Meet the NorthStar VETS Team: Deborah Ward, DVM, DACVIM

Deborah Ward, DVM, DACVIM is a doctor in the Internal Medicine service at NorthStar VETS. In this blog post and video below, she talks about her schooling, how she ended up in veterinary medicine, and what keeps her motivated every day.

How Dr. Ward ended up caring for pets
Dr. Ward has always had a passion for animals, but she originally wanted to practice medicine on humans. “I took some work-study time working at an Oncology center and I found it so depressing that I moved completely out of the field. Then one day, I decided I wanted to do something completely different with my life, so I got a job at a veterinary clinic just because I liked working with animals, and it was close to school, and everything I didn’t love about human medicine, I loved about veterinary medicine. I’ve been full-steam ahead every since.”

What Dr. Ward does at NorthStar VETS
Dr. Ward specializes in Internal Medicine. “I went to undergrad at Duke University where I was a Political Science major. When I made the switch into science, I went to Tufts for veterinary school. When I did my internship, I followed one of my mentors out to Tucson, Arizona, to work at Southwest Veterinary Specialists, and then I went to his alma mater, Virginia Tech to do my internal medicine residency and get my master’s degree. My family is from the New York area, and I moved back when my grandmother was ill. I was working at another specialty hospital nearby then. I had known Dr. Anderson, who was one of my colleagues for many many years, and the opportunity to work with her came up. I had heard nothing but amazing things about NorthStar VETS. That’s how I ended up here and I love it!”

Dr. Ward is one of more than 40 veterinarians who work together at NorthStar VETS. “I’ve worked at many specialty hospitals, and have been in the business for more than twenty years. I’ve never worked anyplace where I felt like there was such a common goal of making sure the patients and clients receive the absolute best every time. That’s my primary motivation and the motivation of all my colleagues, and that’s one of the things I love about being here.”

Dr. Ward’s Primary Motivation
Internists like Dr. Ward deal with a wide variety of cases. “We deal with systemic and internal disease, primarily gastrointestinal disease like vomiting and diarrhea, respiratory disease, endocrine or hormonal diseases, and kidney disease. We deal with both the diagnosis and the short-or-long-term treatment. There are a number of procedures that we do in Internal Medicine that are very specific including endoscopy, washing of the lungs, evaluation of the urinary tract using endoscopy, and abdominal ultrasound. Those are some of the tools that we use quite frequently.” Dr. Ward and the team at NorthStar VETS will continue to provide world-class care to our clients. “For me, it’s about the patients and the clients. In veterinary medicine, there are so many things you can be, from a teacher to a scientist, but primarily, I’m a clinician. I love treating patients, I love the relationship between the patients and pet parents, and every time I help a patient live longer or better, and everyone is so grateful, I’m so happy. That’s what keeps me motivated and coming in every day.”

Learn more about the Internal Medicine service at NorthStar VETS.

Deborah Ward, DVM, DACVIM
Dr. Deborah Ward received her Doctorate of Veterinary Medicine from Tufts University in 1996. After completing a rotating small animal internship at Southwest Veterinary Specialists, she completed her residency in small animal internal medicine and Master’s degree research in gastrointestinal disease at Virginia Tech in 2000. Since obtaining her board certification in Internal Medicine in 2000, she has been practicing in the Northeast for the past 14 years, and in New Jersey since 2005. Dr. Ward’s special interests include diagnosis and treatment of gastrointestinal disease, renal and immune-mediated disease. She is an experienced endoscopist and ultrasonographer.