One Year Anniversary* on Substack!

Updates and highlights from the past 12-months

Dear Readers,

Today marks the first 12-months of regularly writing on Substack. While I technically started with a couple posts in 2022, there was long hiatus, which I discussed in my first post of 2023:

Since then, my readership has grown slowly but steadily. When I published the essay above, I had only 22 subscribers, virtually all family and friends. Fast forward one year and over 700 people subscribe, with far more “lurking” and reading without hitting subscribe (hey, no judgement), with >50,000 article views!! While that is far from the reach of a viral power user on Twitter or TikTok, I know by seeing your thoughtful comments and emails that you deeply read and engage with these topics, rather than a cursory skim typical of social media.

So today, I wanted to share a few updates and highlight some of my favorite posts for newer readers who may have missed them when they were first published.

Updates

Survey

I put together this short reader survey to provide me with useful data to make this site better. If you have a minute to fill it out, it would be really helpful 👇

Case Bank

I recently asked you about your interest level in a veterinary pathology case bank, and from the responses below, it seems like >60% of poll respondents liked the idea.

I am working on building this out now. The way I am currently envisioning it will be a central index page anyone can view with some links to my free continuing medical education content as well as links to paywalled pages with bonus images, videos, data, and explainers for paying subscribers. I put together this video mock-up as an example (this is a tiny fraction of the material I plan to include):

This should make it easier for both free and paid subscribers to find All Science continuing medical education content at a glance, and will also be a great way to centralize my case images/videos and lab data. The case bank is currently hidden from visitors on the main site while I build it out to my satisfaction. This will likely take another few weeks, and I will let you know when it goes live 👍

Coming Attractions

In addition to the case bank (which I’m super excited about btw), I have a ton of other great stuff coming up in the near future, including:

• An interview with

  Samantha Morici, DVM
  from the excellent veterinary Substack
  Sami the Vet

• Continuing education article on microscopy tips & tricks to up your cytology game

• A guide to mastering acid-base interpretation

• Part II sequel to my recent post, The Laws of Pathology

• More deep-dives into current topics in science, technology, and medicine!

Memorable Posts

Finally, here are some of my most popular posts from the past year, as well as some I just really enjoyed writing and putting out there.

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The Red Flags of Quackery

This article provides some handy rules of thumb for recognizing pseudoscience and medical misinformation, with plenty of snark and a cameo by comedian Marc Maron.

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An Explosion of Vet Schools

To this day, this remains one of the posts people bring up most when talking about my Substack. It analyzes the data behind whether or not there is a veterinary shortage and how it applies to the glut of new proposed vet schools.

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Heavy Metal

This is the story of a dog with liver failure that became one of the most vexing cases of my residency. We may have been on the verge of discovering a new disease in dogs, but definitive proof always remained just out of reach.

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Quitting Time

I wrote about my decision to transition from clinical practice into pathology, and my experience moonlighting as a relief ER vet during this time. It is a meditation on burnout and mental health in veterinary medicine.

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My guest essay for

Inner Life

“In the Blood” is probably my most personal work yet. I tell the incredible true story of discovering I am donor conceived through a DNA test:

In the Blood

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Thanks to everyone who has joined me on this journey and continues to read my work. I really enjoy hearing from you in comments, emails, on social media, and on Notes. Let me know what feedback and suggestions you may have for the next year in the comments!