Dr Cheryl Fry

BVSc (Hons), MVS, CPC, ELI-MP

Certified Professional Well-being Coach

Are you stuck in your Veterinary career, approaching burnout, not knowing what to do next? Are you overwhelmed by the professional demands as a recent graduate? Do you want more time, passion and joy in your life? Do you simply know that you want something different in the future, but don’t know how to get there?

Cheryl experienced many of these frustrations as an employed Veterinarian. She understands the struggles and challenges of this profession as she has lived them. Cheryl was drawn to Life Coaching as she knew there had to be a better way – it had to be possible to find that balance between career and life, to find ways to quiet her anxiety and self-doubt, to reignite her lost passion for Veterinary Medicine. Her work with a coach many years ago changed everything for her both professionally and personally. The experience was so profound that she had to learn more. She studied at one of the world’s top coaching schools in New York and is now an independent coach based in Sydney, Australia.

Her role as your Personal Certified Life Coach is to find out what isn’t working in your life at the moment, what you want to be different in your future, and how to get from where you are today to where you want to be. She will partner you in your own personal journey to a happier and more fulfilled life.

Cheryl was given the privilege of studying Veterinary Science at Melbourne University from 1988-1992 with an amazing group of people. Having spent her childhood moving countries every 2 years, it was truly a gift to be able to settle down for 5 years at University and make meaningful and lifelong friendships. The 5 years of memorising vast amounts of knowledge suited her perfectionist personality, and she balanced partying and study well.

As a new graduate Cheryl was fortunate to work in a very supportive small animal clinic in Adelaide. The hours were reasonable, and she was never thrown in at the deep end. Cheryl didn’t fully appreciate how rare this was until later in her career.

Cheryl completed her Masters in Small Animal Medicine and Surgery (Murdoch University), because that drive to continually learn, to be perfect and to never make a mistake, was still very strong.

Cheryl eventually changed jobs because she felt she needed a greater challenge. Working in various places, she discovered the joys of after hours, of working 12+ hour days with no time for lunch (or to finish her cup of tea), and of being expected to perform surgeries she had never witnessed, let alone performed. She began to experience anxiety and stress to the point of dreading going to work, wondering what surgical nightmare awaited her. Her love of clients and for most of what the job entailed, kept her going but the perfectionism and fear of making a mistake was taking a toll. After 10 years of working as a veterinarian, she was happy to stop work to start her family and follow her husband’s career overseas.

She went on to work with a life coach who made her realise that she could continue to work as a Veterinarian and find joy and fulfilment in this. Cheryl was lucky enough to find work part time at the SPCA. The days were crazy busy, like nothing she had ever experienced in Australia, but it was exhilarating and her joy and love for the profession returned. She was able to work on her own terms – part time, minimal surgery, and no after hours.

Cheryl moved to Brazil and New York after this, but found that the standards for becoming a surgical veterinarian were riddled with red tape, and that her enthusiasm was waning after being required to relearn material for board exams.

While Veterinary Medicine was certainly Cheryl’s  first love and she will always be grateful for everything that it brought to her life, she has found her true passion in life. Everything she has experienced has prepared her for a second career as a Certified Professional Life Coach.

Cheryl’s time in New York allowed her to study at one of the best coaching schools in the world (iPEC – the Institute for Professional Excellence in Coaching). The training was extensive and rigorous, and scientifically based. She needed to know why things worked for her clients, not just what to do. She was able to utilize many of the skills she developed as a Veterinarian – her intuition, compassion and empathy, the real need to help others, and the ability to use all of her knowledge and life experience.

Becoming a coach has truly changed Cheryl’s life. She has personally witnessed the power that coaching can have in how veterinarians can experience both their career and their life.

“I look forward to working with you, and together we can change your future – the possibilities are truly limitless.”