MEET THE GUEST SPEAKERS
Dr Dave Nicol BVMS, Cert Mgmt, MRCVS
Dr Dave Nicol is a graduate of Glasgow University Veterinary School. His initial plan was to become a surgeon, but almost immediately he was drawn into general practice by the interaction with pet owners and the problem solving opportunities that cropped up each day. At first this meant finding and fixing animal problems, but quickly it became clear that there were plenty of problems with how veterinary practices operated as well.
Inevitably, this meant Dave was almost constant pain in his boss’s backside and eventually, probably because they got sick of his nagging, he was given the opportunity to mentor his first junior vets. After his initial attempts fell somewhat short of expectations, he realized that raw enthusiasm alone was not going to be enough. So he began a journey to educate himself on how to be a better leader, coach and manager.
Fast-forward more than fifteen years and Dave has undertaken a huge amount of training and research; building a reputation as a successful leader within the veterinary profession. He has been head vet with a large group practice in London, worked as a clinical performance coach for a 50 vet group in the UK and has owned, managed and successfully sold his two veterinary hospitals in Australia.
Prior to relocating back to the UK, he worked as the Chief Veterinary Officer for a corporate group where his principle responsibilities were maintaining the standard of clinical care and leading the clinical teams.
In 2011 he made a “pay it forward” commitment to hire a new graduate in every hospital he owns and give them a great start in veterinary practice and subsequently set up the first Australian graduate training internship in general practice. This program is now available in his UK practice too. He is also the creative brain behind and program director of VetX™, an online education, support and mentoring community for new and recent graduates who wish to rapidly accelerate their careers under his guidance.
Dave has just published his third book “So You’re A Vet, Now What?” a title to help new graduate vets settle into their new careers. He is a columnist for the Veterinary Business Journal and DVM360, writes the weekly Hamster Wheel Blog and produces the Blunt Dissection Podcast where he explores the anatomy of veterinary success by profiling top class performers from all walks of veterinary life.
It is his personal mission is to help pets and their people live happy, healthy lives by exploring the daily challenges we face in veterinary medicine, creating solutions and helping those around him to grow.
You can learn more about Dr Dave’s work, or connect with him on social media at www.facebook.com/drdavenicol.
Maryanne Murphy, DVM, PhD, DACVN
Dr. Murphy received her dual BS in animal sciences and biological sciences from Rutgers University in 2004 and her DVM from Iowa State University in 2008. She then completed a rotating general medicine and surgery internship at Fifth Avenue Veterinary Specialists in New York City and a clinical nutrition residency at the University of Tennessee. Dr. Murphy became a Diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Nutrition in 2013 and earned her PhD in Comparative and Experimental Medicine from the University of Tennessee in 2014. The focus of Dr. Murphy’s dissertation research was energy metabolism and satiety in lean and obese dogs. She joined the staff of Red Bank Veterinary Hospital in Tinton Falls, NJ as a clinical nutritionist and then transitioned back to academia in 2016. Dr. Murphy is currently the Vice President of the American College of Veterinary Nutrition (ACVN) and her major professional interests include obesity prevention and management and veterinary nutrition education.