Ep 29: A Life Less Ordinary with Jolle Kirpensteijn

On today’s show, I am joined by the multi-talented Jolle Kirpensteijn. Jolle graduated from the Utrecht Veterinary School in Holland and promptly moved to the US where he completed his residency training in small animal surgery and Masters degree at Kansas State University. He followed this with a fellowship in surgical oncology at the Colorado State. In ‘93, Jolle returned to Europe as a surgical-oncology and soft tissue surgeon at Utrecht University. In February of 2005, he was appointed Professor in Surgery at the University of Copenhagen and in August 2008 Professor in Soft Tissue Surgery at Utrecht University. He is a Diplomate of the American and European College of Veterinary Surgeons and received the titles of Founding Fellow in Surgical Oncology and Minimally Invasive Surgery, both from the American College of Veterinary Surgeons (ACVS). A former president of WSAVA, Jolle has been recognised with many awards including the prestigious BSAVA Simon Award, WSAVA President’s Award. Jolle currently works for Hill’s Pet Nutrition as the Chief Professional Veterinary Officer, where he leads all professional activities in the United States. Now, just before we jump into the episode, let me drop a quick word from today's show sponsor the VetX:Thrive community. If you are a young vet looking to find your feet in veterinary medicine, grow your confidence, avoid burnout and beat your inner imposter, then not only should you listen to Jolle, but you should also join the VetX community. As a community member, you’ll receive success-skill training modules, live mentoring session and actionable toolkits to help you thrive in your career. A year-long membership of the community is available for just $275 and if you use the promocode ‘podcast' then you will receive a further 10% discount. Head to www.vetxthrive.com to redeem this offer and take control of your career. Jolle is one of a handful of people who truly meet the criteria of being a global citizen with a career that stands out for its life experience as much as it’s academic brilliance. He is probably best (if somewhat confusingly) described as two parts surgeon, one part oncologist, two parts business-man, one part unashamed tech-geek, one part ninja-level networker and three parts fearless adventurer. If your head is spinning then relax, because being Dutch, he is also pretty chill on life. So, sit back and enjoy my conversation with the outstanding, Jolle Kirpensteijn