We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Erika Blanco a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Erika, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. We’d love to hear the story behind how you got your first job in field that you currently practice in.
When I was 16 I got the car of my dreams a 1974 VW Beetle. My parents had only one rule: If you get a car, you have to have a job to pay for the gas. Almost every job I had leading up to my professional career, I walked in “cold” without an appointment, dressed nice, brought a resume, and got the job. I knew I wanted to be in medicine. When I was younger, I witnessed two near death experiences involving strangers. In each instance, at those critical moments, I didn’t feel fear; I felt optimism for them and wanted the skills to be able to truly help. Like many veterinarians, I have always had a passion for animals. The Lion King and Black Beauty were my favorite movies, every time I played pretend with friends, I played an animal, and I never had Barbie’s; Just animals. In my early teens I was obsessed with horses, still am. While at my horse stable in Louisville, KY, a gelding became sick with colic and the female veterinarian who came to treat the horse solidified my choice to pursue veterinary medicine. She was confident, worked swiftly and diligently, and helped me realize the depth of what veterinary medicine had to offer: the blend of medicine and animals. The horse fully recovered, and I never forgot.
So, in 2004, I drove my vintage VW to the nearest veterinary clinic in Miami, applied for my first job, and was working within the week. I was hired as a kennel assistant which meant I walked lots of dogs and cleaned lots and lots of cages. With time I learned how to safely restrain animals for veterinary technicians and doctors, how to give injections, administer medications, take simple samples, and read fecal float tests. I was captivated by the medicine; A medicine very similar to pediatricians, as our patients can’t talk. A veterinarian must rely on information given by the caretaker, and an excellent physical exam to help guide a diagnosis. My parents instilled in me from a young age to make the most of every experience I ever had. My dad used to say it doesn’t matter what the job is, do great work, go above and beyond always, and work with integrity. I would stay in every exam room long after the doctor was done with my help, just to listen to the questions asked, the diagnosis and treatment plan. I learned medical jargon, medications and how they worked, and I learned through consistent repetition which allowed me in my early 20’s to go for career advancement positions in the field, within larger hospitals.
I graduated high school and moved to Gainesville, FL to attend college and attained the first veterinary job that made me into a veterinary technician. My older sister, who is also a veterinarian, was a vet student at the time and gave me the “in” on this one. I found out the University of Florida’s Large Animal hospital needed help. I arrived at a huge hospital with giant, forest green gates. I met with a friendly, and intimidating hospital director who asked all the typical interview questions. Then at the end of the meeting she smiled and asked a new question, “Are you ready to be thrown into the fire?”. Without any hesitation I said “Yes.” And I was hired as a large animal veterinary/surgery technician.
Due to the hospital being short staffed at the time, I went immediately into supervised on-the-job training and although it scared me to have so much responsibility in the face of deafening imposter syndrome, I learned that I thrived on the initial insecurity, because it meant growth. I had excellent and extremely helpful coworkers who helped teach me techniques and skills I still use in my everyday life. If you’ve ever been in a huge teaching academic referral hospital, you understand there’s so much more to it than just the day-to-day tasks. There’s a lot of people involved. Clinicians, residents, interns, nursing staff, students, and other staff. There’s segregated departments, specialties, and the comingling of all these players. I learned a lot about working with people; At 2am when Doctor X says he wants a “retractor” he means a Balfour retractor, whereas Doctor Y wants the Gelpi retractor. Overnights, weekdays, weekends, and holidays was the routine, all while completing my undergrad degree. I saw, learned, and did a great many things professionally and had many hard days too. This is medicine. I made mistakes and I learned from them; this is one of the most effective ways to learn. Pause. Reflect. Learn what you could have done better. Leave the guilt. Carry the lesson and move forward.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.
My name is Erika Blanco and I am a Integrative veterinarian and practice High quality, high volume spay and neuters for animal shelters in South Florida. Integrative medicine is the blend between holistic and modern medicine. My parents owned small businesses my whole life growing up, but I never considered having one of my own. In 2021 I started DocB AcuVet, a mobile veterinary medical acupuncturist for companion animals and exotics. I followed my life long passion of becoming a veterinarian, and after graduation have continued to expand my knowledge base, becoming certified in Traditional Chinese Veterinary Acupuncture and a Certified Veterinary Chinese Herbalist by Chi University. My continuing education in Traditional Chinese Veterinary Medicine (TCVM) and holistic medical care continues today. Traditional Chinese Veterinary Medicine uses a theory of medicine that disease occurs when the body is unbalanced. It takes into account the individual and treats disease as an imbalance within the body, which may be caused by internal and external factors such as temperament, environment, and activity. Western medicine/Conventional medicine is more linear and reactive in theory. For instance, if a patient has high blood pressure, Western/Conventional medicine would treat with a medication that lowers blood pressure. TCVM is more holistic or circular in thinking and would use acupuncture, herbals, and diet to correct the root cause imbalance, that created the high blood pressure. The integrative veterinary medicine treatment depends on many individual circumstances and can change individual to individual and from time to time. I tell clients all the time, the path to health is a journey and is not always linear.
Western/Conventional medicine and Eastern medicine are best when used together. In an emergency situation, Western/conventional medicine will save a life. The more specific a diagnosis, offers more knowledge to treat with Traditional Chinese Veterinary Medicine. Herbal medicines, acupuncture, and diet can sometimes be used alone or used with lower dosages of Western medications. TCVM can also be used to help with side effects associated with Western/conventional treatments, such as chemotherapies and radiation.
A career in medicine is a marathon, not a race. This is my life’s work and it is important to remind myself of that when I want to rush myself in my professional growth. I am most proud of continuing to find balance in my career. I have several interests I am very passionate about in veterinary medicine, including TCVM, surgery, conservation medicine, teaching, and exotics. For me to truly be happy, I had to structure my career around practicing and gaining experience in all of these fields, simultaneously. I feel very strongly that my happiness, allows me to be a better doctor for my patients, as well as a helpful team member with the organizations I work with. Teaching is one of the most important jobs of medical professionals. The knowledge that is learned by each individual doctor and experience, is meant to be passed down to all those who desire to learn. Helping to educate others is one of the greatest legacy a person can leave behind.
We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.
Having worked in veterinary medicine for so long, and at a university level, I had a good idea of the ideal vet student candidate was. High GPA, no failures, smart, and real experience. I started my undergrad journey at Santa Fe Community College. I worked my way through college and planned to get my AA degree at a community college, then transfer into The University of Florida (UF) to complete my bachelor’s degree in animal science. While at Santa Fe, I failed General Chemistry 3 times. When you register to take a course for a 4th time, Sante Fe requires the student to see a academic advisor, before they can complete the registration. Thankfully, after meeting with the advisor she recommended I see a psychiatrist based on our discussion for testing. I went and 2 weeks later I was diagnosed with adult attention deficit disorder and an auditory processing deficiency. I continued to meet with my community college advisor and she worked with me to develop skills that helped me in lecture and with test taking. The 4th time I took Chemistry 1, I passed and took all the new skills with me. I knew 3 F’s wasn’t going to look good on my academic record, but I couldn’t change the past; I could only move forward. I graduated with my AA in Agriculture and applied to transfer into UF Animal Sciences program. Almost every vet student I had met previously, had a Animal Science degree and I wrongly associated that with being the “best” degree to get into Vet school. I applied to UF with high hopes and when I got a call from the school that I needed to pick up my decision letter in person, I thought this was going to be great news. I was sure I got in. I arrived at the campus and opened my letter in the parking lot. It read “We regret to inform you…”. Denied. There was nothing I could do to overcome those 3 F’s in General Chemistry, I was completely denied from the Animal Science program all together. I started crying and called the one person who always knew what to do when things went really wrong, my dad. Through tears I explained how bad it was. Not only did I not get in, I was completely ineligible of applying for this degree. My hopes of going vet school were over. My father was as subtle as a bomb. He told me to quit crying immediately and “Go knock on doors.” Period. Confused, I asked him what the hell he meant and he said, “Turn around, and go knock on every single door in that building and don’t stop until you find someone who can help you.” He wasn’t upset with me; He was super fired up, this is why w called him when it went really wrong. He always got us fired up, to go out and find a way. And he hung up. I walked back into the building and kept passing classrooms until I found a big glass office with a receptionist. I explained the letter I’d just received and if there was any one I could talk to. She looked to her right and pointed at a office and said “Paul, can you talk to a student?” He leaned around the corner, confused initially, smiled as he said “Not many students just wander into here. Come on in!” I was meeting the Dean of the whole school of Ag. A big deal. I explained everything, while holding back tears, and he was quiet for some time looking at my transcripts. He said, “No. You can’t apply to Animal Science, but your other grades and math are really good. Have you thought about our Economics degree?”. And within a few weeks, I reapplied and was accepted into the Food and Resource Economics degree at the College of Agriculture and Sciences. One of the greatest twists of fate I had experienced so far, but it taught me 2 important lessons: 1. Never give up. There is always a way. 2. It’s never the end. Some closed doors are blessings in disguise. If I never failed those courses, I would have never identified my ADD and worked to develop ways I needed to learn. Having graduated with an Economics degree, it gave me important business background that helps me structure my career. Vet school taught me what I needed to know about animals, and my undergrad degree helped me to have a head start in understanding business.
Have you ever had to pivot?
When I first graduated veterinary school I went straight into General practice. I gained tremendous experience but after 4 years, I looked around at my day-to-day work, and it didn’t look how I imagined, after dreaming of this career for so long. It was crushing, because I didn’t know how to get started on the changes I needed to make and also be able to sustain myself financially. I became paralyzed with the fear to change. A small part of me questioned why I went into vet medicine at all during that dark time. I always say TCVM found me. My long-time veterinary mentor wanted to take a intensive course together, to become certified in Traditional Chinese veterinary medical acupuncture. After I gave her many “no’s”, in 2020 I said yes. When I sat in that first lecture and realized the scope of the research in the field, and understood what “Eastern medicine” is, and I knew instantly in my gut that I had found a lifelong passion. TCVM reignited my excitement for veterinary medicine and how I practice in my career. At the same time I transitioned into shelter medicine where I get to help care for unwanted pets in the community, and I practice surgery almost every day to help give pets a chance at a whole new life. And also during this time I began traveling to the other side of the world in Australia to help teach pre-vet students about conservation veterinary medicine and native Australian species with Loop Abroad. I have had the opportunity to treat many species with Traditional Chinese Veterinary Acupuncture, and I learn from each patient, every single time. I plan to continue to develop my knowledge in both Western and Eastern Veterinary Medicine and help promote positivity and happiness for all those within the veterinary community.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: erika.acuvet
- Linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/in/erikablancodocbacuvet
Image Credits
Koala Photo Cred: Danielle Moffat