The Humor and Heart of Jen Quammen

The Humor and Heart of Jen Quammen

It’s flattering when people notice that you are more than “just a relief doctor” or “just a vet”. It would be easy for the practices I work with and the people I cross paths with to just go through the motions, offer polite platitudes and get the work done. It can be really easy for me, or any of us in this profession, to have our identities wrapped up in the work of veterinary medicine. Yet I find that the chats I have with pet owners, staff members, and other veterinarians seem to quickly veer away from medicine and surgery to music lyrics, baking, puns, jeopardy, and pop culture. It’s a rare day when I haven’t said some silly pun or related a situation to a song that gets stuck in my head. I’m quick witted, always have been. I find that most clinics or people I work with will comment on how quick my mind moves among different topics. One of my quirks is connecting words or phrases to music lyrics or movie quotes. Some of the things I say even get called “Quammen-isms” 🤪.

I asked a few important people in my life to share examples of my personality and/or interests.

• By one person, I was reminded of a phrase I say during nearly every splenectomy, in reference to the 1950s TV show I Love Lucy. This (mis)quote of Ricky Ricardo saying “Lucy you’ve got some ‘splaining to do” is turned into “Lucy you’ve got some ‘spleening to do.” I giggle and smile every single time. Maybe it’s just the childish part of me that likes wordplay, but it’s a small and simple pleasure.
• By a second person I was reminded of my knowledge of frogs and frog calls. It’s maybe odd, but true. I know all of the native frog species from the state of Kentucky and can replicate or describe their calls. My favorite call is that of the American Toad that can be heard for weeks in early spring. Check out my froggy friends and their calls here.
• By another person, I was reminded of TBV, “trust but verify”, a very common phrase I utter, especially with respect to patient medications. Think of this as my interpretation of “making a list and checking it twice” or “measure twice, cut once”. It’s important that we can all ask questions of ourselves and of the people we work alongside – it is not at all uncommon for a veterinary technician or assistant to say to me “TBV you wanted medication X at dose Y for Z days?”
• And speaking of TBV, I’m absolutely someone who will turn everything into an acronym. I tease it’s because I can’t spend the time on the full phrase, so I abbreviate, but truly I think this is another example of my love of words and puns. One common acronym I use is DSTSS, don’t sweat the small stuff (or an alternative S word for stuff).
• One person asked me to share that despite being a digital calendar person (if it’s not on a calendar invite, I may forget it), I truly love having at least 2 old school wall calendars each year. Even more specifically I want one of those calendars to be of wild birds. This is a great physical reminder for me of my brother and the connection he and I shared about wildlife, birds in particular.

The values that are important to me include honesty, humility, and humor (HHH). I have frequently said that I want to be held accountable to these traits; I never want to be in a situation where I cannot connect or communicate with others, and that is especially important when there are differences of opinion. How we do anything is how we do everything; for me it is important (imperative even) to approach life and unknowns with curiosity (an expression of humility). I want to understand where beliefs and points of view emanate from and how they then can be expressed and/or interpreted. I certainly do not agree with everything or everyone but I find it important that we establish some common ground or at least clear ground rules to disagree from. We have all been in at least one situation where we felt invisible or unheard and that does not feel good. I’m working on being a better leader and hope that being relatable, approachable and a curious listener will continue to serve me and help me to serve as the next AVMA President Elect.