Veterinary Heroes: Valerie J. Parker, DVM, DACVIM (SAIM, Nutrition)

Valerie J. Parker, DVM, DACVIM (SAIM, Nutrition), 2024 Veterinary Hero in nutrition, understands the intricate relationship between an animal’s nutrition and their wellbeing.

“As an internist, nutrition plays a role in management of every single one of my cases…. So, it meshes so well with the specialty of internal medicine, it's almost just like they were meant to be done together,” Parker told dvm360 in an interview. “I think it’s cliché, but we all say it, that…food and diet and nutrition make such an impact on an animal’s overall health and well-being. And so having that additional ability to influence a patient outcome by providing nutritional support and guidance for the animal and for the owner, it is something that gives me great satisfaction.”

Parker is a clinical professor at The Ohio State University, where she has been a faculty member for 12 years. She obtained her doctorate in veterinary medicine from Tufts University in North Grafton, Massachusetts. Thereafter, she completed a small animal internship at the Animal Medical Center of New York, New York, followed by a small animal internal medicine residency at Iowa State University in Ames and a nutrition residency at Tufts.

Nutrition has always been a passion for Parker, she explained in an interview. “I've just, I've really always loved nutrition, even in undergrad, taking general nutrition classes for all different species. It always was really interesting to me, and then getting to that school and getting to explore it a little bit more deeply, especially in the realm of small animal nutrition, it always just struck me as a really, I hate to say the word interesting so many times—it really struck me as something so interesting,” Parker said.

For Parker, the key to improving veterinary care goes beyond just treating individual pets: it’s about equipping the next generation of veterinarians with the knowledge to provide nutritional guidance to pet owners. “Providing nutritional guidance is something that every veterinarian should be able to do. It doesn't require special tools. It doesn't require a ton of special training. You're not doing surgery. You know, any veterinarian can provide nutritional guidance,” explained Parker. “And so, my hope is that I can continue to not only provide guidance for specific pets and specific clients and pet parents, but also to help guide future veterinarians of how to provide this guidance for clients and for pets.”

She explained that teaching the next generation of veterinarians and veterinary professionals is what inspires her to get up and go to work every day. “That's a major part of why I come to work every day, and especially in the context of nutrition, it makes me really proud when I go out and talk to veterinarians in practices and they tell me how great it is working with my former students or my former residents who just are so much more confident and competent in nutrition than they might even feel themselves,” she emphasized.

Winning the Veterinary Hero Award in nutrition served as a powerful source motivation for Parker to keep pursuing her work with the same passion and dedication. “It just helps validate that everything I’ve been doing has purpose. I think as veterinarians, in academia especially, we are here because we want to help clients, help pets, to teach the next generations of veterinarians. And so…it’s nice to have somebody tell you every once in a while, ‘You’re doing a good job.’ It helps remind you why you’re doing what you’re doing, and it’s motivation to just keep showing up every day and doing what I’m doing—that it’s making a difference,” she said.

In honor of Parker and 11 other Veterinary Heroes inductees, an award ceremony will be held during the 2024 Fetch dvm360 conference in Long Beach, California, where the winners will be recognized for their unwavering commitment and extraordinary efforts within the veterinary profession. The ceremony will take place at the Long Beach Convention Center on Sunday, December 8, 2024, at 11:30 AM PST. All Fetch Long Beach registrants are invited to attend the award ceremony for no additional fee.

The 2024 Veterinary Heroes program is supported by corporate sponsor Schwarzman Animal Medical Center

The nutrition category for the 2024 Veterinary Heroes program is supported by Blue Buffalo Natural.