Ready, Vet, Go

Dr. Melanie Goble grew up in southeastern Wisconsin where she dreamed of becoming a veterinarian from the age of four. After obtaining a degree in psychology from Northland College in Ashland, Wisconsin, and graduating from the University of Wisconsin – Madison School of Veterinary Medicine, Dr. Melanie has been a veterinarian since 2005. For the first 9.5 years of her career, Dr. Melanie practiced small animal medicine in Maine and Wisconsin. In 2014, she began providing relief services allowing veterinarians to take time off to renew themselves in mind, body, and soul. In 2017, Dr. Melanie and a group of colleagues founded the non-profit, Not One More Vet, Inc., to address the issues of suicide and mental wellness in the veterinary profession. In her free time, Dr. Melanie mentors veterinarians and provides veterinary care around the world with Christian Veterinary Missions. She loves traveling, reading, and spending time with her husband. Dr. Melanie is currently licensed in Wisconsin, Alaska, Kentucky, Michigan, Indiana and Newfoundland Labrador, Canada, has provided veterinary care in Maine, Texas, Mongolia, and the US Virgin Islands, and has given lectures to small groups, universities, and major conferences and organizations virtually and in person throughout the United States, Canada, Estonia, England, and Mongolia. We all do better when we work together!

Dr. Michelle Cook enjoys practicing the full art of veterinary medicine by using evidence-based medicine and compassion to provide the best care for pets and their families. She earned her BA at Colby College in 2001 and DVM from The Ohio State University in 2011. After graduating from OSU, Dr. Michelle completed a small animal rotating internship at Angell Animal Medical Center in Boston where she saw a wide variety of cases in a fast-paced environment, managed critical patients, and worked directly with specialists in multiple areas. Cutting her teeth at Angell resulted in her ability to perform excellent medical/case management, time management, client communication, professional communication, and provided the confidence to practice best medicine in a “real world” setting. Life after internship brought marriage and a move to the west coast where Dr. Michelle practiced general medicine at a busy private practice for 3 years before going on to become Medical Director for a corporate hospital in Oregon. Becoming a leader brought Dr. Michelle a new perspective to practicing medicine and added depth to the soft skills she needs to succeed and thrive in the veterinary profession. During this time, Dr. Michelle and her partner welcomed two little girls to their family. Dr. Michelle’s partner, also a veterinarian, was admitted to a residency program in diagnostic imaging at Colorado State University, which brought the whole family to the Rocky Mountains. Dr. Michelle accepted a position as Medical Director at general practice there and worked to build a culture of positivity, teamwork, and respect. While this work was rewarding, Dr. Michelle once again felt the pull of academia and enrolled in a Master of Public Health program at the Colorado School of Public Health where she earned her MPH in Population Mental Health and Well-being as well as a certificate in Total Worker Health in 2022. Dr. Michelle and her family currently live in Maine where they enjoy all that the great outdoors and slow pace of life have to offer. She currently works at the Falmouth Veterinary Hospital as a general practitioner where she is deeply grateful for the positive work culture and supportive colleagues. Dr. Michelle also supports research and advocacy work performed by the Johns Hopkins Psychological Organizational and Environmental Total Worker Health Center (POE Center). Dr. Michelle chose to be a mentor because of her love for the work we do as veterinarians. She recognizes that providing care for animals and supporting their humans can be stressful. Although the challenges can feel overwhelming, she believes the tools we have to mitigate them are excellent mentorship, community support, and skill development that Ready Vet Go provides. Dr. Michelle is honored to be on this journey with you all and looks forward to learning together and building community. Completed Pawsibilities’ Introduction To Inclusive Mentoring Training.

Dr. Jeff Klemens is a small animal veterinarian and a 2005 graduate from the Purdue University School of Veterinary Medicine. His first eight years of clinical experience were spent in two different multi-doctor practices in northern Indiana. The next four years, he worked at a 24-hr emergency and critical care center in the same area. He began doing relief work in 2013, providing long and short-term relief coverage at several small animal practices. During his time as a relief veterinarian, he has worked in clinics that range from single doctor to multi-doctor specialty practices, in both rural and urban settings, with clientele from a variety of socioeconomic backgrounds. Dr. Jeff has been fortunate to work for practices with very progressive standards of care. This has allowed him to achieve a high level of medical and surgical skill. The years he’s spent doing emergency work has allowed him to hone his soft tissue surgical skills, exposed him to a wide array of trauma (what he refers to as his “dog vs” list), and allowed him to manage critical patients in hospital. He has experience in both general practice and emergency medicine, which has prepared him for anything that walks (or is carried) through the door. Outside of work, Dr. Jeff is an avid board-gamer, lover of craft beer, and die-hard Miami Dolphins and Purdue Boilermakers fan. If it’s sci-fi or fantasy fiction, he’s probably into it. He loves to travel, and has already set foot on 3 continents and 13 countries. He spent a semester in Lincoln, New Zealand during undergraduate study. His externship during his senior year of veterinary school took place at the Royal Veterinary and Agricultural University in Copenhagen, Denmark. He also loves to cook, and a good meal with friends. Since February 1, 2018, he has been a full-time relief veterinarian and owner/operator of Reliable Relief Services, LLC. In June of 2020, he began providing mentorship support for a small corporation and continued to create content and help in building their mentorship curriculum.