Today we’d like to introduce you to Rebecca Rittenberg.
Hi Rebecca, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, you could tell our readers some of your backstory.
I am a fourth-generation Charlestonian and always knew I would end up here after completing my education. I was raised by two physicians who attended medical school later in life. My sister and I watched as they went through medical school and residency, constantly feeling we were the priority of their lives. This example has led my sister and me to less traditional paths toward our medical careers.
After graduating from Academic Magnet, I left for the University of Miami, where I met my husband, Sam, while earning my BA in Judaic Studies with a focus on World War II. While there, I met and worked with a Holocaust Survivor and published his memoir, Hakl Makl. After college, Sam and I moved to his home in Israel for a period before moving back to Charleston, where we were set on a path to apply to medical school. We married in 2010 and adopted our dog, Sababa, from the Charleston Animal Society a few months later. We both quickly realized our passions, while still in the medical field, were not in becoming physicians. We were both accepted to the University of Minnesota, him for dental school and myself for veterinary school.
At the University of Minnesota, I realized my passion for internal medicine. After graduation, I did a one-year internship in Hollywood, Florida (where we adopted our three-legged orange tabby, Jondalar), followed by a three-year residency in internal medicine in Louisville, Kentucky. After completing my residency, we moved to Phoenix, Arizona, where my husband was accepted into a pediatric dentistry residency. During the height of the pandemic while living in Phoenix, our daughter, Batya (nicknamed Bethe), was born. After Sam finished his residency, we moved back to Charleston, and I opened my veterinary internal medicine practice.
Alright, let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what challenges have you had to overcome?
Is any road truly smooth? The hardest thing I’ve ever experienced happened when I was 16 when my mother, Bethe Rittenberg, died suddenly in a car accident. In the year preceding her death, she helped open a floor at Roper Hospital for rehabilitation and opened her private practice. I watched the front row as she managed to have incredible career success, yet she never skipped a beat in showing up as a parent for my sister and me and our friends who needed it. Having something so difficult occur at such a young age also allowed me perspective on future educational and career challenges. Even during the most challenging times during veterinary school, internship, residency, and new business ownership, I always do my best to balance work and life.
Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about Charleston Veterinary Internal Medicine?
I opened Charleston Veterinary Internal Medicine (CVIM) in October 2022. I work with three incredible women who make every day, even the hard ones, a joy. Heather and Amanda are highly experienced veterinary nurses with 18 years of internal medicine and ICU experience. Gabby is our receptionist and handles each client with the care and attention to detail required of an internal medicine patient.
At CVIM, we specialize in liver, urinary, endocrine, respiratory, auto-immune, gastrointestinal, and infectious diseases. An internist’s job is to diagnose and manage chronic diseases using a variety of specialized lab testing, ultrasound, and endoscopy. We work with referring veterinarians to ensure a global approach to a patient, always prioritizing quality of life. Because we know how scary it is to have a sick pet, we can fit patients in within 24 hours, often with same-day appointments, to help get owners and their pets answers and start treatment as soon as possible. We also offer same-day gastric and esophageal foreign body removal using endoscopy to allow patients to go home the same day and avoid open abdominal surgery.
I have tremendous pride in the team I work with, and the patient care we provide. Because we are a small business, we personally know our patients and their owners and have frequent, open communication and follow-up. I am incredibly fortunate to be able to come to work every day and spend my time with hardworking, empathetic, smart women, all while practicing the career I have worked so hard for and love.
What would you say has been one of the most important lessons you’ve learned?
I have worked in five states, and even with cultural/regional differences, I have learned that all clients, even the angriest, speak from a place of concern and love. Depending on where you are, this is expressed in different ways. The greatest lesson I take from this is to listen to these concerns, offer the best of my ability and knowledge to every case, and treat every patient as if the owner loves their pet as much I love mine because they probably do.
Pricing:
- Consult $150
- Abdominal ultrasound $450
- Upper endoscopy $1800-2200
Contact Info:
- Website: CharlestonVeterinaryInternalMedicine.com
- Instagram: Chsveterinary_im
- Facebook: Charleston Veterinary Internal Medicine
