Join us as we chat with 2023 AVMA Journal Award Winner Dr. Marejka Shaevitz. Marejka discusses the powerful affirmation that came with receiving this award. Marejka's journey reveals the impact that recognition has on career paths and underlines the importance of mentorship for budding veterinary professionals. Marejka also shares pearls of wisdom for veterinary residents who are navigating the road to publication and provides guidance on how to foster enduring connections with mentors and the significance of carving out dedicated time for manuscript development.
Join us as we chat with 2023 AVMA Journal Award Winner Dr. Marejka Shaevitz. Marejka discusses the powerful affirmation that came with receiving this award. Marejka's journey reveals the impact that recognition has on career paths and underlines the importance of mentorship for budding veterinary professionals. Marejka also shares pearls of wisdom for veterinary residents who are navigating the road to publication and provides guidance on how to foster enduring connections with mentors and the significance of carving out dedicated time for manuscript development.
Want one-and-done monthly protection for your feline patients, then you want NexGuard Combo, esophoxyloner, eprenomectin and proziquantel topical solution. Nexguard Combo is the only topical solution that protects cats against fleas, ticks, heartworm disease, roundworms, hookworms and tapeworms All in one easy monthly application. Used with caution in cats with a history of seizures or neurologic disorders. Digestive side effects have also been reported. Learn more at nextcardcombocliniccom today.
Speaker 2:
You're listening to Veterinary Vertex, a podcast of the AVMA Journals. In this episode, we chat with one of our 2023 Journal Award winners, Marika Shavitz.
Speaker 3:
Welcome to Veterinary Vertex. I'm Editor-in-Chief Lisa Fortier, and I'm joined by Associate Editor Sarah Wright. Today we have Marika joining us. Marika, thank you so much for taking time out of your super busy schedule to be with us here today.
Speaker 4:
Oh, thank you so much for having me. I'm thrilled to be here.
Speaker 2:
All right, let's dive right in. Marika, you're a resident award winner for your JAFMA article, A Prospective Randomized Placebo Controlled Double-Blinded Clinical Trial Comparing the Incidence and Severity of Gastrointestinal Adverse Events in Dogs with Cancer Treated with Paroxicam alone or in combination with Omeprazole or Pomodidine. What was your reaction when you found out that you were nominated and then when you found out you had won?
Speaker 4:
So, first of all, people have asked me whether or not the award was actually for the longest title of a journal article and I've had to say no to that. But thanks for asking. And the funny thing is I actually did not know that I was nominated. So the first notice that I got was an email that indicated that I had won, and I wasn't entirely certain it was real because I hadn't heard about the nomination and there was a form that came with it that asked for some personal information because there was a cash award, and so I was actually a little bit skeptical. I reached out to my mentor, who was on safari in Africa at the time, so did not immediately hear back from that person about what was going on, and it wasn't until I started getting some congratulatory emails from the dean and other faculty members that I actually figured out it was real. So I would say my answer would be utter surprise and disbelief.
Speaker 3:
We hear from a lot of people that they didn't know they were nominated, but maybe when we send out the email letters congratulatory letters we need to put something else in there. Like it's not spam, here's my email Call me.
Speaker 4:
Yeah, it was definitely a surprise. Here's my email call me yeah it was definitely a surprise.
Speaker 3:
That's great that people like your dean and others are reaching out to give you some congratulations. That's really fabulous.
Speaker 4:
Yeah, I was really happy about it, and faculty members, the dean. It was just a really special day once I sort of figured out what was going on.
Speaker 3:
Well. Congratulations again. We at the whole AVMA going on Well. Congratulations again we at the whole AVMA. This comes from our amazing chief executive officer, janet Donlan, and everybody at the AVMA is really excited to be able to implement this initiative to recognize and encourage growing clinicians and researchers. How do you think Marika winning this award affected your outlook on your career path?
Speaker 4:
Well, the award actually came at a really pertinent time for me. I was considering a transition into academia from private practice, and so it came out right around the time that I was actually putting in my application for an open position. It gave me a little bit more confidence to, you know, be approaching an academic position where I knew that, you know, publication would probably be a part of what I was going to do, and it gave me a little bit of a pat on the back saying the things that you've done so far have been good enough, which we don't always believe about ourselves, right.
Speaker 2:
Yeah, we're definitely our biggest critics, so it's always nice to have that bit of acknowledgement and also can help too with your CV and such as well.
Speaker 4:
Yeah, absolutely no. I'm really excited about it and you know, having been nominated and won myself and now being in a faculty position, I feel like I'm maybe in the position to turn that right around and hopefully we can get some great publications going and see what we can do moving forward.
Speaker 2:
It's always nice to turn around and help the next set of students and researchers as well. Absolutely. And for those of you just joining us, we're chatting with journal award winner Marika Chavits. So, marika, as someone who just graduated within the last five years myself, I can relate to the many amazing career paths in our veterinary profession. As you said before, you recently started a new faculty position at Purdue, so congratulations, thank you. What advice would you share with veterinary residents that are hoping to publish manuscripts?
Speaker 4:
Well, I think that the thing that I would encourage people to do is to be very, very in touch with their mentors. I know that a number of people leaving residency, part of the thing that they don't complete or leave behind is that one publication or that one journal article that they intended to write and submit, and once you get into the real world, sometimes those things kind of fall by the wayside. But I will say that staying in touch with the people who supported you through your residency and then getting back in touch with them after your residency is probably going to be one of the most important things to do. I recall when I was finishing my first master's degree, I stepped away from my program and this was back in my master's degree in clinical psychology. But I stepped away from the program and I found that I was a little bit worried about not having finished my thesis yet and I didn't stay in great touch with my mentors, and I did have one of them eventually reach out to me and say, hey, let's get this going.
Speaker 4:
My feeling is that mentors are there for you, whether you're in the program at the time or whether you're just recently graduated. So, staying in touch with your mentors and then also really setting aside some time to finish the writing and the submission process. I certainly think it makes sense to do a weekend retreat, whether that's in your living room or you know, get a hotel room or go stay at a friend's place where you can shut yourself away from the things that you might otherwise want to do, and just really set aside the time to get things done, because those things linger and then until you just make it a priority, it might not happen.
Speaker 3:
Yeah, mentoring is certainly a passion. I would echo what your mentors have told you. It's when we say please keep in touch and we're here for you, we really mean it and we learn. I've been a veterinarian at Cornell for 33 years. I mean I keep learning from mentees that keep reaching back out to me too. So it's really true and they largely go unrecognized. So I'll give you a couple of minutes to give a shout out to your mentors who helped you get this manuscript done and get your award.
Speaker 4:
Oh, absolutely Well. Dr Chris Fulkerson was probably the most instrumental in getting the manuscript done, from the start of the project all the way through to the writing, and we had Dr George Moore who was also helping us with statistics. But I'll also shout out to Mike Childress and Debbie Knapp, who were my mentors at Purdue when I was in my residency and now I'm lucky enough to be joining them as peers. But really, every mentor that you have who's willing to stand by you and and you know be in touch with you and support you, whether it's getting a manuscript out or gosh that's clinical question that I just don't know how to answer right now. I just really encourage people to stay in touch with the people who support them because it's it's truly, it's a, it's a lifelong commitment. You have people that you I mean. I have people that I've both mentored and been mentees of, and those relationships are just very, very important.
Speaker 3:
Well, well done Chris, george, Mike and Debbie. You've got some powerhouse behind you. Those are highly recognized and revered in veterinary medicine.
Speaker 4:
I am so lucky to be a part of this team.
Speaker 3:
Yeah, the other thing you mentioned was a retreat. It wasn't uncommon when especially when we're trying to look at data right, and how else could we look at that? What does that mean? It wouldn't be uncommon that I would have my team over, I would order in sushi, have a couple of drinks, that we would just hammer through it, and it was really also very fun, really academic, kind of nerdy, but a really fun way to spend an evening.
Speaker 4:
Yeah, absolutely, whether it's going through data or, you know, simply reworking that paragraph over and over again. I think just having the time to, you know, focus on it and if you've got people to do it with, great. If you need your solo time, then find your time. But setting aside the space and time to actually get it done, I think, is just really important.
Speaker 3:
Well, fantastic. We look forward to hearing more from you, from you and your other Purdue colleagues. Thank you. And when we wind down, we asked just a kind of fun personal question, and so we would like to know is what is the oldest or the most interesting item on your desk or in your desk drawer?
Speaker 4:
Okay, well, in my desk drawer this is my home office I have this, which I don't know if you can see it, but it's an engraved silver business card holder. My mom gave this to me when I was in the single digits, maybe nine or 10 years old. She and I have the same initials, and so I think she had plans for what I might do in the future, and I've had this. It's now a little bit dented up and it doesn't function all that well, but I've had it, I've kept it with me and it means a lot to me, so I think that's the oldest thing.
Speaker 2:
I have in my desk. I think you're one of our first oncologists that hasn't said calipers. Everyone always has an old pair of calipers whenever they've been a medical oncologist on the podcast so far.
Speaker 4:
That's funny. That's funny. Well, yeah, something old, but not the calipers.
Speaker 2:
And we actually did have Mike Childress on the podcast a few months ago, so be sure to tell him hello for us.
Speaker 4:
Yeah, absolutely, he mentioned that he was here. Yeah, fantastic, I will say hello, thank you Just congratulations again on your award.
Speaker 2:
We're so proud to have you on the podcast, to be an award winner and to have submitted your manuscript to you to Javma. So thank you.
Speaker 4:
Absolutely. It was great to be here and I really appreciate the award, the recognition, but also just the time to meet and talk to some other amazing people in our industry and, yeah, time to share.
Speaker 2:
Congratulations again to all of last year's journal award winners. We'll announce this year's Journal Award winners in June at the AVMA convention in Austin, texas. To those listening. If you have a student, intern or resident author that published in JAVMA or HABR in 2024, you can nominate them today. Please see our website for further instructions. You can read Marika's article in print, javma or online using your favorite search engine. I'm Sarah Wright with Lisa48. We want to thank each of you for joining us on this episode of the Veterinary Vertex podcast. We love sharing cutting edge veterinary research with you and we want to hear from you. Be sure to leave us a rating and review on Apple podcasts or whatever platform you listen to.