Dr. Alan Ralph is a Board-certified Specialist in Veterinary Emergency & Critical Care at MedVet New Orleans. In addition to providing exceptional care for pets and their loving families, he serves as our Emergency Specialty Leader, fostering connectivity, communication, and collaboration among our entire team of emergency medicine doctors in MedVet hospitals across the U.S.
Why did you choose to become a veterinarian?
I knew fairly early that I loved animals and had a drive to care for them. From my first job in the veterinary profession, veterinary medicine just seemed to click and there was no other career path for me.
Why did you choose your specialty?
I originally expected that I would go back to my small hometown and practice small or even mixed animal medicine. With exposure to what else was available, and what could be provided by specializing, I followed that path. I eventually landed on emergency/critical care because of the reward that comes in helping support a critically ill patient through to get back to a normal life.
What’s one of your best memories of a patient along the way?
Oh, it’s impossible to choose just one patient or memory. We literally have amazing stories and memories every week. So many sick pets are helped by the team. It never gets old seeing them go home and back to a normal life. Particularly those that many doubt their chances of survival, or even those that may have experienced a brief death and been revived (through CPR).
What accomplishment in your career are you most proud of?
MedVet has been able to help a tremendous number of pets and that makes me most proud. That said, we won’t pat ourselves on the back, or stop for long to recognize accomplishments. There are always more things that need to be done or more animals to help.
What advice would you have for someone considering veterinary medicine and your specialty in particular?
There is no more rewarding area of veterinary medicine where the results are readily and quickly apparent. This comes with high levels of stress and historically less-than-appealing schedules. With renewed efforts to improve the longevity of a career in emergency medicine, these things have significantly improved at places like MedVet.
What are you most proud of for the Emergency specialty at MedVet?
We stand for Leading Specialty Healthcare for Pets and this drives us every day. We are always striving to improve, to provide better care, with less wait times, and offer the highest level of care.
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