Rachel Hector

Anesthesia - Clinical Instructor Clinical Sciences

JFEH A110C VTH

(970) 297-5078

About Rachel

Growing up all over the world, one thing was a constant in Dr. Hector’s life: animals of all kinds and the desire to become a veterinarian. She could be counted on to befriend the neighborhood cats and spend more time at a party getting to know the resident dog than anyone else. She spent years working with abused and neglected horses and owned and trained horses throughout her undergraduate studies in animal sciences and subsequently veterinary school at Oregon State University. Early on in her veterinary education, she knew that she wanted to pursue specialty training because she wanted to keep learning and innovating after graduation - at first she just didn't know which specialty to choose. After veterinary school, she worked at an equine surgical referral practice outside of Vancouver, British Columbia for two years prior to completing a residency and board certification in veterinary anesthesiology at Colorado State University in 2017. Her favorite thing about anesthesia is that it combines aspects of all specialties. To do it well, one must understand surgery, oncology, internal medicine, cardiology, and pharmacology to name a few. For someone with an interest in just about everything, anesthesia is the ultimate specialty. Although she loves working on all species, her area of expertise and research focus is primarily equine. Some of her particular interests include equine post-operative pain management, improving anesthetic recovery safety, behavior and handling of nervous and frightened horses in a hospital setting, and anesthetic management of horses with colic and endotoxemia.

Education

Master of Science, Colorado State University, 2017Doctor of Veterinary Medicine, Oregon State University, 2012Bachelor of Science, Oregon State University, 2008

Certifications

Diplomate, American College of Veterinary Anesthesia and Analgesia

Research Specialty

Equine anesthesia and pain managementCardiac outputAlpha-2 adrenergic agonistsColic and endotoxemia