By all “normal” appearances, as a Veterinarian, Jen Quammen was a successful veterinarian. After more than a decade as a Licensed Veterinary Technician, she went to Vet School and Graduated from Ohio State. Within just a few years of graduation, she was the Medical Director of a two location, seven doctor practice that she had formerly been a technician. During that time she also began training and competing in Kettlebell Sport Competitions. Feeling the pull of wanting to be more involved in the direction of Veterinary Medicine, she joined the Board of the Kentucky Veterinary Medical Association and the Council on Veterinary Services. Still something was missing. She was content, but not satisfied. Happy, but not fulfilled. There was a constant nagging question of “What’s next for me? What can I do to make more of an impact?”. Ironically, many of those surrounding her asked just the opposite questions. “Why can’t you just be satisfied? Why isn’t this enough?” That’s when a conversation with her partner, professional coach, Ryan Smith confirmed her feelings that she does have so much more to give to the profession.

Ryan Smith has spent a career working with High Performance individuals. Growing up in an entrepreneurial family, he found it difficult to follow the “get a good job, be happy, and build a retirement plan” that most follow. After ten plus years in the health and wellness industry as both an employee and an entrepreneur, he realized that one key piece that he was never taught during his Bachelors or Masters degrees was how to manage money or run a business. That’s when he entered the world of Wall Street, learning the ins and outs of trading stocks, options, and understanding the legal documents that come with business from large to small. After a decade of the financial grind, he went back to training clients, but now on a whole new level. Being able to speak the language of the wealthy and corporate executives set in motion a whole new type of training. Learning to take these driven, high performance individuals to the places they wanted to go too way more than being a “trainer”...he had to become a coach. Taking these successful and busy people to the finish line of Ironman, Marathons, and Ultramarathons was a whole different skill that he excelled at. The physical was the easy part, but coaching the recovery, mindset, work-life choices, while maintaining a high performance at work took a skillset few have developed. Along that path, Ryan became a Business Coach, Specialist in Mental Performance with a background in Neuro Linguistic Programming and Hypnosis. It was the ability to see things in people that they cannot that knew the Jen was destined for more.

It’s about that time, while training for an Ironman himself, that Ryan experienced a career altering setback. Ongoing complications from a minor surgery ended not only his Ironman training, but also his performance coaching career...as he knew it. That’s when a conversation during a car ride back from AVMA headquarters birthed the idea for what is now Veterinarian Coaching. Veterinarian Coaching takes the skills of working with driven people, looking to understand “what’s next for them?” and run it through a framework that is proven to help The Modern Veterinarian Thrive in Life, Love, and Career. Teaching that self-care is not selfish, but is critical to the Modern Veterinarian is just part of it. Many people teach about wellness, but wellness and fitness in itself will not make you successful. Veterinarian Coaching teaches that to truly be successful, you must be well. To create momentum towards your potential and to answer your own little voice of “What’s next for me?” let’s schedule a time to talk and to “triage” your own situation. We are excited for you, and look forward to being a small part of your journey.