New Beginnings
Starting the next chapter of my career
Dear Readers,
Those of you who have followed this Substack for any length of time know the basic beats of my recent career story: the years under a non-compete, university locum work, and returning to practice last summer. This independent life came with some perks, like a lot more freedom to travel and speak my mind. Still, I always kept an eye out for full-time jobs that might be a good fit, but the right role never materialized…
…until now.
I am very pleased to announce that I’ve accepted a position as a clinical pathologist and laboratory director at an amazing specialty hospital in the northeast! My job will be a mix of diagnostic work, people management, and overseeing lab operations. This practice is one of those increasingly rare unicorns: one independently owned and operated by its doctors, with no corporate, venture capital, or private equity backing. They view pathologists and lab staff as integral members of the care team, and they’re aligned with my core values. It’s as close to a dream job as I could imagine.
You might be wondering what, if anything, will be different at All Science once I start this new job, so let’s get into it.
What’s going to change?
While this practice is independently run and has a rather generous social media policy, I will have to do a few things to comply with it. First, I will not be officially identifying my new employer on this newsletter and won’t be posting about specific cases or news related to them. I already do my best to not include any personal identifying information or call out individual companies in my articles, but keeping a tight firewall between my two worlds is the cleanest way to manage.
Next, you may have already seen the disclaimer below on my recent post about the European clinical pathologist well-being survey. I will be including it, or something with similar wording, in all future posts to make it clear that I am speaking for myself, not representing the practice’s views.
Author’s Note: The commentary above represents my personal opinion and does not necessarily reflect the viewpoints of any current or previous employers.
Finally, now that I will have a steady paycheck, I do not have the same need for revenue. So starting in April, I will be donating 100% of the proceeds—after Substack and Stripe take their cut—to charity. Initially this will continue to be the Humane Society of Tampa Bay; after we move, I will find and vet a new local shelter or animal-related non-profit organization. As before, nearly all of the posts will remain free to everyone, though keeping a paid tier does allow me to restrict some content if needed.
Why keep paid subscriptions turned on at all? Several reasons. For one, any dollar that goes to help animals as a result of my writing is a dollar that might not have been donated otherwise. To date, All Science readers have contributed more than $1,000 to homeless animals at HSTB, and that number will skyrocket when it is not 20% but 100% of net proceeds. Then there is the fact that other comparable newsletter and website providers (Beehiiv, Ghost, Mailchimp, etc) charge a steep monthly fee, while Substack is more affordable and provides a lot of growth tools, so I want to contribute to the platform’s continued success. Lastly, there has been anecdotal evidence to suggest that as the company pivots from growth to profitability, they may be penalizing free-only newsletters in visibility and new reader discovery.
What will stay the same?
What will not be changing is my commitment to bringing you the latest news and analysis in veterinary medicine! You can continue to expect monthly “Field Notes” digests of headlines for our profession, “5 Questions with…” interviews, cultural commentary, travelogues, and synopses of medical studies. I will be careful to pick my political battles, but I still plan to speak up on government actions that impact public health and education.
These are examples of some hard-hitting articles I would still happily publish:
Keep the faith
It’s been a long time in the “wilderness,” but the wait was worth it! I want to close on a note of gratitude by thanking everyone who has read my writing and sent me encouragement over the years. This newsletter gave me a sense of purpose when things were looking bleak, and your support means more than you know.
For my vet student and resident readers, I hope that the arc of my career proves that even in these chaotic times, with all the struggles our profession is facing, it’s still possible to chart a unique path and stick to your values. You will eventually find something great, even if you don’t see the perfect opportunity this minute. I’m reminded of Conan O’Brien’s farewell speech when he left The Tonight Show in 2010:
“To all the people watching, I can never, ever thank you enough for your kindness to me and I’ll think about it for the rest of my life. All I ask of you is one thing, I’m asking this particularly of young people that watch: please do not be cynical. I hate cynicism — for the record it’s my least favorite quality, it doesn’t lead anywhere.
Nobody in life gets exactly what they thought they were going to get. But if you work really hard and you’re kind, amazing things will happen. I’m telling you, amazing things will happen. It’s just true.”
His words resonate as much today as sixteen years ago.
If you work really hard and you’re kind, amazing things will happen.
I’m telling you.
—Eric
Congratulations!
Congratulations Eric!