From vet school to AI founder: Jason Szumski and vet med’s shift

Jason Szumski, DVM, represents a notable shift in how veterinary medicine is approaching AI: instead of waiting for outside technology companies to define the tools, some recent graduates are building them themselves. In a Vet Life Reimagined conversation tied to the WVC conference circuit, Szumski’s path from vet school to co-founding VetSOAP put a spotlight on a new kind of veterinary career arc, one that blends clinical training, entrepreneurship, and workflow technology. (vetlifereimagined.com)

That matters because the backdrop is familiar to nearly every practice leader: heavy caseloads, administrative overload, and a workforce still looking for ways to make practice more sustainable. University of Illinois’ profile of VetSOAP said Szumski and Aaron Smiley, DVM, were brought together through a shared problem-solving mindset, with Szumski bringing the perspective of a recent graduate and Smiley contributing a longer view of practice needs. According to that profile, the founders reconnected in late 2023 to begin building VetSOAP after Szumski decided he needed some real-world clinical experience before helping design a product for the field. (vetmed.illinois.edu)

The company’s framing is practical rather than abstract. Szumski told Illinois that one of the biggest gaps for new graduates is confidence, especially when they don’t have ready access to a mentor who can field constant questions. He said VetSOAP was designed not only to save time on records, but also to search a curated dataset for relevant articles and surface diagnostic options that could reinforce a clinician’s thinking. He also described the day-to-day pressure behind that design choice: in school, he might have seen one or two cases a day, but in practice he was seeing 12 to 14, without six times the documentation time. The product, he said, summarizes what the clinician is discussing with the pet parent and generates a usable note. Illinois reported the app was in beta as of April 2024. (vetmed.illinois.edu)

Szumski’s story also lands as AI scribes move from novelty to operational tool in veterinary practice. A 2026 survey cited by Today’s Veterinary Business found that 91% of general practices had adopted or changed at least one technology in the prior year, and nearly 48% reported using AI tools, primarily for medical records and administrative support. In specialty and emergency settings, 21% reported using AI scribes, and almost 75% of AI adopters said the tools improved workflow efficiency. That lines up with broader industry messaging around documentation relief. In a 2025 dvm360 interview, Kathleen Allison-Black, DVM, said ambient AI scribes can improve record completeness, reduce reliance on memory, and allow teams to generate discharge communications more quickly, while still requiring clinician review. (todaysveterinarybusiness.com)

Expert reaction, though, has become more nuanced as adoption rises. In the January 22, 2026 episode of The Cone of Shame, Andy Roark, DVM, and Aaron Massecar, PhD, framed AI scribes as potentially helpful for reducing administrative burden, improving records, strengthening client connection, and addressing burnout. But Roark has also used other discussions to stress that veterinary medicine still lacks clear, enforced standards for AI accuracy and reporting. In a separate conversation on AI governance, Roark said he could praise AI scribes’ promise while still acknowledging that the field is early and that many clinicians don’t yet know how to judge product quality. Petra Harms, DVM, echoed that concern, arguing that enthusiasm has outpaced the development of responsible frameworks for safe integration into practice. (music.amazon.com)

Why it matters: For veterinary professionals, this isn’t just a profile of an ambitious young founder. It’s a marker of where innovation may increasingly come from: clinicians who understand the friction points of exam-room medicine, new-graduate confidence gaps, and the hidden cost of after-hours charting. If tools like VetSOAP gain traction, they could become part of a broader workforce strategy centered on retention, training support, and better use of doctor time. But that upside depends on disciplined implementation. The AAVSB’s March 2025 white paper explicitly identified unlicensed practice, standards of practice, medical recordkeeping, data storage and confidentiality, and informed consent as regulatory issues that boards and practices need to address as AI use expands. In other words, the profession is moving past “Can we use this?” and into “How do we use this safely, legally, and well?” (aavsb.org)

What to watch: The next phase will likely center on validation and governance. Practices will want evidence that veterinarian-built tools are accurate, privacy-conscious, and genuinely workflow-improving, especially for new graduates and high-volume teams. Watch for more formal guidance from regulators, more public discussion of quality benchmarks, and more competition among veterinary-specific AI vendors as the category matures. Szumski’s path suggests that future veterinary leaders may be as likely to build tools as to use them — but the winners will be the products that earn trust in the exam room, the medical record, and the compliance review. (aavsb.org)