Episode #62 – Dr. Megan Sprinkle

Do you work in the animal health industry or veterinary profession? Have you ever wondered how people began their careers and how they got to where they are today? Hi everyone. I’m Stacy Pursell, the founder and CEO of The VET Recruiter, the leading executive search and recruiting firm for the animal health industry and veterinary profession. I was the first recruiter to specialize in the animal health industry and veterinary profession in the United States and built the first search firm to serve this unique niche. For the past 25 plus years, I have built relationships with the industry’s top leaders and trailblazers.

The People of Animal Health podcast highlights, incredible individuals I have connected with throughout my career. You’ll be able to learn more about their lives, careers, and contributions. With our wide range of expert guests you’ll be sure to learn something new in every episode. Thanks for tuning in and enjoy the episode.

Welcome to The People of Animal Health podcast. Today we’re joined by Dr. Megan Sprinkle, a board certified veterinary nutritionist, entrepreneur, podcast host, and self-proclaimed odd veterinarian. From caring for orphaned elephants in Zambia to leading scientific communication for pet nutrition brands, Dr. Sprinkle has built an unconventional career outside of the traditional clinic. She’s the founder of the Vet Life Reimagined Podcast, president of the American Academy of Veterinary Nutrition and co-founder of Rise 3D Printing. Passionate about innovation, storytelling and reimagining veterinary possibilities. Dr. Sprinkle brings curiosity, creativity, and compassion to everything she does. Let’s dive into her incredible journey.

So Megan, you and I met for the first time in Kansas City at the Veterinary Innovation Summit. There were four of us podcasters and there was a podcast room and we were each doing our own podcast. And then all four of us got together and did a podcast about doing a podcast, which was really fun. And since then it has been so much fun to get to know you and follow your career and watch your career grow. So recently I was on your podcast and now you’re on my podcast, so I’m excited to have you here today.

Megan, thank you for being here.

Thank you. It’s an absolute honor. Thank you for the invitation.

Well, let’s start off at the beginning. What was your life like growing up and where did you grow up?

What a great question, thank you for asking. I grew up mainly in North Alabama outside of Huntsville. And yes, a lot of people say, where’s your accent? When I’m there and when I’m really tired it comes out. But otherwise, I ended up with a neutral accent. But honestly, I always said I landed some of the best parents I could have. My dad is a child psychiatrist and my mother is a teacher with her master’s in early childhood and development. So some people may be like, oh my. But honestly, they were the absolute best parents that I could have asked for. Especially my father was very encouraging of my creative and curious mindset, and I think that really set me up for success, not to mention with him having a medical background that there was that ability to relate in our interests.

Well, when and why did you decide to become a veterinarian?

Yeah, I’m one of those veterinarians who knew very young that animals was a path that I wanted to take. Although maybe a little bit different, and going back to that odd veterinarian, is that my interests were in marine mammals. There was something that attracted me to dolphins in particular, but dolphins, whales, any type of marine mammal. And again, back to having great parents who not encouraged me to have experiences around these animals, and so I did. Starting junior high, I went to SeaWorld camps. And these were career camps, this wasn’t just day camp, and really got to explore my interests there. And I think that’s really, I was able to continue to nurture that interest and just continue to grow from there.

Well, you have described yourself as an odd veterinarian and probably so, what does that mean to you and how has embracing your uniqueness shaped your career path?

Yes. I think probably naively thought I was very different early on. But really I think what has continued to grow me being kind of an odd veterinarian is that early start of a different interest, marine mammals and zoo, and me having these different experiences around those types of animals gave me exposure to a lot of different types of career paths that all came together to take care of these animals. And so I think it was a great introduction of there’s not one way of doing something. I was able to really see a diversity when it came to taking care of animals. And I think from there, my nature of being a very curious person, trying different things, leaning into unique interests instead of just assuming there’s one way of doing things and that has allowed me to develop some unique attributes in the veterinary community.

From Girl Scout to elephant nurse and Zambia to podcast host and entrepreneur, your journey has been anything but linear. What have been some of the most defining moments along the way?

Yes. I think there were several defining moments, and some of it was back to that odd veterinarian, which may be why I focus on it so much, is I’m a very observant person, I was even from a young age. I would kind of notice when people would make some type of gesture or comment that made me realize that whatever I had said or done was a little bit unique, and I kind of leaned into that instead of being afraid of them making that comment.

And so some of these defining moments very early on, one that for some reason sticks in my head, I was doing an externship at a zoo and I was following the veterinarian through the zoo, and one of the food vendors started waving to me and I waved back and the veterinarian just looked at me and she’s like, how do you know him? I said, well, I walk the zoo at my breaks and I talk to people. She just thought that was so odd. So, kind of early on, noticing my ability to interact with people of all backgrounds and really be open to people’s perspective.

Another big one that got me into nutrition was I was doing an externship at Disney, this was actually my preceptorship, so at the end of vet school. And they have a day where you get to pick which department you can spend time in, and it could have been the big cats, it could have been the primates. And this was not an option, but I said, can I go hang out at the nutrition center? And they’re like, I guess so. And I was so fascinated by nutrition. And so that was another big moment of I really like the nutrition component of things, and that kind of guided me down that path.

And then one other really big one that was a little bit later in my career was, this was actually after my residency but this moment in particular, so my residency advisor, I had invited them into my wedding. So I was already in my job, I was getting married. And my dad told me later that my residency advisor, Dr. Backus, whom I absolutely love, came up to him at my wedding and had told my dad that while I was a resident I had more than the service, meaning our income and revenue in our business. And to me it was a moment of I do have value that I can bring that is impactful in that particular way. And I think as veterinarians, we don’t always think about our ability to impact in a business setting, but just think about all of those things that we’re able to grow. And I think that gave me a lot of confidence and maybe even some language around some of the value that I could bring going forward.

What was your secret? How were you able to help double the revenue?

Yeah. When I started as a resident I did not have a resident mate and my advisor, Dr. Backus, brilliant man, but he is a man of the laboratory, so that was his home. And we also had clinic duty, and I’m not a person to sit at a desk. So I was like, I got to go get some business. So I went and walked the halls of the hospital and at the University of Missouri, and I just got to know the other residents. The internal medicine residents became my allies because luckily they also did believe in nutrition and I built relationships with them. I would read the transfer emails in the morning and I would find the cases that seemed like good nutrition cases and I would go hang out at those.

So I just wasn’t afraid to get up and out of my office and start talking with people and just being curious. I wasn’t taking over, I was just asking questions and saying, hey, do you mind if I learn and hear more about this case? Maybe there’s something I can do to support you. And I built those connections over time, and that really was the key. It was not afraid to get out and talk to people and build those relationships. Over time, as you take cases, you start to build trust with those other doctors.

And later on I did ask them as I was heading out of my residency, it’s like, why did you trust me? Why did you send me all these cases? They said that I knew, one, you would take care of them in that capacity, but also you would keep me in the loop. I always communicated back to them, so they trusted me with the case but also that I would keep them updated. And they loved that aspect because I would take all that communication with the pet owner that they didn’t want to have when it came to nutrition. It’s building relationships.

Well, that’s one of the things that you are known for is building relationships. And your career blends science with creativity from nutrition and tech innovation to communication and podcasting. How have you discovered and nurtured opportunities to flex both your scientific expertise and creative instincts along the way?

Yes, I think part of it is luck. I landed a role right out of residency with Royal Canaan. It was a scientific communications position, and a large part of that position was to be part of the onboarding team and all new associates coming into the company went through pretty detailed nutrition chaining. And this is, again, any seller associate of any background, it could be finance, it could be the lawyer, they all went through us. And the team that was already there that I got to join, they were amazing. And there’s people like Brie Morrow, who her career is really taking off too, she was so good at explaining the science in such creative ways, and I could see how it impacted people. They understood it. And because they could understand it, they valued it and it got them excited. It was just amazing. And so I think that helped.

And what I have found is creativity is an important value for me, and if I start to feel like I’m losing that in my role or my job, I go searching for it. And so I’ve done that. I’ll reach out to people in a company. I’ll join or even start interest groups so that we can have deep conversations. I did that at Royal Canaan around finance. It was something I was interested in and knew nothing about. So I reached out to other veterinarians who had the interest, and we formed a group.

And again, I also look for people in companies that value creative thinking and innovation. And even going back to the Veterinary Innovation Summit, thankfully a wonderful mentor at Dr. Mayabb at Royal Canaan, I think he could probably see it better than I could even vocalize what I was kind of looking for. And so he recommended that I go to the Veterinary Innovation Summit, that was before we met, and that really was the place where it just sparked me. I was like, this is it. These are the people I love and these are my people. So a lot of it is just being proactive and going after it.

Oh, I love that. As a board certified veterinary nutritionist and president of AAVN, how do you see the field of veterinary nutrition evolving and what are the most exciting innovations or challenges right now?

I think one of the big challenges right now is around this veterinary industry versus the pet industry scenario. There’s a seemingly great divide between these two different industries, and I have been an observer of some of the inability to work together. And in fact, I see myself as bridging the two because constantly in both, and I love both, and it is kind of a dream that we can somehow work better together because it’s two different perspectives with different expertise, all extremely important when it comes to what’s best for the animals. And so I think it’s a challenge that’s been around for a while and it’s still going on. But especially as innovation is more and more rapid, I think the more we need to learn how to work together to make sure that it is in the best interest for the pet.

I know what you’re saying. I’ve spent my whole career working in both the pet and the vet and then the animal health, that’s even another segment, but there’s so much overlap between all these different segments.

Exactly. Exactly. I think on the innovation side of things, what I’m really excited is that we are getting better and better at understanding individualized nutrition. I think we’re getting the technology and data, being able to use data all to get more on that individualized level.

We used to talk about what is the most common nutrition question you’re going to get is, well, what’s the best diet for my pet, fill in the name? I think we are getting closer to having the scientific evidence of being very specific on that answer because right now we’re really vague when we answer it. And I think in the future we’re going to be able to get very specific in what we can recommend.

You launched the Vet Life Reimagined Podcast in 2022, what inspired you to start it and what have you learned from talking to other veterinarians who have taken non-traditional career paths?

Yeah, so I started it, as you said, in 2022, which was in the middle of the pandemic. The pandemic had been going on for just a little while. But I at that point kind of saw two different populations of professionals. One was the group who were in clinic, they were burnt out, and they were grasping for help and hope. And they would find me on LinkedIn, see my kind of non-traditional career path and reach out and say, hey, can we just chat? And then there was the other group that often was in industry. They were comfortable in their roles, but they were looking for ways to grow in their careers, and they just didn’t know what was out there. And so between both groups, I saw that there was the lack of understanding that there are so many different possibilities and ways to live out interior title, veterinarian, vet tech, whatnot. And that was really exciting to me.

I think I’m naturally this possibilities kind of girl, and I wanted to make sure people knew that, this is such a flexible, adaptable kind of industry, and I want my colleagues who I care so much about to take advantage of that. And so that’s a huge thing that I’ve learned. Yes, I believed in it. But man, every time I talk with somebody, it just even broadens my own ability to verbalize the possibilities in our profession, which is so, so exciting.

And the second big thing that I have learned and taken away from doing this podcast is just how amazing the people are of this profession. It just constantly excites me every time I have these conversations because they are just so full of passion and excitement for the profession, and I just love that ability connect.

Yeah, that’s what I love about it too, are the people. And you mentioned there are so many opportunities in the veterinary profession for veterinarians. There’s also opportunities outside of the profession. The former head of regulatory affairs for Coca-Cola was a veterinarian, he’s since retired. And then the former head of quality assurance for Campbell’s Soup was a veterinarian. So veterinarians can do so many interesting things.

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You have been involved in both large corporations and scrappy startups from Royal Canaan to Healthy Pet Connect to Rise 3D Printing. What lessons have you carried from one world to the other?

Some lessons that I’ve definitely learned and continue to carry with me, one is the importance of diverse perspectives and experiences. I think when we’re able to get out of our bubble and try something very different, or at least listen to somebody else who has that very different experience, we learn so much. I think our ability to have empathy, and I also think it increases our ability to creatively problem solve. And so I believe that it takes that diverse group of perspectives to end up finding the best solutions for the challenges, whether it’s inside our profession or adjacent.

Yeah, that’s good. Well, I know that technology clearly excites you, especially when it comes to improving patient care and client relationships. Where do you see the biggest untapped potential for tech in veterinary medicine?

Yeah. Well, you mentioned Healthy Pet Connect, and I get no money from supporting them, but man, their ability to use technology for advanced monitoring is really exciting. So I think there’s a lot of areas that are untapped in technology. Also talking about improving client relationships. I think there’s that ability to connect the veterinarian and the owner, which as we know is growing more and more important, I think in today’s age.

The challenge though is you really have to find a very big pain point for successful adoption. And it’s something that I’ve heard from people who are far more expert in AI and technology than I am, and they often will pull in the example of the AI scribing. Why in a profession that people say we’re so hesitant to adopt technology or something like that, why was AI scribing so quickly adopted and appreciated? And that was that there was a very clear pain point for the veterinarian that it solved in an easy and fast way, and that’s why it was successful.

And so I think, yes, I see some opportunities for untapped potential. But again, I think it requires that diverse team to be able to come together and really understand what’s the problem that we’re solving, and it needs to be a really uncomfortable problem to start with. And then as I think it becomes more natural, maybe we can be more creative in some of the things we bring, but it is just something that I’ve noticed that I want to make sure to add in there as people are trying to think about that bringing solutions in.

That’s a really good point. Well, you have worn many hats, communicator, teacher, innovator, entrepreneur. How do you stay grounded while navigating such a dynamic and multifaceted career?

How do I stay grounded? I am constantly reminded how human I am. So I am by far not perfect. I’m a new mother of an almost nine-month-old, and so talk about another great example of being reminded how human you are. But I’m also a learner at heart. I am always trying to learn how to grow and be better, and so I kind of see things as opportunities to learn. It’s not failure. It is an opportunity to learn. And so I think that is how I stay in the game is embracing opportunities to learn and knowing that you never stop being a learner.

Well, that intellectual curiosity has carried you far and you stay so humble.

Thank you.

Well, being a mom, a wife, and co-running a business while still advancing your veterinary career, how do you balance it all and what advice do you have for other professionals trying to juggle multiple roles?

I would lie if I said it wasn’t a challenge and that I constantly work on this. So again, like I said, I have a nine-month-old, and especially with her as she grows, her needs change. And so I think a lot of it is listening to what’s around you, communication. My goodness, me and my husband have to constantly communicate. That was definitely something I wanted to emphasize even early on in our marriage is you have to talk to me. We have to talk to each other, even if it’s hard conversations, to make sure that we are hearing each other and we’re able to support each other because again, life changes and we need to be able to communicate and adapt together.

I think the other thing too is be creative. If you try something and it doesn’t work, try something else. Don’t keep banging your head against the wall. And then maybe lastly is really be grounded in your values and what’s going to be the priority. These will change. So I think it’s also important to check in and make sure that those values are up-to-date at the time. So when you have to make a really hard decision, you can rely on those to be your north star.

Yeah, that’s really good. Well, let’s fast-forward five years. What’s your dream vision for your impact on the veterinary profession and what does that life reimagined look like then?

That’s a great question. I like to keep the vision open a little bit. Maybe that’s a cop out answer, but because I’m constantly reminded of the possibilities that are out there, I want to make sure that I’m not grasping too hard on one single vision because as you very well know, because you present new opportunities to people all the time, you never know what might land in your lap. And so again, yes, being clear in your values and kind of knowing what sparks me. For example, I love being a connector, so kind of what I see as my vision, and it could be broad, it allows for those abilities to have different opportunities arrive that I don’t even know exist out there.

But I do hope that the future involves me bringing people together. Again, I keep harping on that diverse background, but I just see how important it is. But bringing people together of different backgrounds, different expertise, to really be able to create these big impactful challenges that I know we can. So I have a lot of enthusiasm for the future, and I definitely still have that life reimagined in my future.

Well, that resonates with me so much because I have the privilege in my professional life to be a connector, I do that professionally, and I enjoy that so much. And I know you are such a connector too.

Yes. Thank you. And you are a master at it.

Well, thank you. Well, Megan, what has been the most surprising thing to you up to this point during your career in the veterinary profession?

I think I’m constantly surprised just when I realized how fast the profession has changed and continues to change. And I think some of that is not intentionally, it’s just kind of how the world has changed and how quickly veterinary medicine has adapted to it. One example that commonly comes up when I interview, especially veterinarians who’ve been in the industry for a very long time, is just the gender changes. We are going from heavily male dominated to heavily female dominated. The differences in how people see pets, I think that’s even changing even in the past few years as generations change as the economy and just life in general. And it does surprise me how quickly I think veterinary medicine has kind of changed along with that.

Yeah. Well, what does your crystal ball say about the future of the veterinary profession?

Yes, I feel like a broken record, but I still think that the possibilities in this profession are endless, I think that’s just going to continue, and I hope it excites people because if you are looking to grow yourself, and maybe it’s just not clear yet what that direction is, I know that there are going to be new jobs, new needs tomorrow that don’t exist today. And so hopefully that excites you is that, again, this is such an evolving adaptive profession that there will always be an opportunity for you to find something that I think fits your values as well as your interest and skill set.

Well, what are some of your daily habits that have allowed you to achieve success?

I think if we look on a daily level, while this is still a little rough with a baby in the house, I do prioritize sleep. Thankfully, me and my husband, we have a system worked out, and it seems to be doing okay. But I know that sounds, maybe it sounds a little silly, but sleep is so important to make sure that you are functioning. A lot of what we do, it revolves around our mind, our ability to think as well as our ability to emotionally connect. And I think if we are not rested, we can’t do that. Even if you’re good at it, normally sleep will hurt that. And so I think sleep has been a key factor in allowing me to do all the things that I do.

And you’re very intentional about that.

Yeah, I try.

Well, what has been the biggest challenge that you have had to face up to this point in your career?

As much as I love the people of veterinary medicine if I have to think about the biggest challenge I think it’s the same answer. I think some of the times it’s people, it’s the human beings that we interact, and it’s just because we’re human, we’re not perfect. And so I’ve been presented situations where I just usually conflicts management kind of situations where it shocks me that somebody’s reacting that way. And again, of course, you got to lean into it in a curious way. I experienced my first real adult bully in veterinary medicine, and that was just really challenging for me. I was very green as a veterinarian at the time. And so you’ve got a lot going on the last thing that you want to put in the mix is having to manage someone where you feel like you’re being bullied. As well as leadership too. There’s some amazing leadership and there’s some that’s not so great.

And so being able to overcome how to handle some of those things and understand what is in my control, I think is so key. I try from those situations, that is one thing that I have taken away. I’ve said, what is in my control? How have I contributed to the situation and what can I do next? And I think those are some of the big things that can help in those human to human challenged situations.

Well, what advice would you give the younger version of yourself?

When I think about maybe what I would do differently so far, I go back to vet school, and this can still continue with maybe others in early career too. I wish I had built relationships earlier in vet school. I think I wish I had taken the time and not been such a studyaholic and actually built better relationships with my classmates and stop stressing about the grades, understanding what’s important. And again, I still believe, I come back to those relationships that we build, that is what has allowed me to go into places that I couldn’t even dreamed of it was because of the connections that we build. So to start that as early as possible.

Yeah, the connections are so important. Well, what message or principle do you wish you could teach everyone listening our podcast today?

I think that the message around the value of curiosity, and I think you can put that in so many different scenarios. Again, I mentioned it when it comes to human to human conflict, right? And someone does something and you have no idea where it came from, instead of immediately jumping to defensiveness or something like that. And even if you immediately do, training yourself to go, okay, hold on a second. Let’s be curious about this. What might be going on that I don’t know about. But also when it comes to your career again, is you don’t know what you don’t know. You go into vet school and in your early career only knowing a very small part of, one, the world, but two, even veterinary medicine. And as you keep a very curious mindset, I think that is what is going to allow you to help even with the burnout aspect of things, if you stay curious and lean into possibilities and not be afraid to take things that maybe you haven’t quite done and understand the things I have learned in the past can apply to different scenarios.

Well, Megan, some of our guests say they’ve had a key book that they read that helped them along the way. Do you have a key book in your life that has impacted you the most?

This might be kind of hard for me. One, I was a reader when I was young, and I think it was good. Of course, I did the fiction books, and I think those are good too, because, one, it takes you into a different place, and I think that’s important too for mental rest, but also to kind of spark imagination too. I think we need some opportunities to do that. And then I also really hit a point where I was all about the self-help and personal development kind of books. And so I’ve read so many that they probably all kind of blur together. But one of the books that does stand out is the book, How to Win Friends and Influence People. It’s an oldie, but it’s a goodie because it does bring so many important, it seems like straightforward kind of things, but they really make a difference again when it comes to building relationships with people. And so that is one that has kind of stuck with me and if I had to recommend one too, that would be one to recommend.

That’s an excellent book. Well, Megan, you’ve got the mic. What is one thing that you want to share with our listeners of The People of Animal Health podcast before you drop the mic today?

I hope people know that everybody in this industry and profession, we have a lot in common. Even though I value that diversity perspective, we have a lot in common. We love animals. Again, there’s just this instant connection when you realize it’s somebody else from this industry and I hope that gives you that peace of mind, that warm feeling that you are not alone. There is someone out there who gets it. And I think that’s such an important message that we hold onto, because I think there are points in our career where we feel alone. There’s a lot of opportunities where we kind of feel like we’re the only one who gets us in spaces, and I promise there is someone who gets it that’s not that far away. We’re a big little industry and we’re highly connected.

And so I want that message out there that there is somebody who would be more than happy to sit down and chat with you, I’ve learned that over and over again. I’ve rarely had someone turn me down for a quick phone call. And so just to know you’re not alone, and I definitely care about you. So if you can’t find anybody else, reach out to me.

I’ve always said we’re a big little industry. And that was such good advice, you’re not alone. Reach out to Megan, she’ll talk to you.

Megan, thank you for talking to me. Thanks for being here on The People of Animal Health podcast. I enjoyed our conversation today.

Thank you. I did too.