haven't had in studio before, Mary Beth McKee. Hello, Mary Beth.

Mary Beth McKee:

Hello there.

Dave:

How do you do?

Mary Beth McKee:

I'm doing fantabulous.

Dave:

Well, good. So you've been at Appalachian State since '99?

Mary Beth McKee:

Yes, a number of years.

Dave:

Yes, right. And you've worked in a variety of places on campus. What have you been doing on campus and what are you doing now with the Veterinary Technology Program?

Mary Beth McKee:

Well, I can remember actually, when the Chancellor first announced the program, and I was surprised because I was like, "Veterinary Technology, how is it I've never heard about this?"

Dave:

Right?

Mary Beth McKee:

I'm a dog lover, I love this stuff. And I started talking to people and I worked in the Center for Academic Excellence.

Dave:

What is the Center for Academic Excellence do? Does it ensure that we're academically excellent at Appalachian State?

Mary Beth McKee:

Obviously, that's the mission statement. But it's looking for ways to help faculty, staff, and students. So teaching with technology is a big core component, but also faculty development.

Dave:

Oh. You're starting at the ground floor of this program, which is something different than what you've done previously.

Mary Beth McKee:

Absolutely. In my previous role, you would get assigned to a college like Arts and Sciences or Health Sciences, and you support them, faculty, for all their technology needs. So with this program, I changed titles. I'm the Lead Instructional Designer.

But what appeals to me is working with faculty from the ground up and just really saying, "What is your course about? Where do we want to take these students? What's an engaging way?" Being a fully online program, it's a different ballgame.

Dave:

Absolutely. So what are some things you're excited about?

Mary Beth McKee:

Well, the thing with the new program, Dave, it's just so dang new. You know what I mean?

Dave:

It's true. You can't describe it any other way really.

Mary Beth McKee:

When we joke about being the gang and the team, you're looking at them. We haven't hired a lot of faculty yet. But one thing I have really loved is the veterinary community, they have to be the warmest, most compassionate people who really care about putting good people in the field. These are compassionate people who want it to succeed. So it is great to partner with them and say, "What's your course about? Tell me about that." And looking for ways to help that content be engaging for students, even though they might be in Tucson, Arizona.

Dave:

Right, absolutely. As it's a case with Jen, which we learned on her visit with us. So it does seem like Jen and Virginia, and y'all could possibly speak to this, these people are so compassionate. Y'all really care so much about what you're doing. How are y'all going to find people that care as much as you do? How do you interview somebody and decide if they care about it?

Jen Serling:

It's definitely a process. I mean, it's a pretty rigorous interview process to go through and it'll be probably something very similar in regards to faculty. But we've just hired a Clinical Coordinator, we're doing the wellbeing interviews is for the Wellbeing Coordinator as well. And it's just, it's their whole aura and their persona about them. And I don't know, at least with me, I get a feeling.

Dave:

Virginia, is there something that you can pick up on about somebody where you're like, "Yeah, this is the kind of person we want in this program?"

Virginia Corrigan:

Yeah, well, I think the point in general of compassionate people choosing to be in the veterinary field is a very important one and salient one.

So I have this level of trust in other veterinary professionals, especially those who have been doing this for a while. They've been there, they know what it's like. They know that it's challenging but it's also just the most incredibly rewarding profession out there. So there's that bond that's inherently present, I think, as a veterinarian, talking to another veterinarian, as a veterinarian talking to another veterinary professional.

But then, yeah, I think Jen's right. I think someone's compassion and how much they care really shines through. Even if that's over Zoom, you just can feel it. And it's the way they talk about students, it's the way they talk about their own pets. It's the way they've talked about their career and what they really loved and what drives them. And when we hear those things, we light up on the other end. So we're really excited to keep that process going. We've been doing a ton of interviews and talking to just some phenomenal people, and so it's been exciting.

Dave:

How many people are you going to have to hire to start out with before we get started?

Virginia Corrigan:

Well, as Jen mentioned, we're hiring. We hired our clinical coordinator. We have our Wellbeing Coordinator. And then we're hoping to hire at least a couple more faculty members this year, and then probably open up more faculty positions for next year.

Our program is a full, four-year online program, so we definitely need to build up our faculty. And the really cool thing, I think, is that we can pull faculty from all over the country, maybe even around the world. We don't know that yet. But we can really pull in these experts, people who are not only compassionate, but also bring that expertise about the subject that they are teaching to the students.

And that really comes across, especially in an online program when someone's really passionate and also has a lot of experience and expertise in a subject, that shines through even on Zoom.

Dave:

Absolutely.

Virginia Corrigan:

And so those are the people that we're looking for, those subject matter experts, but also these people who are just really excited about it because we want our students to be excited about it. And so we're not limited to having someone who's willing to move here to beautiful Boone, North Carolina, although wouldn't everyone like to live here? It's gorgeous. But we want people to be happy where they are. We want them to grow where they're planted. So we're really happy that we can recruit from all over.

Jen Serling:

We're been interviewing, like Virginia said, some really incredible people, and we're anticipating doing the same in regards to the faculty and really rock stars in the field of Veterinary Technology and veterinary education.

Dave:

So how do y'all get along? Mary Beth, you seem like you're getting along with these people pretty well, right?

Jen Serling:

She fits just right in with us.

Dave:

Were y'all worried? I mean, did you have to interview for Mary Beth? Were you like, "Oh yeah, she's the one, She's awesome."

Mary Beth McKee:

No, they just got stuck with me.

Dave:

Oh, that's what I was thinking.

Jen Serling:

She picked us.

Dave:

Oh, a lot of people say that about their shelter pet or their pet. "No, no. He picked me. He saved me." So yeah, it seems like y'all have a good rapport and y'all do get along really well.

Mary Beth McKee:

Oh, absolutely.

Dave:

Yeah.

Mary Beth McKee:

And I would add Jen and Virginia, they both come with incredible networks within the veterinary community and I think it's just a huge Venn diagram. And I'm not even a big math person, but I like Venn diagrams.

Dave:

Yeah, sure.

Mary Beth McKee:

Because we talk about a topic of, "Hey, anesthesia...," "Hey, animal dentistry..." All these different things. They say, "I know someone who is a really good teacher" and I have been so impressed. And I would say it's not the same in every discipline that they say, "Hey, we're teaching this. Could you share your curriculum? What are you doing in your classes?" And they're like, "Anything I can do to help."

Dave:

Oh, wow.

Mary Beth McKee:

"Here, send you the syllabus. This is the book we're using. Here's what I like about it, and I don't and here's ways you can expand it. And hey, if you want to get together for a quick Zoom..." They are just the most giving people.

Dave:

That's awesome. I'm glad it's part of Appalachian State University. We mentioned a little bit about how the curriculum is growing and how it's forming. So Jen, can you maybe share a little bit more about the curriculum or anybody who wants to jump in, please?

Jen Serling:

So it's a full, four-year bachelor's degree program. There's certain components that have to meet AVMA standards in regards to our accreditation.

But the beautiful thing is in the upper level, there's four tracks that the students can go through and pick. There's a Companion Animal, there's a Practice Management, and then there's one which we're calling One Health, which has a public health component to it, but then also large animal and exotic medicine and nursing. So the students can really find their passion, not pigeonholing themselves into a particular role, but they can study all of these other avenues of veterinary medicine and it's really, really cool.

Dave:

Yeah, it's a broad field. There's a lot of places where people might not consider. Virginia, do you have some examples of positions that you would be uniquely qualified for?

Virginia Corrigan:

Sure. Yeah. I mean, I think the field of veterinary medicine is very exciting right now. There are some unique challenges that are leading to some really amazing opportunities, particularly for those going through this program and interested in the field specifically of Veterinary Technology.

Number one, there's a huge demand in the field because there are more pets. But then there's just more need for skilled and knowledgeable animal health professionals in general. Because this human-animal bond, the love that people have for animals and the role in society is really important. There's certainly a huge need and a role for Veterinary Technicians in clinical practice, both in companion animal as well as other species, like large animal, horses, production animal, et cetera.

But there's also so many really cool opportunities that our students could think about, and we will hopefully be surrounding them with people doing these exciting career opportunities such as working in the industry, working in laboratory animal and research, working in public health, working with education. So going back, full circle and educating the future professionals in our field.

The opportunities are really becoming quite limitless. Even in clinical practice, there's opportunities like home healthcare; skilled technicians going into homes and providing care for people that's really growing. Telehealth and telemedicine is growing as well. So there's really amazing opportunities for credentialed veterinary technicians to really utilize their skills, their knowledge in ways that are unique and will really add value to this profession and add value to animals and to people in this country and around the world, really.

Jen Serling:

Palliative and hospice care is another big, huge up and coming profession that both Techs and Veterinarians are getting into as well, where they're specializing and their job with the home health and doing at home euthanasias and at home palliative care.

Dave:

That being such a traumatic situation, I could see how that would be so welcome to not have to bring your loved animal to a place outside the home when they were already struggling. Yeah. Wow.

Yeah, the field's growing. It's a great time to be starting this program. It's exciting. I'm excited to learn about it.

One thing that we did do with Virginia, and we also did with Jen, which we haven't done with Mary Beth, tell us about your dog. You're a dog lover, right, Mary Beth?

Mary Beth McKee:

I really am.

Dave:

Okay. Well, who is the dog in your life or dogs in your life?

Mary Beth McKee:

Right now I just have one dog, Tremont. He is a great dog. Got him from the Humane Society. It was a great way... He was actually born there. So got him at nine months and he has been fabulous.

Dave:

Tell me his name again?

Mary Beth McKee:

Tremont.

Dave:

Tremont. All right, All right.

Jen Serling:

And he's on our website, isn't he?

Mary Beth McKee:

He is, yeah.

Dave:

Oh, really? We can see Tremont. Yeah. The website, you can get there by going to vettech.appstate.edu. And yeah, you can see everybody's animals right here. That's great. Got to meet Daffy and Marshall Meowthers, Jen's pets. And then Virginia, it's been a little longer for you, but I remember there was Mango? Was that one of them?

Virginia Corrigan:

You have such a good memory, Dave. I had a Mango.

Dave:

Oh, okay.

Virginia Corrigan:

I have a Kiwi.

Dave:

Kiwi!

Virginia Corrigan:

And I have two dogs, Yogi and Tucker. And I'll just put a plug back in for the home healthcare and hospice care. I' recently lost my cat, Apricot and I had a veterinarian come to my house.

Dave:

Oh, wow.

Virginia Corrigan:

And she was extremely compassionate and she was phenomenal. And what an opportunity for a veterinary technician to be by her side, to really provide that care. I mean, for me, it was absolutely the right thing to do and for my pet, for her to go in that way. So really, I'll put a plug back in for what Jen mentioned, just a huge opportunity out there.

Dave:

Absolutely. There's a lot you can learn about the program by going online to the website. One more time that's vettech.app state.edu.

Jen Serling, Mary Beth McKee, and Virginia Corrigan, thank y'all all for joining me. I really appreciate y'all being in the studio and have fun in Boone.

Jen Serling:

Thanks, Dave.

Virginia Corrigan:

Thank you, Dave.

Dave:

If you love animals, a degree in veterinary technology may be just what you need in your life, put that love for animals to work for you. No matter your busy schedule, you'll learn to capably assist veterinarians and prepare for certification exams to take advantage of a flourishing job market and ensure that pets get the care they need. You can find out more by going online to the vet tech website, that's vettech.appstate.edu. Vet Tech Talk is at production of university communications here at Appalachian State. Check out more of our podcasts by going online to podcasts.appstate.edu. I'm Dave Blanks. Thanks so much for listening to Vet Tech Talk and have a great day.