Trailblazing As A Black Veterinarian: Interview With Dr. Wanda West:Part 1

We all have a story. Of where we came from and the obstacles we've faced and overcome to get where we are today.

Being a White woman I have never had the color of my skin be an obstacle. My guest in this episode, Dr. Wanda West, DVM, PhD, DACLAM cannot say the same. As a Black woman she faced many instances of racism growing up in the south. As a Black vet student and eventual veterinarian, she did as well.

Veterinary medicine has been called the whitest profession in America. According to the AVMA, Black Americans have never comprised more than 3% of all veterinarians.

In Part 1 of this two-part episode Dr. West and I talk about:
-her earliest experience of racism in the first grade
- going to an integrated college for her undergrad degree
- experiencing both encouragement and discouragement to pursue a career in vet med as a woman and as a Black woman
- attending what was then a mostly White Mississippi State for vet school
- experiencing racism as a veterinarian