Dr. Kerri Nelson Lenker - Veterinary Emergency Group
Thirlby Co. Leader to Learn From: January 2024
January 10, 2024
In 2019, Dr. Kerri Nelson Lenker joined Veterinary Emergency Group (VEG) and opened the the first VEG location in Colorado. Kerri served as the medical director at the VEG Denver location until becoming a field emergency educator in July of 2023, working across all four VEG locations in Colorado and teaching newly graduated emergency veterinarians.
At VEG, Kerri has worked relentlessly to build the business and transform veterinary care, including the retention of veterinarians. “The main reason why VEG is different is because we don’t separate people from their pets,” Kerri shared. “You can be with them throughout the entire hospital stay. With an approach like VEG, people are so much more appreciative [of the staff] and you feel more valued - that helps with longevity.”
Both in and outside of work, Kerri is known for her ambition and constant pursuit of excellence with everything she does. Between running, horseback riding, reading, and developing her leadership skills, Kerri is a leader we can all learn from.
Read onto learn more about Kerri’s path to becoming a veterinarian, how coaching impacted her life, and the question she asks herself to stay in alignment with her authentic code as an Enneagram 3.
OUR INTERVIEW WITH KERRI
Why did you decide to become a veterinarian?
I was not someone who knew from a young age that I wanted to be a vet. I always loved animals but had some self-limiting beliefs surrounding my ability to excel in science and math. Growing up, I was more oriented around writing and language. I thought I wanted to become a news anchor - I love sports.
My freshman year, I started pursuing broadcast journalism as a major. I was good at it, but it didn’t feel meaningful to me. Then the summer between my freshman and sophomore year, I was working for a woman who had horses. Her husband was a medical doctor and he would come to the barn and make small talk with me. One day he said: “You know this is what you should be doing, right?” That was all that it took.
Being a veterinarian marries a lot of things I like. I get to help animals. I get to help people during a time of severe stress. I get to explain things to an owner in a digestible way. Not only is there a puzzle and challenge with figuring out what is wrong with a pet, but there is also a communication challenge. I’ve fallen more and more in love with the profession as time goes on.
You work for Veterinary Emergency Group (VEG) - a fast growing emergency animal hospital with 64 locations across the country. We had the unique experience of first meeting each other when I brought my dog to one of your locations. My experience was the best I’ve ever had at a veterinary clinic. Why is VEG so different?
The main reason why VEG is different is because we don’t separate people from our pets. It’s an immersive emergency experience. You can be with them throughout the entire hospital stay. We let owners be involved. We are transparent and find ways to say yes.
Something else that’s unique about our company is that we are owned by a veterinarian. About 90 percent or more of local clinics and animal hospitals are owned by larger corporations. VEG does not go in and buy hospitals, which allows us to create our culture from the ground up.
Our founder was an emergency veterinarian for 15 years, and he saw that emergency medicine was not working. He saw owners being separated from their pets in the emergency room, when the animals are their family members. He wanted to revolutionize the emergency experience. He also wanted owners to be able to talk on the phone directly with the vet.
One large issue facing the veterinary community is the topic of burnout, and the mental health of veterinarians. Can you speak to what this stems from?
I believe it’s a lack of transparency, lack of trust. As an emergency vet, if someone comes into the ER, they probably don’t know me. There is no trust that’s been established, and it’s very difficult to establish trust when a human’s animal has been in an exam room for three hours and the owner has no idea what’s happening.
Allowing the owners to see what we do at VEG gives them so much more grace and patience because they can tell I’m not ignoring them - they can see me helping seven other patients at the same time. With an approach like VEG, people are so much more appreciative and you feel more valued - that helps with longevity. If you don’t feel like you’re valued and your efforts go unseen.
When I was at my previous hospital, maybe once a month I got a nice thank you card. At VEG it happens all the time. Our break room is littered with appreciation notes. We have people come back with their pets just to say hi and thank you.
We also really care about our employees. We have a ton of team building events. We build out an emotional bank account with our team. Everyone at the top of the company visits the local hospitals. If our founder walked into one of our hospitals today, he’d know the names of probably 80 percent of our staff. We send care packages and notes to each other. We celebrate our wins with each other.
Something that is unique about you, Kerri, is your relentless pursuit of excellence with just about everything you do - and being good at nearly everything you do. Why are you this way?
It’s a blessing and a curse. It’s what’s gotten me to where I am today, but it’s also what can keep me from being present and happy. It’s something I’ll continue to struggle with.
I really believe some people are just wired this way. I’m an Enneagram 3 (The Achiever). I want to be told I’m doing a good job. Getting recognized for doing something well has always been a strong motivator for me.
It’s also something I’ve had to evaluate - I ask myself is my motivation coming from a place of ego, or is it coming from my authentic self? Answering that question is really important. If what you are doing is in alignment with your authentic code and who you want to become, you don’t have as much of a need to look for the next thing. If you just think about the achievement, you might lose who you are along the way.
Something that’s unique about our relationship is that you are one of my former coaching clients (and have shared openly about our work together). Why did you decide to do coaching, and how has it benefited you?
I didn’t know that I wanted to do coaching. It was serendipitous how we met - the universe brought you to me when you brought your dog into our clinic. I knew when I met you that I was at a place in my career where I knew I was ready for a different position. Being a medical director didn’t feel in alignment with my core values. I remember visiting your website and seeing leadership books that I loved, and at the time my leadership team was needing support.
I was in a place with my therapist where I liked her but was not feeling like I was getting action from it. When I met you, you were very clear that coaching was something you need to put work into, and that it’s outcome-based. I didn’t need to spend time in the past. Coaching was giving me the direction I needed to go.
Coaching helped me understand what my greatest strengths are, and how I can apply them to my career. I learned about my zone of genius versus my zone of excellence, what my core values were, and how to identify if something was not in alignment with them. And just the importance of putting in the work with coaching, and going back to it. Many of the tools I can go back and use and see how things are different the second time.
What is your mission or purpose in life?
Learning and teaching. Whether it’s in my career, or personal life.
What is your greatest superpower as a leader?
I handle chaos really well. People look to me during times of high stress when there are 30 patients in a hospital and everything feels crowded or loud. I give direction well.
Tell us about a time that you failed as a leader. What did you learn from your experience?
I’ve failed a million times as a leader, but the big overarching theme is I try to fix things on my own instead of enabling people to solve their own problems. The analogy I was given is that I try to put out the fire instead of giving them the extinguisher.
I’ve learned that trying to fix the problem stunts the other person’s growth. It also makes my job harder because they become dependent on me. Once I learned to take a step back and ask people open-ended questions, that was when everyone became independent and started growing.
What is something that might surprise people about you?
I’m extremely self conscious. I want to be perceived as someone who is intelligent, kind, full hearted, and more. If I found out that someone said something about me that didn’t paint me in a good light, I used to have a really hard time with it.
Also, I need a lot of time to recharge. I have a very limited social battery. I have a very easy time talking to people and am not a shy person. When I tell people I need alone time, they are sometimes surprised. Sometimes I leave social events feeling energized, but usually it’s one on one.
What advice would you have for someone who is struggling or feeling stuck right now in their life or career?
Hire a life coach. Take a step back and ask yourself what you genuinely love to do and what you can do for hours upon end, without losing track of time. Write a list of what you do every single day, and then look at what brings you joy, what’s neutral, and what is draining you. Then determine if there is an area of your life that’s preventing you from living your best life.
What is one piece of advice you would give to your younger self?
Put more money away. The small things matter. They will build up to becoming the person you want to be. Every single action you take is casting a vote for who you want to become. All of those little moments with how you spend your time add up to a big direction.
Anything else you’d like to share with our readers?
I am feeling really inspired lately by your newsletter - specifically your work on celebration. You can’t just be outcome focused. You have to remember to celebrate the process. When you do that, what you want to achieve will happen. You can’t do it backwards.
About Kerri (She/Her)
Dr. Kerri Nelson Lenker was born and raised in Denver, CO. She graduated from the University of Denver in 2012, and received her doctorate of veterinary medicine from Kansas State University in 2016. After completing additional training at specialty hospitals in Denver followed by New York City, she returned home to Colorado where she worked as an emergency veterinarian for a local specialty hospital. In 2019, she joined Veterinary Emergency Group (VEG), and has never looked back. Dr. Nelson opened the first VEG in Colorado as the medical director in September of 2020. She grew the hospital from a team of 18 people to a team of over 100 people, and their team has provided veterinary care to over 50,000 pets since opening.
Dr. Nelson is passionate about VEG's open concept and the unique customer experience they provide for pet owners. In July of 2023, she moved into a regional educational position for VEG, working across all 4 VEG locations in Colorado teaching newly graduated emergency veterinarians. She loves the lifelong learning that comes with practicing emergency medicine, and likewise loves teaching other. In her spare time, she can be found riding horses, running, reading, skiing with her husband, and spending time with friends and family.
Follow Kerri’s work on Instagram @dr.kerrinelson.
About This Feature
Leaders to Learn From is a standing feature in The Thirlby Company’s monthly newsletter that recognizes outstanding leaders in our community who demonstrate our company’s core values. You can learn about our other honorees here, or subscribe to our newsletter to receive this feature and more inspiring content in the future.
