VMCVM Faculty Spotlight: Ivan Ravera
Ivan Ravera
Clinical Assistant Professor of Dermatology, Department of Small Animal Clinical Sciences
When did you join the veterinary college?
January 2024.
The best part of being a faculty is?
When you see a student thinking like a doctor.
Best advice I've gotten...
“If you really want to get to know someone, take a trip with him/her.”.- Cacho Menaya, my dad’s friend.
How would you capture the essence of your work in a newspaper headline?
After pets found out how to talk to humans, this one said, “Thank you, doc!”
My hidden talent...
I think like a child.
A person who has inspired me...
My dad because I wanted to be like him. He is a retired veterinarian. Since I was a child, I sensed how much people respected him. Every time he spoke, people would listen. Sometimes, they would come to him for advice. He is not a leader; he is always low-key. In Argentina, where we are from, our degree is “veterinarian medic." You are not considered a doctor unless you have a doctorate (PhD). Yet all his clients and friends used to call him “doctor."
Words of encouragement to a current veterinary college student...
You will be a great doctor if you always protect an animal’s dignity. If, at any point, you feel like you've lost that, ask yourself why you chose to become a veterinarian in the first place.
One misconception that all students seem to have is?
It is OK to create a treatment plan based only on symptoms, without first completing the diagnostic work-up.
If I had a superpower, it would be...
The ability to improve the compensation of interns, residents, and faculty. Interns and residents are doctors, and they deserve much better. We were once in their shoes, so we understand. We are running out of specialists who want to teach, and we need to attract them. If we do, they will see the value and stay. If you want to improve our profession, it all starts here, at the vet school.
This excites me the most about the future of my industry...
Artificial intelligence, therapeutic monoclonal antibodies, and nanotechnology.
A cause I'm most passionate about...
Keeping our planet clean, healthy, blue and green. There is no other land.
Favorite way to end the day...
If by "end the day" you meant die, I would say, "Alone, in the mountains." If not, then with a glass of wine, while my wife and I pretend to fix the world, as our dog snores.
Top of my bucket list...
Keep my wife happy.
My favorite quote...
It is not a quote, but I like it because it is natural and necessary: “We are what they grow beyond, that is the true burden of all masters.”- Master Yoda.
How many pets/animals live at home? Can you tell us about them?
Two. Bruno is a wire-haired German pointer. He was either abandoned or escaped from somewhere — we don’t know. We adopted him, and it was the best decision ever. He flew with us from Spain.
Then there’s Bayou — of course, he’s from Louisiana. We lived there for almost three years. Bayou is the most typical tabby cat — nothing special about him, except that he’s ours.
In the near future, probably two chickens. In the mid-to-far future, a cow and a goat. We just can't live without animals.
