Three Power Moves Every Vet Needs to Make at WVC Nashville

WVC NASHVILLE 2026  •  FEATURE

Career coach and relief vet advocate Dr. Ashley Hopkins breaks down how to get the most out of Music City’s biggest veterinary conference of the year.

When Dr. Ashley Hopkins walks into a conference, she walks in with a plan. A career coach, relief vet, and fierce advocate for veterinary professionals who want to build careers on their own terms, she has attended enough industry events to know that the ones who get the most out of WVC Nashville are never the ones who wing it. They are the ones who show up with intention, connection, and comfortable shoes.

WVC Nashville 2026 runs August 15 through 18 at the Music City Center, and Dr. Hopkins is already counting down. We sat down with her to get her unapologetic, no-fluff playbook for maximizing every hour of the conference. Here are her three non-negotiable power moves.

Power Move 1: Find Your Tribe

Next-Level Networking and Social Snaps

For Dr. Hopkins, WVC Nashville is not just a CE event. It is a relationship event, and she thinks the profession has been slow to embrace that distinction.

“WVC Nashville is the ultimate playground for broadening your circle and finding your vibe and tribe,” she says. “The number one goal for attendees should be building relationships, both catching up with old friends and making brand-new connections between sessions, at happy hours, and during official WVC events.”

Her advice goes beyond the handshake-and-business-card playbook. Dr. Hopkins is a full believer in the power of social media to keep the conference energy alive, and she is not shy about it.

“I’ll be encouraging everyone to snap tons of pictures for memories and post them on socials,”she says. “Not only does it extend the energy of the conference, but it’s also the fastest way to find out that a peer you didn’t even know was in town wants to meet up and hang out.”

The takeaway: do not wait for a formal networking session to connect. Post the moment, tag the people, and let the conference find you.

Power Move 2: Future-Proof Your Toolkit

The Brand-New Viticus Training Center

If anyone knows the connection between clinical confidence and career longevity, it is Dr. Hopkins. She has spent years coaching relief vets through the particular pressure of stepping into unfamiliar practices, unfamiliar equipment, and unfamiliar cases with no warm-up time. Her prescription has always been the same: skill up before you need to.

“As a career coach, I always preach that upgrading your clinical skills is the fastest way to build confidence and boost your professional value,” she says. “That’s especially critical for relief vets looking to stay competitive.”

WVC Nashville’s answer to that challenge is the brand-new Viticus Training Center, and Dr. Hopkins wants every attendee walking through those doors.

“Attendees need to take full advantage of the hands-on labs inside the brand-new Viticus Training Center,” she says. “I’m highly recommending everyone join a WVC Knack track to build essential clinical and professional skills, try out new techniques, and confidently demonstrate their competency.”

WVC Knack tracks are structured, skill-focused learning paths built directly into the conference schedule, making it easy to check off CE hours while actually getting your hands on the techniques that matter in practice. Dr. Hopkins is unequivocal: this is where the real ROI of WVC Nashville lives.

Power Move 3: Experience the Music City Vibe

Nash Bash, Tails and Tunes, and the Full Nashville Experience

Dr. Hopkins is a woman who understands that burnout is real and that restoration is not a reward, it is a strategy. That is why her third power move is non-clinical, non-negotiable, and, frankly, the most fun of the three.

“You can’t go to Nashville without diving headfirst into the culture and nightlife, not to mention the food,” she says. “WVC is throwing some incredible themed parties that no one should miss.”

On Dr. Hopkins’s must-attend list: the inaugural Nash Bash and the Tails and Tunes concert featuring Blanco Brown and other top country artists. Two very different flavors of Nashville energy, and she wants attendees at both.

“First up is the inaugural Nash Bash for maximum fun, unforgettable energy, and awesome swag,” she says. “Then we’re heading out for a true Honky Tonk time at the Tails and Tunes concert. It’s the perfect way to unwind, let loose, and experience everything Nashville has to offer.”

Her final instruction? Do not overthink it.

“Grab some Nashville Hot Chicken to keep the energy flowing all night,” she says, with exactly the energy you would expect from someone who has built a career on showing up fully and showing up loud.

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WVC Nashville 2026 runs August 15 through 18 at the Music City Center in Nashville, Tennessee. Registration and full programming information are available at wvc.org. Follow Dr. Ashley Hopkins and Vet Candy on social media for real-time coverage throughout the conference.