Austin Coull, a recent graduate from Ross University, was one of 15 doctors selected for a Thrive growth scholarship to attend the
2024 Dr. Jack Walther Recent Graduate Bootcamp in Las Vegas. The Viticus-hosted three-day bootcamp is attended by a select number of participants who are zero to five years from graduating veterinary school.
This growth scholarship is just one example of how our Medical Excellence and Education team supports the ongoing, continuous development of all Thivers, no matter what stage in our career development journey.
“This particular bootcamp offers doctors a unique, hands-on experience for many skills veterinary students don’t get a lot of hands-on exposure to in school,” said Dr. Katie Fish, DVM, Director of Mentorship Programs. This year’s event focused on three areas: soft tissue surgery, dentistry, and anesthesia.
“I definitely learned a lot that I’ll be taking back to my practice,” said Dr. Coull. “We had the opportunity to anesthetize animals of various types and sizes. It was amazing to see how anesthesia affects similar animals in vastly different ways.” The anesthetized patients were then spayed or neutered to be ready for adoption.
Dr. Coull also cited the dental exercise he performed on a feline cadaver—a new skill for him that he’ll be able to use well into the future.
And his future is bright and thriving! In fact, Dr. Coull and all 14 other Thrive bootcamp participants have signed with us. They are either currently working at a Thrive hospital or will be joining one of our practices this summer. Dr. Coull began thriving this week at the Thrive Broadway in San Antonio, Texas. His wife will also join our team as a veterinarian when she graduates in September.
In addition to our 15 doctors who participated this year, Thrive was also represented by five of our Regional Doctor Mentors and our VPs of Medical Operations, Dr. Amber Hopkins and Dr. Philippa Pavia. The bootcamp gave our mentors the opportunity to have face-to-face conversations with the doctors and strategize on best practices, going forward.
