Welcome Dr. Kayla Sample

“My favorite place in the world is in that clinic. The work done at Tufts at Tech Community Veterinary Clinic is so rewarding and fun. All the teachers and students that make the clinic run are incredible. The team is so passionate and caring about the community and the students. They are kind to each other and everyone else; I’m part of a family.”

Dr. Kayla Sample (she/her) is the new assistant clinical professor in the Department of Clinical Sciences at Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University working primarily at Tufts at Tech Community Veterinary Clinic. Though her official start date was in early September, Dr. Sample has been a part of Cummings School’s community since 2018, living out a lifelong passion for a career in veterinary medicine.

“My first word was my dog’s name, Hoops. Every Halloween, I dressed up as either a vet or a dog. As a kid, I was hardcore set on becoming a vet,” she says with a laugh.

Throughout her childhood, Dr. Sample volunteered with shelters and rescue organizations around San Diego, California, where she grew up. She convinced her parents to volunteer her family as puppy raisers for Guide Dogs of America. Her family attended training classes together and took the dogs everywhere they went. “If you’re holding a dog’s leash, everyone talks to you about the dog. It forced me to talk to a lot of different people and become comfortable talking about animals and pets early on.”

Initially, Dr. Sample planned on a career in shelter medicine, helping animals without homes. While an undergraduate at the University of California, Davis, she started working with the Mercer Veterinary Clinic in Sacramento, treating pets of unhoused people. She was continually struck by how deeply people care about their pets and how animals can change people’s lives, and she felt a strong connection to the community the clinic served. Her focus began to shift from shelter medicine to community medicine.

While pursuing her bachelor of science degree in animal science from UC Davis, she enjoyed the new experiences of working with livestock and showing cattle and pigs. She also helped found the Pre-Veterinarian Students Supporting Diversity Club, which partnered Spanish-speaking undergraduate students with veterinary students to serve Spanish-speaking clients seeking veterinary care at the Knights Landing Clinic.  

Dr. Sample attended the University of Minnesota College of Veterinary Medicine for her D.V.M. She joined the VeTouch (Veterinary Treatment Outreach for Urban Community Health) Club, volunteering in a church basement to treat local animals and eventually becoming the president of the club. She also traveled to Native American reservations to provide veterinary care and spay/neuter services with the Student Initiative for Reservation Veterinary Services (SIRVS) Club.

“Those experiences absolutely solidified that I was going to be a community medicine clinician forever,” she says.

Dr. Sample jokes that she kept moving east, her next stop at Cummings School for an internship in small animal community medicine at Tufts at Tech. In a collaboration between Cummings School and Worcester Technical High School, Tufts at Tech trains veterinary and high school students and offers affordable veterinary care to the local community. From a professional perspective, Tufts at Tech checked every box for Dr. Sample, and she was especially intrigued that the clinic was located inside a high school.

“I liked the idea of diversifying the profession by exposing kids early to what it means to be a veterinarian,” she says. “I loved the internship—the community we served and teaching the high school kids and the fourth years, who challenged me and helped me grow every day.”

After completing her internship, Dr. Sample helped start up a new student clinic in partnership with VCA Animal Hospitals as the veterinary medical director at Montachusett Regional Vocational Technical School (Monty Tech Veterinary Clinic) in Fitchburg, Massachusetts, in an effort to increase access to care with another vocational program in the region. Similar to Tufts at Tech, Monty Tech created what she describes as a pipeline of future veterinarians, technicians, and assistants.

After two years at Monty Tech, she accepted a three-year American Board of Veterinary Practitioners (ABVP) residency in canine and feline medicine at Tufts in Tech.

“I had to go back,” she says. “Veterinary medicine is a lifelong learning process. There was so much more for me to learn to grow as a doctor. The residency was a good match, and I was back with the mentors I really loved and learned from.”

During her residency, Dr. Sample conducted a research project on determining the most effective way to diagnose urinary tract infections in dogs and how to prioritize clients for diagnosis.

After wrapping up her residency this past July, Dr. Sample became a full-time faculty member in September. In this new role, she trains fourth-year veterinary students and high school students at Tufts at Tech on the clinical floor. She will also teach in some classes on the Grafton campus, including the Clinical Reasoning course.

“I feel like I’m coming home. I am now more focused on how to be the best teacher I can be, transitioning from primarily learning to helping students and being the primary educator. Teaching is a big part of what I love.”

Dr. Sample often starts her day by taking students on their rounds, discussing primary care topics, like heartworm disease, and euthanasia, administering vaccinations, and taking the time to connect with the students. The Tufts at Tech staff typically perform three to five procedures a day, such as dental work, neuter/spay, and cystotomy. Faculty let the students take the lead and guide them in their work, seeing through each case from start to finish. Dr. Sample is Fear Free certified and teaches the students low stress handling techniques to minimize anxiety for patients.

In addition to teaching, her passion for community medicine continues to run strong.

“I really enjoy partnering with the community to make sure all these animals have access to care; that’s one of my favorite parts of Tufts at Tech,” says Dr. Sample. “Barriers to care might be financial, language, transportation—Tufts at Tech removes barriers. I am fortunate to be part of the program that helps these animals.”

Outside of her time in the clinic, Dr. Sample is studying for her boards in November and plans to pursue her Master of Veterinary Education. She is also improving her conversational Spanish to speak with clients more fluently in their native language, so that nothing is missed in terms of patients’ histories and clients fully understand what is needed for their pets’ care.

She also dedicates much of her time to her dog, Rocko, who accompanies her hiking and paddleboarding. He also joins her at Tufts at Tech, riding in the basket of her bike to the clinic. If students feel overwhelmed or need a break after a heavy case, Rocko is there for a walk or some company.

Dr. Sample plans to conduct educational research to show the benefits of veterinary clinics embedded in the community like Tufts at Tech—from providing access to care to the confidence imparted in students, to diversifying the veterinary profession.

“Tufts at Tech has really become part of the community, setting up in the local high school with students whose families we serve. It’s a solid group of individuals who are mission-driven to offer accessible care. This clinic is a model of what should be spread in the U.S.”