VetCat Graduation Stories: Jasmine Worthy

For third-year students at The University of Arizona College of Veterinary Medicine, the final year of their Doctor of Veterinary Medicine program has been a time of discovery and development. During their clinical year, students have embraced opportunities to learn on veterinary teams across the state, and, for some students, across the country. They are emerging as day-one-ready veterinarians ready to serve their communities.

Jasmine Worthy, set to graduate with the Class of 2023 in our inaugural graduation on August 24, spent her clinical year fine-tuning her plans and developing perspective on her chosen career. Her hard work is coming to fruition, and she is ready to celebrate her achievements. We asked her about her personal journey to graduation.

Experience and Perspective

Jasmine has exciting ambitions to enter a specialty, and she spent her clinical year thinking about the best way to approach those goals. For now, she understands that choosing to focus on opportunities with more work-life balance will be the best option for her family. After graduation, she will begin working at a general practice clinic in Atlanta, GA.

How did your educational experiences influence your career path?

JW: I’m planning on specializing in aquatic animal medicine but will be starting out in general practice. I made this decision after having my clinical rotation at GA Aquarium. I initially was set on trying to get into aquatic medicine straight from school, but after my rotation at GA Aquarium, I realized that I wanted to start out in general practice to give myself a chance to develop how I want to practice medicine. I want to be comfortable with my decisions and have baseline knowledge and experience to pull from so that I can utilize it in the aquatic world.

I also had the chance to experience how busy and time-intensive aquatic medicine is when you work in an aquarium, especially when it’s the largest one in the country. The rotation was fantastic because I was able to see what areas I needed to work on to be able to be successful in the field of aquatic medicine. I’m a wife and mom of two boys, both toddlers, and I wanted to be able to be in a space where I can spend time with my family without having to be on call and working holidays.

So, thankfully, during my clinical year, I was able to really put everything into perspective and figure out what I wanted for myself after graduation. Aquatic medicine is my passion, but for right now I want to work on my medicine and have as much time with my family as possible.

How did your clinical year experiences prepare you for your veterinary career?

JW: Through rotating in various clinics, I had the chance to see how clinics are and aren’t able to operate depending on the area they’re in. I’ve had a chance to work in low-cost clinics and I’ve had the chance to work in clinics that people would say “have all the bells and whistles.”  I scheduled three high-volume rotations for myself because I wanted to come out of vet school comfortable with basic surgeries (spay and neuters). This has allowed me to become proficient in a lot of areas within veterinary medicine that I will be involved in once I graduate. 

Advice for Others

With three years of veterinary school experience, Jasmine has useful insights to share with first-year students. She highlights the importance of finding and prioritizing balance.

What advice would you give to a first-year student?

JW: Keep an open mind and keep evolving. Focus on the now and keep in mind that you’re not going to know everything, that’s normal. Don’t focus just on studying. It’s extremely important to take time to find things you like to do outside of school, because you will absolutely need that time for yourself.