Veterinary medicine is a stressful profession, and veterinarians experience a high rate of burnout and compassion fatigue. According to a recent wellness study, even those who were mentally healthy and had high levels of well-being overall experienced feelings of depression, anxiety, compassion fatigue, or burnout with some frequency.  

Sadly, the profession’s problems start as early as veterinary school. A study by Kansas State University revealed that veterinary medicine students are also likelier to struggle with mental health issues than their human medicine counterparts, with more than one out of three vet students showing signs of depression during their first year.   

Vet Candy Life, hosted by veterinarian Dr. Quincy Hawley and veterinary technician Renee Machel, is targeting students and recent graduates. Each episode features expert tips, lifestyle advice, and real-life experiences from the most exciting veterinary professionals in our industry.

Dr. Quincy is a passionate and dynamic wellbeing speaker and course creator. He co-founded Get MotiVETed LLC,  a company that provides wellbeing solutions and programs for thousands of veterinary professionals and organizations, with Machel. 

Dr. Quincy is known as one of the most positive veterinarians on social media. He is the President of the North Carolina Association of Minority Veterinarians, and is on the board of the Black DVM Network and Pawsibilities Vet Med. 

Dr. Quincy, and his wife, Dr. Tierra Hawley, who is also a veterinarian, are the proud parents of two toddlers. In one of the early episodes, Dr. Tierra talks balancing family and career, a well-known difficulty of the veterinary profession.

Renee Machel, Certified Veterinary Technician, teams up with Dr. Hawley for the show. Machel is also a renowned well-being speaker, certified life coach, yoga instructor, and mindfulness and meditation guide. Machel and her partner also raise an infant and 9-year-old step-son. “I call myself a bonus-mom,” she beams. On the show, she candidly discusses overcoming mental and physical challenges on her road to her current state of wellness. 

Featured guests include: Maria Sanders, Parent Coach, Paul Gazaleh, Certified Public Accountant, Amanda Colón, Marriage and Family Counselor, and more.

The original show, developed by Vet Candy and hosted by Hawley and Machel, also features veterinary student influencers as special guests, including Shannon Gregoire of Western, Tatiana Rogers of Colorado State, Jamie Nakatani of UC Davis, and Laura Theis of the University of Georgia. 

The show’s pilot, which launches today on Facebook Watch, IGTV, and iTunes, promises an information-packed show where veterinary professionals can learn about healthy living and maintaining work-life harmony.