AVMA spotlights Kevin Fitzgerald on kindness and conservation
CURRENT BRIEF VERSION: AVMA’s My Veterinary Life has brought back Dr. Kevin Fitzgerald for an update episode centered on kindness, community, conservation, and the arc of a 43-year veterinary career. Fitzgerald, a Denver small animal veterinarian best known to many for Emergency Vets, used the conversation to reflect on the values he sees as central to the profession, while also discussing his memoir, It Started With a Turtle. The episode lands in a broader moment when veterinary organizations and academic voices are increasingly linking companion animal practice, community engagement, access to care, wildlife health, and One Health thinking. Recent My Veterinary Life episodes have also highlighted Spectrum of Care, student-led compassion and entrepreneurship, and humanitarian veterinary relief, reinforcing that the podcast is using personal stories to explore how veterinarians serve both animals and communities. (podcasts.apple.com)
Why it matters: For veterinary professionals, the update is less about a single clinical development and more about professional identity. Fitzgerald’s message, as described by AVMA’s podcast listing, emphasizes kindness, community involvement, and lifelong learning, while his long-running conservation work and role with the Denver Zoo Conservation Alliance underscore how veterinarians can contribute beyond the exam room. That framing also matches other recent AVMA podcast themes: Spectrum of Care and access-to-care work from leaders including Drs. Kristin Jankowski and Sheena Warman, student reflections on compassion and burnout from North Carolina State veterinary student Mary Emfinger, and Dr. Jon Geller’s account of veterinary relief work tied to refugee movement, infectious disease control, and One Health concerns at the Ukraine border. Together, those conversations point to a profession increasingly defining itself through service, adaptability, and public-facing impact. (podcasts.apple.com)
What to watch: Expect more veterinary media and professional groups to keep elevating stories that connect everyday practice with community trust, access to care, conservation, and cross-sector One Health work. (vet.cornell.edu)