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The Vet Vault

The Vet Vault

By Dr. Hubert Hiemstra: Veterinarian, Relentless Questioner.

Explore the art of building a fulfilling veterinary career with Dr. Hubert Hiemstra. Join in conversations about the topics that matter to you, like veterinary career development, work-life balance, and burnout prevention. Hubert is joined by inspiring veterinary professionals from around the globe who share insights and strategies to supercharge your passion for veterinary medicine and life and help find your ‘vet mojo’ with topics like veterinary practice management, mentoring to navigate your veterinary journey, or staying up to date with the latest advancements in veterinary medicine.
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#1: Welcome to the Vet Vault - Gerardo and Hubert

The Vet VaultApr 04, 2019

00:00
37:37
#116: Making Linear Foreign Body Surgery Less Scary And Getting Better Outcomes. With Dr Bronwyn Fullagar

#116: Making Linear Foreign Body Surgery Less Scary And Getting Better Outcomes. With Dr Bronwyn Fullagar

If you find surgery even remotely appealing, then chances are a good old intestinal foreign body removal ranks high on your list of favourites. But GI surgery can be a lot less fun when faced with a linear foreign body, and patient outcomes can be potentially be much worse.

This episode with specialist surgeon Dr. Bronwyn Fullagar is packed with invaluable insights to make your linear foreign body surgeries smoother, less scary, and increase your chances of success.

Dr. Bronwyn Fullagar is an Australian specialist surgeon based in the US. Her passion lies in sharing knowledge to elevate our skills as surgeons and promote our overall well-being. She does her teaching through speaking engagements, publications, through her role as Director of Surgical Education for the Veterinary Emergency Group, and with frequent appearances on the Vet Vault Clinical podcasts.

For more surgery with Dr Bron, plus access to 450+ more episodes in Small Animal Medicine, Surgery, and Emergency and Critical Care and our library of show notes, including this episode, go to vvn.supercast.com.

Get help with your tricky cases in our ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Specialist Support Space.⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Join us in Japan or in Wanaka with Vets On Tour: email vetsontour@gmail.com for details. (And tell Dave I sent you for your 10% discount!)

V⁠⁠isit ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠thevetvault.com⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠for show notes and resources related to this episode.

Connect with us through our online ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Vet Vault Networ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠k⁠⁠⁠⁠ for episode highlights, clinical resources, discussions, questions and support.

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Mar 12, 202438:04
#115: The Path To Zero Carbon Clinics: Transforming Veterinary Practices for the Planet. With Dr Jeremy Watson.

#115: The Path To Zero Carbon Clinics: Transforming Veterinary Practices for the Planet. With Dr Jeremy Watson.

You know you want to do it, but you don't know where to start. It's a daunting task for sure - veterinary practice is not known for being soft on the environment, so the thought of acting to reduce the impact of your veterinary workplace can seem paralysingly complex. So where DO we begin? Well, you can begin with this podcast.

Dr Jeremy Watson is a veterinarian and practice owner. His desire to take action on climate change was put into motion in 2011 when a practice rebuild commenced, marking the beginning of his journey towards establishing a vet business with environmental sustainability as one of its core values.

In 2020, Jeremy joined Vets for Climate Action, driven by a passion to highlight the vital role of veterinary teams in inspiring urgent action on climate change. Following on from his sustainability-focussed clinic rebuild over ten years ago, Jeremy's clinic has recently snagged accreditation as Australia's very first certified carbon-neutral veterinary practice, and Jeremy now works tirelessly to get other vets on board with the same eco-friendly approach.

In this conversation, Jeremy talks us through what his experience looked like, what he learned from it, and what the 'levers' are that can be pulled to have the greatest impact in the right direction.

Jeremy also introduces us to Vets for Climate Action's Climate Care Program, a program that aims to overcome that paralysis of knowing it's a problem, but not knowing where to start. He discusses what that process looks like, what the most common stumbling blocks are, and what the short-term wins are, beyond it simply being the right thing to do.


Topic list:

04:02 - Bad Decisions and Good Stories


05:11 - The Human Nature of Climate Inaction


07:09 - Resistance to Change and Climate Paralysis


09:10 - The Climate Care Program for Vet Practices


11:40 - Surprising Environmental Impacts in Vet Practices


13:01 - Business Case for Environmental Sustainability


17:31 - The Process of Becoming Carbon Neutral


19:04 - The Importance of Reducing Anaesthetic Gas Usage


20:10 - Financial Benefits of Sustainable Practices


24:22 - The Climate Care Program's Support and Structure


28:03 - The Unexpected Impact of Bedding on the Environment

29:05 - Alternatives to Traditional Pet Cremation


32:10 - The Benefits of Going Paperless


33:01 - Joining the Climate Care Program


35:07 - UN Definition of Sustainability


36:09 - The Role of Vets for Climate Action


37:37 - The No-Brainer of Solar Panels for Vet Practices


38:41 - Importance of Collaboration in Climate Action


40:08 - Impacts of Some of Our Practices on the Environment


47:15 - The Climate Care Program's Role in Vets for Climate Action

48:03 - Global Collaboration for Veterinary Sustainability


Join our community of Vet Vault Nerds to lift your clinical game and get your groove back with our up-to-date, easy-to-consume clinical episodes at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠vvn.supercast.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

Get help with your cases in our ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Specialist Support Space.⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

V⁠⁠isit ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠thevetvault.com⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠for show notes and resources related to this episode.

Connect with us through our online ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Vet Vault Networ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠k⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ for episode highlights, clinical resources, discussions, questions and support.

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ for Hubert's favourite clinical and non-clinical learnings from the week.

Mar 04, 202401:06:22
#114: "The Kidneys Are Not Toilets That You Can Flush": New Thinking On Managing Nephrotoxin Ingestion In Veterinary Patients. With Dr Corrin Boyd and Dr Leonel Londoño.

#114: "The Kidneys Are Not Toilets That You Can Flush": New Thinking On Managing Nephrotoxin Ingestion In Veterinary Patients. With Dr Corrin Boyd and Dr Leonel Londoño.

The puppy that ate the box of NSAIDs, the lab who found the bag of sultanas, cats and lilies - you know what to do: whack them on twice maintenance fluids for a few days to flush out the toxin and protect the kidneys, right? But wait. Have you ever stopped to think about HOW IV fluids increase toxin excretion? What if we told you that it DOESN'T?!

In this episode critical care specialists Dr Leonel Londoño and Dr Corrin Boyd explain why the standard approach of fluid therapy for nephrotoxin ingestion in veterinary patients not only doesn't make any sense, but can actually be harmful. We recap renal physiology and discuss a better plan than having a healthy bouncy patient on fluids in your hospital for 2 days.

Dr Corrin Boyd is  a registered veterinary specialist in emergency medicine and critical care who works and teaches  at Murdoch University in Perth, Western Australia, and Dr Leonel Londoño is clinical assistant professor of emergency and critical care and director of the hemodialysis unit at University of Florida. His research interests include renal and non-renal applications of extracorporeal purification techniques, endothelial and glycocalyx pathophysiology in the critically ill, and hospital-acquired acute kidney injury. 


Join our community of Vet Vault Nerds to lift your clinical game and get your groove back with our up-to-date, easy-to-consume clinical episodes at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠vvn.supercast.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

Get help with your cases in our ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Specialist Support Space.⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

V⁠⁠isit ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠thevetvault.com⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠for show notes and resources related to this episode.

Connect with us through our online ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Vet Vault Networ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠k⁠⁠⁠⁠ for episode highlights, clinical resources, discussions, questions and support.

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ for Hubert's favourite clinical and non-clinical learnings from the week.

Feb 19, 202432:47
#113: "Humans Aren’t Salmon": The Four Pillars of Energetic Leadership. With Dr Marie Holowaychuk and Josh Vaisman.

#113: "Humans Aren’t Salmon": The Four Pillars of Energetic Leadership. With Dr Marie Holowaychuk and Josh Vaisman.

"The what and the why of leadership is not up for debate anymore. We know what leadership is supposed to be, and we know what workplaces are supposed to be so that the human beings in it can actually get the work done. It's the how that we're catching up on."

- Josh Vaisman


"I'm excited. I feel like we're at, or past, a tipping point in the profession. People really, really want to shift towards better places. It's just about finding the ways to get us there."

- Dr Marie Holowaychuck


Two quotes, one message: veterinary leadership teams around the world know what needs to be done.  We just need a little help to get us there. 


In this episode my guests Dr Marie Holowaychuck and Josh Vaisman provide some of that help with this conversation about the four pillars that the better workplace you want to create needs to be built on. 


Dr Marie Holowaychuck is a specialist in small animal emergency and critical care. She’s also a certified coach, yoga and meditation teacher, facilitator, and keynote speaker who dedicates her time and energy to sharing evidence-based information regarding mental health and wellbeing. She has more than 20 years of veterinary practice experience in academic, private, and corporate settings. She’s led workshops and lectures and delivered keynotes to a range of audiences in Canada, the USA, and worldwide.


Josh Vaisman is a Workplace Culture Consultant, Keynote Speaker, Positive Leadership Advocate and the author of "Lead to Thrive: The Science of Crafting a Positive Veterinary Culture".  He holds certificates in areas such as Positive Psychology, Workplace Culture, and Building Effective Teams, and has a Masters level education in Applied Positive Psychology & Coaching Psychology. He co-founded Flourish Veterinary Consulting LLC to bring the knowledge he's obtained to life.


This episode was recorded live at IVECCS 2023. Use discount code VetVault2023 for a 35% discount when you become a VECCS member before May 2024, and join us at IVECCS 2024!


Topic list:

05:06 - The Impact of Culture on Well-being
05:31 - The Four Pillars of Energetic Leadership
06:10 - The Challenges of Veterinary Leadership
07:05 - The Types of Clients Seeking Help
08:04 - The Most Challenging Aspects Post-COVID
10:34 - The Importance of Personal Well-being for Leaders
13:35 - Empowering Teams for Personal Well-being
18:16 - Practical Ways to Empower Team Members
20:22 - The Challenges of Rapid Growth and Team Expansion
24:37 - Addressing Psychological Health and Safety
27:08 - The Resistance to New Workplace Norms
29:12 - The Importance of Psychological Safety
32:19 - Cultural Architecture and Unintended Consequences
35:28 - The Importance of Clarity in Leadership
38:45 - Key Takeaways from the IVECCS Session


Join our community of Vet Vault Nerds to lift your clinical game and get your groove back with our up-to-date, easy-to-consume clinical episodes at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠vvn.supercast.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

Get help with your cases in our ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Specialist Support Space.⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

V⁠⁠isit ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠thevetvault.com⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠for show notes and resources related to this episode.

Connect with us through our online ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Vet Vault Networ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠k⁠⁠⁠ for episode highlights, clinical resources, discussions, questions and support.

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ for Hubert's favourite clinical and non-clinical learnings from the week.

Feb 11, 202442:09
#112: The Condition-Formerly-Known-As-HGE: Updates And Myth-Busting. With Prof. Caroline Mansfield

#112: The Condition-Formerly-Known-As-HGE: Updates And Myth-Busting. With Prof. Caroline Mansfield

Whether you're still calling it HGE, or you're getting used to saying AHDS, it's likely that haemorrhagic diarrhoea is one of the more serious and most common GI conditions that you treat in companion animal veterinary practice. But are you treating it the right way? And how can you even be sure that your severe GI case 'just' has the HGE/AHD syndrome, and not some other serious disease?

If you've ever asked yourself these, or any other questions about this condition, then this conversation with Prof Caroline Mansfield will answer your questions and get you up to speed with everything you need to know in 2024 about haemorrhagic diarrhoea. (Spoiler alert - they DON'T need antibiotics!)

Prof Caroline Mansfield is a board Certified Specialist in Companion Animal Internal Medicine whose research is focussed on enteropathies in dogs, the endocrine and exocrine pancreas, and the interaction between the gut microbiome and metabolic health and disease in dogs and cats. She’s had an illustrious career that includes her previous role as the Head of  Small Animal Medicine at the University of Melbourne and Director of Clinical Research. She’s the current editor of the Australian Veterinary Practitioner Journal, and has published over 80 peer-reviewed papers plus multiple textbook chapters and conference presentations. 


This episode is a condensed version or our full episode on the topic from our clinical podcast series, where we've tried to capture some of the key takeaways that we feel every practitioner should be aware of. For the full episode, the show notes, access to a library of more than 450 other clinical continuing education podcasts, two fresh episodes per week, and access to our members-only community spaces, join our Vet Vault Nerds at vvn.supercast.com.

Jan 31, 202432:05
#111: Navigating the Pendulum: Adapting to Evolving Veterinary Landscapes. With Dr Sam Bowden.

#111: Navigating the Pendulum: Adapting to Evolving Veterinary Landscapes. With Dr Sam Bowden.

The last time we had Sam Bowden on the podcast, all everyone in the veterinary profession could think about was: 'too much work, not enough workers!' But 2023 saw some changes. The deluge of work turned into a more reasonable stream, veterinary companies are looking twice at their bloated wage bills, and clinics are finally filling those vacancies. It’s a different landscape to be sure, and Sam Bowden is just the man to help us unpack and strategise, whether you’re freshly graduated and about to enter the job market, or a clinic owner who has to start working on attracting and keeping good clients.

Grab your limited seat at Sam’s members only AMG Marketing Mastery Event.

Book a call with Sam about joining the Accelerate Mastermind Group.

Dr Sam Bowden, with 15 years of veterinary practice experience and a track record of owning and expanding two practices, has spent the last 12 years assisting practice owners in achieving better work-life balance, profitability, and overall well-being. He's the founder of ⁠United Vets Group⁠, The Ultimate Veterinary Practice, Complete Vet Systems, More Vet Clients Websites, Accelerate Practice Academy, Accelerate Mastermind Group, Vet Business Manager Program, The Dental Academy and also the author of The Abundant Practice.  Sam’s teaching focusses heavily on mindset combined with practical strategies to allow practice owners and teams to reach their full potential.

In this episode, we explore the changes in the veterinary profession in 2024 compared to a year ago, including what Sam calls the 'profitless boom.' Sam shares data with us on what our clients value, and some practical ways that we can deliver it in way that is financially and emotionally sustainable. We dig into how the veterinary job market is different now compared to a year ago, and how it might change over the next year or two as we discuss the question: have we become entitled?!


Topic list:

06:30 Changes in the vet profession.

07:54 Sam's advice for vet students.

23:50 Do we still have too many clients and not enough vets?

27:11 Clinic retail sales have gone down - what's the impact?

31:38 Do cheap retailers erode trust of veterinary clinics?

36:13 Are wages going to stay up?

37:43 The shift towards service orientation in veterinary practice.

39:09 Better service and changing the model of service increases price elasticity.

41:18 The role of pet insurance and wellness plans.

44:09 Why you should have a business mindset and a positive mindset in vet practice.

55:16 Sam's thoughts on social media as tool for business and as a vet.


Join our community of Vet Vault Nerds to lift your clinical game and get your groove back with our up-to-date, easy-to-consume clinical episodes at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠vvn.supercast.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

Get help with your cases in our ⁠⁠⁠⁠Specialist Support Space.⁠⁠⁠⁠

V⁠⁠isit ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠thevetvault.com⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠for show notes and resources related to this episode.

Connect with us through our online ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Vet Vault Networ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠k⁠⁠ for episode highlights, clinical resources, discussions, questions and support.

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠here⁠⁠⁠⁠ for Hubert's favourite clinical and non-clinical learnings from the week.

Jan 22, 202401:05:04
#110: Practice Good Medicine - The Rest Will Take Care Of Itself. With Dr Gary Turnbull

#110: Practice Good Medicine - The Rest Will Take Care Of Itself. With Dr Gary Turnbull

This episode is available as a video podcast on Spotify.

Dr Gary Turnbull is a Director of The Lincoln Institute, a coach, speaker and facilitator in the fields of veterinary practice management and leadership, veterinary business models and life balance strategies. He’s also a former practice owner with decades of clinical vetting and leadership experience under his belt. Through his work at The Lincoln Institute, Gary helps practice owners and employees with "people problems”, team culture, staff engagement, productivity and profit. 

And it’s exactly the intersection between these things that I wanted to talk to Gary about: the seemingly opposing needs for  productivity and profit from a practice owner’s perspective with the desire of employed vets to have an engaged workplace with great culture. 

I love Gary’s role as a coach for both practice owners AND employed vets, because gives him some unique insights into topics like how team leaders can motivate productivity without the team feeling that it’s just more ways that the boss wants us to make them more money, how to productively give and receive feedback about productivity, why and how team leaders need to be crystal clear about their practice values, and for employed vets - how to approach that annual review and how to show value when you’re not the vet who bills the big surgeries. Gary also helps me with a guide to make those client money conversions a lot less anxiety-inducing, and I put his coaching skills around conflict situations to the test with the big question: how do you deal with that accusation of ‘all you care about is the money.’


Topic list:

11:25 The importance of leadership nuance and messaging.

19:48 How to set clear, supportive expectations for your team.

22:13 Always come back to standards of care over "purse protecting".

27:29 We need more data than an average transaction fee.

32:04 Keeping track of your bookings and reframing how we view our care recommendations.

40:04 Remembering that people prioritise their pet differently within their family unit.

47:33 The 6 steps that you should make a habit in the consult room.

59:13 Shifting the focus away from money.

63:27 Practice makes perfect (or makes us more comfortable).

70:11 How a client viewing what happens behind the scenes can change their perception of fees.

74:01 Gary's favourite podcasts.

74:28 Gary's one piece of advice for new grad vets.


Join our community of Vet Vault Nerds to lift your clinical game and get your groove back with our up-to-date, easy-to-consume clinical episodes at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠vvn.supercast.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

Get help with your cases in our ⁠⁠⁠Specialist Support Space.⁠⁠⁠

V⁠⁠isit ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠thevetvault.com⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠for show notes and resources related to this episode.

Connect with us through our online ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Vet Vault Networ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠k⁠ for episode highlights, clinical resources, discussions, questions and support.

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠here⁠⁠⁠ for Hubert's favourite clinical and non-clinical learnings from the week.

Petition to protect Aussie Vets' access to compounded veterinary medicines for emergency use.

Jan 05, 202401:17:17
#109: Why Lifelong Learning Is Critical For Joy, Who Regulates The Regulators, and The Changing Face of Continuing Education. With Dr Zoe Lenard.

#109: Why Lifelong Learning Is Critical For Joy, Who Regulates The Regulators, and The Changing Face of Continuing Education. With Dr Zoe Lenard.

This episode is available as a video podcast on Spotify.

In this episode, Dr Zoe Lenard shares with us the importance of continuous learning for a fulfilling veterinary career, both in technical and non-technical aspects. She discusses adult learning, the pitfalls of perfectionism, and the impact these have on personal growth.

Dr Zoe Lenard is a dynamic radiologist with a passion for connection and excellence. Her big-picture goal is to promote a culture of high-performing, sustainable veterinary teams. She works as a clinical radiologist, business owner, and teacher, in referral practice at Animalius in Perth, Western Australia. She is an adjunct professor in Radiology at City University Hong Kong, and has a wealth of experience teaching graduate veterinarians, both through GP education and in resident training.

But Zoe's interests go beyond radiology; she's also the inaugural Chair of the Sustainable Practice Committee of the Australasian Veterinary Boards Council, a role that aims to promote high-performing, sustainable veterinary teams.

In this conversation, Zoe explains her work and how the committee supports professional growth within the veterinary ecosystem in Australia, and how the boards are working to change the perception that they are there just to police us. We discuss the current state of continuing education: how we measure it, it's efficacy, and what could be changing in the field of CPD, including the regulation of veterinary nurses in Australia.


Topic list:

5:17 No one actively makes a bad decision.

10:24 If you stop learning, life becomes boring.

21:59 Where does the Sustainable Practice Committee fit into Aus Vet science?

30:48 Zoe's hopes for future CPD.

46:28 Practical tips for being an engaged practitioner.

53:42 Regulation of the veterinarian nurses and why it's important.

64:05 What Zoe would like to say as the representative of the boards.

66:07 Zoe's favourite books.

69:00 Zoe's one piece of advice to new grad vets.


Join our community of Vet Vault Nerds to lift your clinical game and get your groove back with our up-to-date, easy-to-consume clinical episodes at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠vvn.supercast.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

Get help with your cases in our ⁠⁠Specialist Support Space.⁠⁠

V⁠⁠isit ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠thevetvault.com⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠for show notes and resources related to this episode.

Connect with us through our online ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Vet Vault Networ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠k for episode highlights, clinical resources, discussions, questions and support.

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠here⁠⁠ for Hubert's favourite clinical and non-clinical learnings from the week.

For updates about the work of the SPC and its projects (including CPD), check the AVBC website.

Or follow AVBC on LinkedIn.

Dec 21, 202301:11:55
108: Married To The Vet Profession: Advice From (And For) Our Significant Others. With Regina Carey

108: Married To The Vet Profession: Advice From (And For) Our Significant Others. With Regina Carey

Regina Carey is a coach, public speaker and special educator who works to help drive change within the veterinary and human healthcare professions. But in this interview we focus on another aspect of her life: she’s married to a veterinarian, and therefore, by default, married to the veterinary profession. 

In this episode we explore what’s that like to be the significant other in the life of a vet, what it takes to support a vet career, and what our partners want us to know. Regina gives us the solution to making space in a relationship for two careers, especially when one of the careers can be particularly time and commitment hungry!

We also pick Regina’s coach brain with topics like invisible disabilities, the not-so obvious things that get in the way of becoming the best version of ourselves, like excessive competitiveness, the consequences of the language we use with ourselves, and how to draw a hard line with aggressive clients. But first, we start with a veterinary love story…


You can find Regina at her website, Queen Of Action and on LinkedIn.


Topic List:

04:22 Regina's experience being married to a vet.

12:53 You don't need to sacrifice everything to be a vet.

16:31 Making space for two careers in a relationship.

24:09 Regina's career before she delved into vet stuff.

28:15 Coaching people with invisible disabilities.

35:24 The link between competitiveness and a lack of self esteem.

40:08 Why are supportive relationships vital in the vet industry?

46:18 Holding space for a relationship or your partner as a vet.

48:15 How do you find the support systems?

51:48 How to disallow disrespect without being rude.

58:46 Regina's advice for the significant others of a vet.

62:25 Things that makes the vet industry uniquely challenging to a coach.

65:18 "How do you solve the gap between vets wanting more money for less work?"

70:27 Regina's favourite podcasts.

71:38 Regina's advice to new grad vets.


Join our community of Vet Vault Nerds to lift your clinical game and get your groove back with our up-to-date, easy-to-consume clinical episodes at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠vvn.supercast.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

Get help with your cases in our ⁠Specialist Support Space.⁠

V⁠⁠isit ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠thevetvault.com⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠for show notes and resources related to this episode.

Connect with us through our online ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Vet Vault Networ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠k for episode highlights, clinical resources, discussions, questions and support.

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠here⁠ for Hubert's favourite clinical and non-clinical learnings from the week.


Regina's podcast recommendations.

We can do hard things with Glennon Doyle and Abby Wambach

The Hidden Brain an NPR podcast

Burnout by the Nagoski Sisters

Dec 07, 202301:16:09
#107: Why Can't We Do It This Way? New Ideas On How To Bring More Joy To Veterinary Practice. With Dr Russel Welsh.

#107: Why Can't We Do It This Way? New Ideas On How To Bring More Joy To Veterinary Practice. With Dr Russel Welsh.

What would you say are the biggest stumbling blocks to a joyful career in veterinary science?

The unfortunate reality is that there are many people in the veterinary profession who would not readily use 'joy' and 'work' in the same sentence. But Dr Russel Welsh wants to change that.

Dr Russel Welsh is  a veterinarian with over 23 years of experience and a passion for the vet profession and the role it plays in the lives of people and animals. He’s worked in multiple sectors of the veterinary industry, including clinically, operationally and in senior executive leadership positions. Some of his previous roles include first an employee and later a co-owner of Village Vet, a 33-site primary and referral care veterinary group in the London and Cambridge area. Russel facilitated the sale of this group first to private equity in 2017 and subsequently to the MARS group, where he stayed on first as Managing Director, then as COO and eventually in the role as Business Development Director at Linnaeus Veterinary Group.

This adventure has given him invaluable high-level insights into how our profession works (or sometimes DOESN'T work), so Russel recently resigned his position and took on a new challenge as Chief Operating Officer and Co-founder of Creature Comforts, a new VC funded veterinary start-up that aims to revolutionise the veterinary experience to make it seamless, joyful, fair and transparent by combining bespoke-built tech and world-class designer clinics.

In this conversation we cover how to step outside of your comfort zone to gain the knowledge and confidence needed to take on BIG challenges, and Russel shares some fascinating insights into the world of Big Veterinary Business. We talk about what’s good about corporate, what’s bad, and how Russel and his team are planning to take the best of it to create a model of veterinary practice that breaks the mould that says you can’t use 'joy' and 'work' in the same sentence. 


Topics covered:


07:12 The Journey from Student to CEO

08:38 The Role of Technology in Modern Veterinary Practice

12:18 The Impact of Corporate Structures on Veterinary Practice

15:53 The Launch of Creature Comforts: A New Approach to Veterinary Practice

18:31 The Vision for Creature Comforts: Reinventing the Veterinary Experience

20:53 The Challenges and Opportunities of Corporate Veterinary Practice

24:13 The Future of Creature Comforts: A Vision for Growth and Innovation

38:14 Changing Access to Veterinary Care

39:34 Focus On Client Relationships

40:33 The Role of Technology in Veterinary Practice

44:18 Is The Staffing Crisis Over?

53:40 Joy Killers in Veterinary Practice

01:10:09 Russel’s One Bit of Advice for New Veterinary Graduates


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Nov 22, 202301:13:39
#106: Dr Crocker: Intentional Career Moves, Mastering Change Without Fear, And The Pros Of Vulnerability and Virality.

#106: Dr Crocker: Intentional Career Moves, Mastering Change Without Fear, And The Pros Of Vulnerability and Virality.

Have you ever found yourself in a moment in your career where you knew: ‘This is definitely not it. Something has to change!’ 

Dr Tannetje Crocker’s career is as multifaceted as a diamond, and just as brilliant, and in this episode she’ll show us that if you approach your career with intention and heart that the grass CAN be greener. This episode of the Vet Vault is for every veterinarian who's ever felt the tug of 'what if’.  Dr. Crocker's story is a masterclass in crafting a veterinary life you love, and in this conversation we unpack pivotal career decisions, learn about cultivating confidence, resilience, and optimism in the field of veterinary medicine while fiercely advocating for self-care and vulnerability, the intricacies of balancing family life with multiple roles, and we get a peek into Tannetje’s social media career.  


Dr Tannetje Crocker is a speaker, social media personality and a practicing ER veterinarian for Veterinary Emergency Group in Dallas, TX, as well as the practice owner of Alta Vista Animal Hospital in Fort Worth, TX who finds her joy in supporting her fellow veterinary professionals, both virtually and in person, through her various endeavours.


Topic List:

10:28 Why Tannetje's content resonates with so many people.

11:37 Doing things that scare you often leads to good opportunities.

17:34 Is the grass sometimes a little greener on the other side?

24:04 Dr Crocker’s different hats.

27:40 Doing things out of love.

30:25 Learning to escape the tall poppy syndrome.

32:55 The fear associated with change.

34:56 Working in an Open Concept Veterinary Hospital.

37:10 Work life integration rather than work life balance.

42:45 What would Dr Crocker do if she wasn’t a vet?

44:53 Dr Crocker’s most popular social posts/podcasts.

50:04 Why does Dr Crocker keep her social presence positive?

52:50 Self care and vulnerability.

58:27 What would be the title of the movie of Tannetje’s life?


Tannetje's resources:

Podcast - Six Minutes

Podcast - Terrible Thanks For Asking

Podcast - The Derm Vet

Podcast - The Cone of Shame

Conference - Unchartered Veterinary Conference


Join our community of Vet Vault Nerds to lift your clinical game and get your groove back with our up-to-date, easy-to-consume clinical episodes at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠vvn.supercast.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

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Nov 08, 202301:05:26
#105: Work hard, play hard, be kind. (And think twice before you prescribe antibiotics!) With Dr Jane Heller.

#105: Work hard, play hard, be kind. (And think twice before you prescribe antibiotics!) With Dr Jane Heller.

Dr Jane Heller is the epitome of a mutlti-faceted vet career: she’s a Veterinary Epidemiologist with an interest is in infectious disease epidemiology, with particular reference to antimicrobial resistance and the potential for zoonotic transfer of pathogens between animals and humans. Her career has included a stint in private practice and at the University of Sydney, specialist training in Veterinary Epidemiology and Public Health through a PhD and a residency at the University of Glasgow, and a faculty position at Charles Sturt University as an Associate Professor in Veterinary Epidemiology and Public Health. In addition to her teaching, writing and research Jane also implemented a wellness program for the undergraduate veterinary students and has a deep interest in supporting student and veterinary mental health. Outside of her role at the university she is also the founder and director of Heller Consulting - her private consulting business where she gets to utilise her wide range of skills for the benefit of animals and humans. 


In this conversation we cover what a career as an epidemiologist could look like (not as boring as you might think!), and Jane tells us about the work of the AMR Vet Collective - a non-for profit that informs and educates around responsible antibiotic usage, including sharing resources to help you achieve better antimicrobial stewardship without making your work life harder or compromising outcomes for your patients. We discuss how to affect behaviour change, whether its around how vets use antibiotics, or getting vet students and veterinary teams to care about their wellbeing. Jane also shares openly about how her work in the student wellness space challenged her personally, and what she learned from those challenges. (Oh, and we unpack the deeper lessons from Ted Lasso, which we could do an entire podcast series on!)


Topic List:

10:00 Epidemiology is essential in healthcare.

14:50 Communication is always key.

21:34 Importance of antibiotic stewardship.

32:41 Awareness of responsible antibiotic use.

35:37 Change is difficult but necessary.

39:10 Changing antibiotic prescribing.

44:21 Behaviour change requires tailored messaging.

52:43 Supporting student wellness is crucial.

60:00 Facilitating and empowering employee engagement.

63:00 Prioritise work-life balance and fun.

70:09 Importance of promoting kindness in education.

74:24 Empathy fosters understanding and support.

79:30 Importance of setting boundaries.

84:30 Normalise seeking counselling and support.


Jane's resources:

Nagkoski twins burnout book

Antimicrobial sterwardship CPD


Join our community of Vet Vault Nerds to lift your clinical game and get your groove back with our up-to-date, easy-to-consume clinical episodes at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠vvn.supercast.com⁠⁠⁠⁠.

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Oct 31, 202301:35:22
#104: A Dedication To Difficult Dogs: How Getting Better At Behaviour Medicine Can Make You Happier. With Dr Dennis Wormald.

#104: A Dedication To Difficult Dogs: How Getting Better At Behaviour Medicine Can Make You Happier. With Dr Dennis Wormald.

Join us as we chat with the incredible Dr Dennis Wormald, and discover why he wants us to take another look at the word - difficult - when it comes to our patients.

Dennis is not your run-of-the-mill vet; he's a bona fide canine behaviour enthusiast and his fascination with understanding and addressing the quirks of our four-legged friends began long before he donned his vet hat. Back in the day, he was knee-deep in biomedical science with a major in neuroscience, and he even dabbled in the world of addiction neuroscience. As a general practice vet, Dennis found himself increasingly drawn to the world of behaviour, so fast forward to 2017, he earned himself a PhD in canine anxiety and he's also now proudly a member of the ANZCVS behaviour chapter. Since 2021, he's been focusing solely on behaviour referral practice, and Dennis didn't stop there. He's also the mastermind behind ABADog.com⁠—a platform he originally created to supercharge his own behaviour consultations. Think of it as your one-stop shop for gathering every essential nugget of behaviour history and turning it into a tailor-made action plan for each patient. In 2023, Dennis decided to add the title of "author" to his bio, with the release of "A Dedication to Difficult Dogs: A Heartwarming Tale Shedding Light on Canine Mental Health." In this podcast episode, we'll dive deep into the world of veterinary behaviour with Dennis and chat about what makes the field of behaviour science seem daunting to many, why some of us aren't quite experts (yet), and how boosting our knowledge and empathy can not only make us better vets, but also safer ones. Dennis also shares some game-changing strategies, tips, and tools up his sleeve that'll instantly up your game in your next behaviour consultation and transform your interactions with dogs across the board.

Topic list:

14:51 Anthropomorphizing can be beneficial. 15:01 Empathy is essential for animal welfare. 24:29 Mental health issues in dogs. 25:35 Emotionally driven behaviours are difficult to change. 30:23 Dogs chew and bark for relief. 35:21 Fear and anxiety drive aggression. 40:05 Prioritise patient welfare and comfort. 46:06 Understanding animal behaviour is a science. 50:20 Read multiple papers for consensus. 55:39 Customised behaviour mod and environmental mod. 61:30 Streamline behaviour consultations with ABAdog. 64:46 Improve by focusing on solutions. 68:00 Take care of your mental health.


ABAdog signup with 2 bonus coupons for Vet Vault listeners

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Connect with us through our online ⁠⁠⁠⁠Vet Vault Networ⁠k for episode highlights, clinical resources, discussions, questions and support.

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Oct 23, 202301:18:27
#103: 'The More You Tell People, The Less They’ll Remember': Learning To Teach. With Dr Toby Trimble

#103: 'The More You Tell People, The Less They’ll Remember': Learning To Teach. With Dr Toby Trimble

How much time have you committed over the course of your veterinary career to get better at teaching? I'm betting that for most of you, the answer is: not much. Why? Because we're not teachers, right? But maybe we need to think again. Most of us in the veterinary profession spend much of our working lives trying to transfer and translate information. Isn't that, in essence, teaching?

Dr Toby Trimble spends a most of his time coming up with better ways to teach. Toby is the founder of Trimble Group, a film production company reinventing education for animal health, making it less like PowerPoint and more like Netflix. He focuses on making education engaging, visual, and memorable. With his team, Toby has created over 800 CPD videos and live broadcasts in the UK, Europe, Asia and Australia. He's also a specialist in veterinary anaesthesia and analgesia and an Assistant Professor of Veterinary Anaesthesia at the University of Nottingham.

In this conversation, Toby delves into why we should — and how we could — all be better teachers and communicators. He reflects on the lessons dyslexia taught him about teaching and about our perceptions regarding our own limitations. He discusses why a lot of online teaching falls short and how it can be so much better, the concept of using marginal gains to secure an edge in exam prep and in life, and so much more. 


Topic list:

01:18 Better communication through visual storytelling. 09:46 Preparation and practice reduce anxiety. 10:41 Verbal fillers can detract from communication. 19:17 Overcoming dyslexia through personalised education. 24:07 Hard work leads to breakthroughs. 27:48 Engaging, visual, experiential learning. 35:49 Education online will shift. 41:48 AI can provide information, but understanding is the key. 48:24 Simulation enhances veterinary skills training. 53:58 Marginal gains improve exam preparation. 58:47 Small things make a huge difference. 65:19 Clarify your message for memorability.


Join our community of Vet Vault Nerds to lift your clinical game and get your groove back with our up-to-date, easy-to-consume clinical episodes at ⁠⁠⁠vvn.supercast.com.

V⁠⁠isit ⁠⁠⁠thevetvault.com⁠⁠⁠ for show notes and resources related to this episode.

Connect with us through our online ⁠⁠⁠Vet Vault Network for episode highlights, clinical resources, discussions, questions and support.

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Oct 06, 202301:08:21
#102: Resilience by Design: Mentors, Modelling, And Why Context is King. With Assoc. Prof. Sarah Guess.

#102: Resilience by Design: Mentors, Modelling, And Why Context is King. With Assoc. Prof. Sarah Guess.

How do we make 'resilience' more than just another buzzword and resilience training not just a box to tick for the HR department?

Assoc. Prof. Sarah Guess is a specialist in Small Animal Internal Medicine and Associate Professor at Washington State University where she teaches internal medicine. Outside of her clinical work her interests and research are in educational psychology, resilience and wellbeing, and elements of clinical supervision and resident training. Sarah has presented her research on resilience at the national level and is known for her mixed-methods approach to research, and she was the recipient of the 2021 Zoetis Distinguished Teacher Award and the 2020 Wescott Award for clinical teaching.

In this episode she shares what she is learning and teaching around fostering resilience in a way that does not just rely on shifting the responsibility onto the individual to 'be more resilient', but rather focuses on the context that our resilience will challenged in. We talk collaborative relationships, workplace culture, model behaviour and we detour into the things that can improve personal resilience.

This one is essential listening in particular for anyone who is in a leadership, support, mentoring or teaching role.


Topic list:

12:08 Importance of non-punitive error culture.

16:25 Mistakes are expected and respected.

23:49 Resilience in education psychology.

26:33 Focus on faculty well-being first.

33:01 Importance of collaborative mentorship.

39:39 Resilience - it's trained, learned and necessary.

49:59 Embrace growth from negative experiences.

53:20 Exercise is an incredible tool.

56:10 Personal resources that foster resilience.

70:48 Keep showing up, even when it's hard.


Join our community of Vet Vault Nerds to lift your clinical game and get your groove back with our up to date easy-to-consume clinical episodes at ⁠⁠⁠vvn.supercast.com, ⁠⁠⁠visit ⁠⁠⁠thevetvault.com⁠⁠⁠ for the show notes and resources for this episode, and connect with us through our online ⁠⁠⁠Vet Vault Network.⁠⁠⁠ for episode highlights, discussions, questions and support.

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The Drive Podcast with Peter Attia.

Funny Cuz It's True Podcast with Elise Myers.

Sep 27, 202301:24:34
#101: The Antidote To Fear-Based Practice. With Dr Warwick Vale

#101: The Antidote To Fear-Based Practice. With Dr Warwick Vale

Here's a little nugget of wisdom for you: 'Do what you can with what you have where you are.' I stumbled upon it a while back, and it's like a bite-sized version of stoic philosophy. It's a solid life motto, especially in the world of veterinary work, and it neatly sums up what you're about to hear.

Meet Dr Warwick Vale – a name you've probably heard in the Aussie veterinary scene. He's not just the ex-President of the Australian Veterinary Association; he's also a rockstar in equine medicine, a business-savvy company director, and a go-to consultant in the veterinary world. Oh, and did I mention he's a total jack-of-all-trades when it comes to hobbies? Dr Warwick played a key role in kickstarting the AVA's Thrive program, a fantastic initiative focused on keeping vet pros in tip-top shape with industry guidelines. But let me spill the beans on why we're talking to him today. It all started with a listener who said, 'You gotta talk to Warwick.' I don't take those recommendations lightly. The reason isn't the thousands of animals he's helped or the boards he's served on; it's the deep impact he's had on one incredibly grateful person. Just one.

Join us in this conversation as Warwick tells us how to live and practice veterinary medicine with heart and camaraderie, smashing through the fear barriers around our comfort zones. We chat about everything from overthinking to embracing your quirks for a happier career, and how trust and connection can be the cure for fear-based practice.


Topic list:

03:14 The art of rolling with the punches.

07:34 What's so different about veterinary medicine now?

14:21 A day in the life of Warwick's Vale.

16:48 The importance of customer service in a veterinary clinic.

26:01 Stopping to smell the roses.

31:27 Warwick's impact on mental health in the vet industry.

36:36 Prevent, promote, protect and workplace culture.

46:44 The responsibility as a vet: impacting others on an individual and industry level.

55:57 Walk the journey with others.

60:17 Choosing love over fear.

62:19 Is part-time vetting the new normal?

63:55 Warwick's favourite podcasts.

66:02 Warwick's one piece of advice for new grads.


Join our community of Vet Vault Nerds to lift your clinical game and get your groove back with our up to date easy-to-consume clinical episodes at ⁠⁠vvn.supercast.com, ⁠⁠visit ⁠⁠thevetvault.com⁠⁠ for the show notes and resources for this episode, and connect with us through our online ⁠⁠Vet Vault Network.⁠⁠ for episode highlights, discussions, questions and support.

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter ⁠⁠here⁠⁠.

Come help us create some live clinical content at ⁠⁠⁠IVECSS '23⁠⁠⁠ in Denver, Colorado from 7-11 September.

Get up and running (or working!) with a 10% discount for ⁠⁠Tarkine⁠⁠ shoes, the official shoe of the Vet Vault. (discount automatically applied at checkout using this link).

Sep 06, 202301:10:40
#100: Feline Upper Respiratory Disease: Fundamentals, Pro Tips and a Review of What's New. With Dr Kath Briscoe and Dr Megan Braunstein.

#100: Feline Upper Respiratory Disease: Fundamentals, Pro Tips and a Review of What's New. With Dr Kath Briscoe and Dr Megan Braunstein.

I don’t know about you, but one of my least favourite things to see on my consult list is a cat with a snotty nose. The idea that my patient’s problem can be anything from a self-limiting mild disease to a serious and frustrating impossible-to-treat condition, and the decision-making around this, fills me with uncertainty and dread. This episode aims to replace that uncertainty with confidence, or at least a solid plan based on sound knowledge!

Dr Kath Briscoe is a Specialist in Feline Medicine who has worked in academic and specialist referral centres and as a referral clinician in a GP setting, and her experience gives her a great insight into the frontline work that we deal with in a non-referral setting. Dr Megan Braunstein is a practice owner and practicing clinician with a Masters in Small Animal Medicine and Surgery and many years of experience. Her practice in Perth, Western Australia, submitted the most feline respiratory PCR panels of any practice on Australia last year, and she helps us unpack what they’re learning about these tests.

Between them, they’ll refresh your foundational knowledge about infectious causes of feline upper respiratory disease and help with decision-making around diagnostics and treatment. We delve into what’s new in the world of diagnostics with a review of feline respiratory disease PCR panels, including learning what it’s great for, when to use it, and how to do it.

This episode is supported by our friends at the SVS Pathology Network, which our Australian listeners will know better as Vetnostics, QML Vetnostics, ASAP Laboratory and Vetpath Laboratory Services. The SVS  Pathology Network provides a wide range of infectious disease PCR tests, including a comprehensive panel for feline respiratory pathogens. Their PCR panels are designed for detecting Australian pathogens, and they have recently introduced additional pathogens on several of their PCR panels. Our guests provide a detailed guide on how to take samples for PCR in this conversation, but your state-based SVS Pathology Network laboratory customer care team are always happy to answer any questions.


Topic list:

1. Feline upper respiratory diagnostics: who needs what? [00:00:00-00:05:00]

2. Discussion of different types of feline upper respiratory diseases [00:05:00-00:06:00]

3. Importance of husbandry and stress management in preventing feline upper respiratory diseases [00:16:00-00:31:00]

4. Hygiene practices for cat households and catteries [00:31:00-00:33:00]

5. Overview of infectious causes of feline upper respiratory diseases [00:02:00-00:08:00]

6. Discussion of feline herpesvirus and its symptoms [00:08:00-00:12:00]

7. Discussion of feline calicivirus and its symptoms [00:12:00-00:14:00]

8. Discussion of other infectious causes of feline upper respiratory diseases [00:14:00-00:16:00]

9. Vaccines for preventing feline upper respiratory diseases [00:16:00-00:18:00]

10. Overview of diagnostic tests for feline upper respiratory diseases [00:18:00-00:20:00]

11. Discussion of PCR panels and their usefulness in diagnosing feline upper respiratory diseases [00:20:00-00:22:00]

12. Discussion of treatment options for feline upper respiratory diseases [1, 00:24:00-00:28:00]


Join our community of Vet Vault Nerds to lift your clinical game and get your groove back with our up to date easy-to-consume clinical episodes at ⁠vvn.supercast.com, ⁠visit ⁠thevetvault.com⁠ for the show notes and resources for this episode, and connect with us through our online ⁠Vet Vault Network.⁠ for episode highlights, discussions, questions and support.

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter ⁠here⁠.

Come help us create some live clinical content at ⁠⁠IVECSS '23⁠⁠ in Denver, Colorado from 7-11 September.

Get up and running (or working!) with a 10% discount for ⁠Tarkine⁠ shoes, the official shoe of the Vet Vault. (discount automatically applied at checkout using this link).

Aug 30, 202355:01
#99: Betterinary. With Dr Heidi Hulon.

#99: Betterinary. With Dr Heidi Hulon.

Confession: sometimes I get tired of wellness discussions, with the constant barrage of advice on resilience and burnout prevention. Not because it's not important, but because it often feels like these conversations boil down to "here are ways how you should be better so that you can better cope with this challenging career." Which is why I loved this conversation with Dr Heidi Hulon, which isn't so much about adapting to challenging circumstances, but rather about revolutionising the whole veterinary experience.

Dr Heidi Hulon has been involved in multiple roles across the profession, from practising clinician, practice owner and industry roles, vet boards leadership roles and even a board member at the Louisville Zoo. She currently serves as a Wellbeing Consulting Veterinarian at Elanco Animal Health. We were introduced to Dr Heidi by our friends at Elanco Australia, who are hosting a series of live, in-person sessions with Dr Heidi called "The Betterinary Series", and in this episode we unpack some of the topics from this series with Heidi, like why culture is key to resilience and how you can use neuroplasticity to reduce negativity bias and experience the positives.

Register here to secure your free spot at the one of the Australian sessions of the Betterinary Series. September 4 in Sydney, 5th in Melbourne, Adelaide on the 6th, Perth on the 7th and Brisbane on the 8th of September.


Topic List:

09:30 Taking care of your wellness before it's obvious that you need to.

14:30 Rekindling your why.

22:17 The stumbling blocks to creating a thrive instead of survive environment.

31:00 The connection between culture and spotting more yellow cars.

35:44 Positivity and it's impact on neuroplasticity.

43:38 Practical ways to put neuroplasticity into practice.

52:27 Details about the Betterinary Series.

53:42 What is right with veterinary medicine?

54:56 What is one change Dr Heidi would make to veterinary medicine?

57:31 Dr Heidi's favourite books.

60:58 Dr Heidi's advice to new grads.


Join our community of Vet Vault Nerds to lift your clinical game and get your groove back with our up to date easy-to-consume clinical episodes at ⁠vvn.supercast.com, ⁠visit ⁠thevetvault.com⁠ for the show notes and resources for this episode, and connect with us through our online ⁠Vet Vault Network.⁠ for episode highlights, discussions, questions and support.

Come help us create some live clinical content at ⁠⁠IVECSS '23⁠⁠ in Denver, Colorado from 7-11 September.

Get up and running (or working!) with a 10% discount for ⁠Tarkine⁠ shoes, the official shoe of the Vet Vault. (discount automatically applied at checkout using this link).

The Betterinary Series.

Podcast: ⁠Revisionist History⁠ by Malcolm Gladwell.

Book: Lessons In Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus.

Book: West With Giraffes by Lynda Rutledge.

Aug 25, 202301:06:40
#98: Spirocerca Lupi: Unmasking The New Hidden Challenge for Australian Vets. With Professor Peter Irwin and Dr Gillian Tenni.

#98: Spirocerca Lupi: Unmasking The New Hidden Challenge for Australian Vets. With Professor Peter Irwin and Dr Gillian Tenni.

Vets of Australia, meet Spirocerca lupi, a parasite that's been flying under the radar for a while now in Northwest Queensland. But as you'll learn in this episode, is well worth adding to your DD list. To make the introductions we're joined by Professor Peter Irwin, an Emeritus Professor from Murdoch University with a career that spans several continents and almost four-decades. He's a registered specialist in canine medicine with a particular passion and extensive knowledge on anything and everything vector-borne disease.

Our second guest is Dr Gillian Tenni, a passionate GP vet and practice owner from Mount Isa, Australia. Dr Gillian holds an Honours in Parasitology and has a knack for spotting unusual infections in her patients, and with a track record of more than 300 diagnosed cases of Spirocerca lupi, she's our 'boots on the ground'. She's also teamed up with the University of Queensland for a research project on Spirocerca lupi.

Join us for the full Spirocerca story, from what it is (creepy), how it spreads (gross), what it does to our patients (scary!), what to look out for, diagnosis, some tips on treatment, and of course, prevention. Prof. Irwin's wisdom and Dr Tenni's hands-on stories provide us with some real insight on the fascinating parasite and the condition in causes.

This episode is supported by Elanco Australia. You can learn more about their range of products at elanco.com.au.


Topic list:

03:22 Spirocerca Lupi... yes, it's a thing in Australia.

06:52 How does Spirocerca Lupi spread?

09:41 What's the life cycle of the disease in a dog?

12:52 The clinical signs of a Spirocerca infected patient.

19:51 Dung beetles and where Spirocerca is most common in Australia.

22:14 More on the presentation of Spirocerca and the challenges of diagnosis.

34:20 Treatment.

38:10 Add-ons to the typical treatment plan.

41:08 Cross-reactivity in heartworm antigen tests of Spirocerca.


Join our community of Vet Vault Nerds to lift your clinical game and get your groove back with our up to date easy-to-consume clinical episodes at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠vvn.supercast.com. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Visit ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠thevetvault.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ for the show notes and resources for this episode, and connect with us through our online ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Vet Vault Network ⁠for episode highlights, discussions, questions and support.

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Aug 09, 202346:16
#97: The Compassion Conundrum: Is Empathy to Blame for Our Emotional Burnout, and Adjusting Your Experience Through Neuroplasticity. With Dr Olga Klimecki.

#97: The Compassion Conundrum: Is Empathy to Blame for Our Emotional Burnout, and Adjusting Your Experience Through Neuroplasticity. With Dr Olga Klimecki.

Join us as we explore the concept of compassion fatigue from a fresh perspective. We take a closer look at the underlying mechanisms behind the terms commonly used when we talk about sustainable careers. While empathy and compassion are often used interchangeably, they are actually distinct concepts, and it's not just a matter of semantics - it’s a matter of neurology, which has practical implications for you, your career, and your happiness. 

Dr Olga Klimecki is a neuroscientist, psychologist, and certified mindfulness and meditation teacher. She holds a PhD from the University of Zurich in Switzerland and is currently a lecturer and senior researcher at the Friedrich Schiller University of Jena in Germany. Her research focuses on advancing sustainable development goals related to peacebuilding, conflict resolution, socio-emotional education, and overall well-being. With over 70 publications to her name, Dr Klimecki's work on neural plasticity and conflict resolution has earned her prestigious international awards, grants, and fellowships. Additionally, she runs her own consulting, training, and research company to implement evidence-based strategies in various organisations, start-ups, and companies.

During this conversation, we explore the nuances of empathy and compassion, highlighting their differences and learning why empathy can sometimes have negative consequences, and the term "compassion fatigue" might be a misnomer. We also learn how we can practically apply of this knowledge, explaining how you can rewire your brain to experience the hard things we sometimes need to do as positive experiences, rather than something painful and draining. 


Topic list:

6:02 Empathy and compassion. Are they the same thing?

13:52 The connection between empathy and prosocial behaviour.

17:39 Can we really change the way we empathise with others?

20:59 fMRI results from training compassionate and empathetic responses.

27:17 If compassion is good, then where does the term compassion fatigue come from?

29:13 Why empathy first, compassion next?

30:36 It’s not the compassion causing your fatigue... you are just fatigued.

32:16 How do we train compassion? Olga’s tips to train your brain.

39:03 The hardest part of meditation training.

41:39 Put out the welcome mat and notice your judgements.

44:34 Between a stimulus and a response, there is always a space.

47:03 Reflex responses and training ourselves out of them.


Join our community of Vet Vault Nerds to lift your clinical game and get your groove back with our up to date easy-to-consume clinical episodes at ⁠⁠⁠⁠vvn.supercast.com. ⁠⁠⁠⁠

Visit ⁠⁠⁠⁠thevetvault.com⁠⁠⁠⁠ for the show notes and resources for this episode, and connect with us through our online ⁠⁠⁠⁠Vet Vault Network for episode highlights, discussions, questions and support.

Join us at ⁠⁠⁠⁠Vets on Tour in Wanaka, New Zealand⁠⁠⁠⁠ on 13 - 18 August 2023 for great CE, live podcasting and snow... lots of snow!

Come help us create some live clinical content at ⁠IVECSS '23⁠ in Denver, Colorado from 7-11 September.

Get up and running (or working!) with a 10% discount for Tarkine shoes, the official shoe of the Vet Vault. (discount automatically applied at checkout using this link).

Olga's Research Article - Empathy and Compassion

Jul 21, 202352:41
#96: The Day You Didn't Die. With Dr Doug Mader

#96: The Day You Didn't Die. With Dr Doug Mader

Dr Doug Mader is a triple board-certified veterinary specialist and has been a veterinarian for nearly four decades. He is an internationally recognized speaker, has written three best-selling medical textbooks, and numerous scientific publications. He has had long-standing columns in multiple media outlets, and he is the recipient of the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Conservation Award, the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine Alumni Achievement Award, and the Fred L. Frye Lifetime Achievement Award for Veterinary Medicine. He's a seven-time winner of the North American Veterinary Community Speaker of the Year award and a four-time winner of the Western Veterinary Conference Educator of the Year award. He is also a fellow of the Royal Society of Medicine in the United Kingdom and is Human Animal Bond Certified. He co-founded and ran highly successful practice in California for many years, then did it again in the Florida Keys, and can now add author to his list of achievements with the release of his recent book ⁠The Vet At Noah's Ark⁠. Step aside James Herriot - the man has a few stories and more than just a few bits of wisdom to share. 


In this episode, we discuss both planned and unplanned career changes, trauma (the big T and the small-t kinds), working as an exotics vet, creating your own luck, and following your own star. Dr Doug discusses the human-animal animal bond, specifically how to effectively deal with the 'human' part of that relationship, lessons he learned from years of building the best practice in the worst neighbourhood, what it was like to treat Michael Jackson's pets, and much more.


Topic list:

04:37 Dr Doug's triple board certifications.

13:04 The day Dr Doug didn't die, and how this lead to a career in exotic animals.

21:55 From exotic residency to buying a smallies clinic.

29:55 The role of the human-animal bond and money's place in it.

35:38 Dealing with the human aspect of the human-animal bond.

42:20 Dr Doug's experience treating celebrity pets.

43:53 More of Dr Doug's story and his book - The Vet At Noah's Ark.

46:47 Big traumas vs small traumas - the preparation for the hurricanes in life (literally and metaphoric!)

52:45 Why Dr Doug doesn't celebrate his birthday anymore.

55:04 Getting back up after you've been knocked down.

56:22 Dr Doug's next chapter - more books to come!

60:17 What advice does 85-year-old Doug give current Doug?

62:37 Dr Doug's favourite podcasts.

63:54 Dr Doug's piece of advice to new grads - a lesson on balance.


Join our community of Vet Vault Nerds to lift your clinical game and get your groove back with our up to date easy-to-consume clinical episodes at ⁠⁠⁠vvn.supercast.com, ⁠⁠⁠visit ⁠⁠⁠thevetvault.com⁠⁠⁠ for the show notes and resources for this episode, and connect with us through our online ⁠⁠⁠Vet Vault Network.⁠⁠ for episode highlights, discussions, questions and support.

Join us at ⁠⁠⁠Vets on Tour in Wanaka, New Zealand⁠⁠⁠ on 13 - 18 August 2023 for great CE, live podcasting and snow... lots of snow!

Come help us create some live clinical content at IVECSS '23 in Denver, Colorado from 7-11 September.

Dr Doug's website.

Dr Doug's book: The Vet At Noah's Ark.

Dr Doug's Instagram.

Jul 09, 202301:09:60
#95: The True Value Of Your Time: Side Hustles, Investing, Mindfulness and Empathy for Vets and Entrepreneurs. With Dr Mike Bugg.

#95: The True Value Of Your Time: Side Hustles, Investing, Mindfulness and Empathy for Vets and Entrepreneurs. With Dr Mike Bugg.

Introducing Dr Mike Bugg. Mike graduated from veterinary school in 2008 and started his career as a mixed animal veterinarian. However, he soon realised the importance of having multiple sources of income and saw other veterinarians struggle with retirement. With a passion for personal finance and investing, Mike started investing in real estate in 2012 with the goal of making veterinary work optional. He and his wife continued to build their real estate portfolio while working, eventually allowing Mike to reduce his veterinary hours, and in 2018, Mike stopped working as a clinical vet altogether. During his final years of practice, Mike felt overwhelmed and unhappy, which led him to explore personal development and seek a more fulfilling life. He discovered that many other veterinarians were experiencing the same struggles, which inspired him to create his podcast, The Veterinary Project. Dr Mike had a vision of a community of veterinarians who would share their experiences and collaborate to overcome the difficulties in the profession.

On this episode of The Vet Vault, Dr Mike joins us to discuss the true value of time for veterinarians and we cover topics such as mindfulness, investing and empathy. Mike shares his personal journey in veterinary medicine and real estate investing, including how he developed The Veterinary Project to support the industry. We delve into the financial challenges facing the veterinary industry and Mike offers practical advice on how to change your money mindset to focus on abundance instead of scarcity. Tune in to gain some insightful and different perspectives on personal development, investing, money and more!


Topic list:

05:35 When and why should you change the "do it yourself" mentality?

13:29 Why Mike openly talks about the "dirty" word, money.

15:47 Mike's career journey - from farm to veterinarian to entrepreneur.

25:56 The all too common money mindset in the vet profession.

34:09 Why being aware of your money mindset and having positive money conversations is so important.

35:43 Valuing yourself, growing your skills and being confident in your abilities.

37:00 Your time: everything is a trade-off.

43:38 More than just a vet - Mike's story.

46:57 How Mike became a real estate investor.

51:41 Mike's take on investing.

56:50 Mike's book - You're Gonna Get Peed On!

64:04 The truth about being a vet.

67:55 The emotional relationship between work and money.

70:50 Mike's view on "empathy exhaustion" rather than compassion fatigue.

78:31 Dr Mike's deep dives on mindfulness and more.

82:54 How would Mike's career look different if he had to restart it knowing what he does now?

89:14 Mike's one piece of advice - get intentional about what you truly want from your life.


Join our community of Vet Vault Nerds to lift your clinical game and get your groove back with our up to date easy-to-consume clinical episodes at ⁠⁠vvn.supercast.com, ⁠⁠visit ⁠⁠thevetvault.com⁠⁠ for the show notes and resources for this episode, and connect with us through our online ⁠⁠Vet Vault Network.⁠⁠ for episode highlights, discussions, questions and support.

Join us at ⁠⁠Vets on Tour in Wanaka, New Zealand⁠⁠ on 13 - 18 August 2023 for great CE, live podcasting and snow... lots of snow!

Dr Mike's Podcast - The Veterinary Project

Dr Mike's Book - You're Gonna Get Peed On!: How Veterinarians Can Keep Their Dream Job from Becoming a Nightmare While Working Less and Earning More

Jun 24, 202301:30:48
#94: Beyond the disease: The Emerging Field of Veterinary Palliative and Hospice Care. With Dr Shea Cox.

#94: Beyond the disease: The Emerging Field of Veterinary Palliative and Hospice Care. With Dr Shea Cox.

Dr Shea Cox is a global leader and subject matter expert in veterinary hospice and palliative care. She’s certified as a Pain Practitioner, a Hospice & Palliative Care Veterinarian and a Pet Loss Professional. With a focus on technology, innovation and education, her efforts are changing the end-of-life landscape in veterinary medicine. In addition to launching the first hospice and palliative care service integrated within a specialty hospital setting in 2012, she was also the first to launch a nationwide Telehealth platform dedicated to quality of life and end of life support in 2017.  In 2020, PetHospice was acquired by BluePearl Specialty + Emergency Pet Hospitals, and Shea and her team are leading the expansion of specialty-level, in-home pain management, hospice and palliative care and end-of-life services across the US.  Shea believes palliative care for pets should become more common and less scary for us GP vets, and after listing to this I’m sure that you’ll  agree!

In this episode, Dr Shea introduces us to the concept of hospice and palliative care to improve the quality of life for pets with both curative and non-curative conditions. We untangle some common misconceptions regarding these care options and emphasise the importance of advocating for both the pet and the client during the end stages of a pet's life. Dr Shea talks us through her career journey from starving art student to palliative care vet, highlighting the significance and satisfaction of providing quality care during a pet's final stages of life. Tune in and learn about resources and tools for end-of-life care management, such as quality of life scales, the importance of personalised goals, as well as the growing industry of in-home euthanasia and hospice practices and how you can integrate it into your work or clinic.


Topic list:

07:48 From art school to vet school: Dr Shea's journey.

10:29 Palliative care vs hospice care - what's the difference?

14:22 Dr Shea's view on palliative care and how it can be both curative and non-curative.

22:20 Why Dr Shea moved from emergency to palliative care and the difference palliation can make to a patient's quality of life.

29:59 Are most vets too quick to euthanise?

35:26 The different attitudes towards euthanasia and convincing owners that they don't always need to euthanise immediately.

39:50 The importance of goal setting with owners - what do they want for their pet? How can they recognise pain at home?

46:55 Why should more vets look into palliative care and what is it like working predominately in the end-of-life space?

52:01 How do we make palliative care more practical to roll out in clinics? Hint - utilise your amazing nurses!

54:21 The benefits of telehealth palliative care, for clinics, owners and patients.


Join our community of Vet Vault Nerds to lift your clinical game and get your groove back with our up to date easy-to-consume clinical episodes at ⁠vvn.supercast.com, ⁠visit ⁠thevetvault.com⁠ for the show notes and resources for this episode, and connect with us through our online ⁠Vet Vault Network.⁠ for episode highlights, discussions, questions and support.

Join us with Dr Shea Cox at ⁠Vets on Tour in Wanaka, New Zealand⁠ on 13 - 18 August 2023 for great CE, live podcasting and snow... lots of snow!


Jun 12, 202301:08:09
#93: Reasonable residencies, success through self-knowledge, and filling buckets. With Dr Anna Dengate.

#93: Reasonable residencies, success through self-knowledge, and filling buckets. With Dr Anna Dengate.

Have you ever considered, or are considering specialising, but you are put off by the journey of becoming a specialist? Usually the path to specialising means putting almost everything else aside for 3-5 years. But what if there was a different way?

Dr Anna Dengate is a medicine specialist, and she's convinced that there could be an alternative path, and in this conversation she helps us to explore what that could look like. Anna's own career journey hasn't quite followed the the norm. After graduating from Sydney Uni in 2008 her path has meandered its way through several roles: intern, wife, resident, PhD candidate, GP vet, Member of ANZCVS, mum of 1, founding partner in a specialist hospital, Fellow of the ANZCVS, mum of 2, and resident supervisor. Most recently, Anna has been providing specialist medical and ultrasound services to GPs through her business The Vet's North. She also provides ongoing learning opportunities to wider groups of vets with teaching in ultrasound & online medical rounds, and has a new social impact project under development & is working on ways to integrate people with disabilities & traumatic backgrounds into the animal-care industry to increase diversity & inclusion.

Join in for a conversation around what more inclusive residencies could look like, how Anna made it happen for herself, the importance of getting to know yourself for creating a career pathway that fills your bucket, finding the balance between pushing yourself enough for growth without reaching breaking point, and much much more.

Topic list:

03:37 The relative rarity of female veterinary specialists with children.

04:16 Anna's journey through qualification, specialisation & having kids.

08:09 Having a newborn while studying.

11:59 Being prepared to fail.

13:38 Are institutions more supportive for part-time residencies now?

14:30 The barrier to specialising: to be a specialist or have a family?

15:05 Is specialising worth it?

16:31 More on barriers - from vet to specialist, the system is set up wrong.

18:18 Why can't we do it part-time?

20:18 The culture in specialist clinics that does not prioritise balance.

24:42 Givers, Takers & Matchers - who is the most successful?

25:56 The difference between successful vs unsuccessful Givers.

26:44 Can we change the profession & it's lack of boundaries, or is it up to us to know ourselves & our limits?

29:04 Coasting vs striving.

33:10 The benefits of making mistakes & getting to know yourself.

37:17 Negativity bias & how it affects the resilience in the vet industry.

48:37 Focussing on the positives & building resilience.

50:54 How empathy plays a role in resilience.

51:22 Empathy vs compassion - is empathy a bad thing?

53:47 Compassion fatigue vs burnout.

59:50 The connection between teaching & bureaucracy.

62:30 What's Anna excited about in the vet world?

67:49 Anna's education programs.

71:56 Anna's favourite podcasts.

73:28 How would Anna's career look different if she knew the things she knows now?

74:52 Anna's advice for new grads.


Join our Vet Vault Nerds to lift your clinical game & get your groove back with our up to date easy-to-consume clinical episodes at vvn.supercast.com. 

Visit thevetvault.com for show notes & resources for this episode.

Connect with us and other listeners through our Vet Vault Network community for episode highlights, chats, questions & support.

Join LIVE in Adelaide on 31st May - RSVP here. Can't make it to Adelaide? Come join online here

Artificial intelligence in vet industry LIVE June 1st, join us here

Join us at Vets on Tour in Wanaka on 13 - 18 August 2023

Anna's Business - The Vet's North

May 26, 202301:20:31
 #92: Cushing's: Diagnose like a pro, and treat it like you mean it. With Dr Sue Foster.

#92: Cushing's: Diagnose like a pro, and treat it like you mean it. With Dr Sue Foster.

Who feels like Cushing's is a nice disease to diagnose and manage? Like, how often do you feel like your hyperadrenocorticism patients are really doing REALLY well? My guess is: not that often. This episode will change that.

Dr Sue Foster is a registered specialist in Feline Medicine and Senior Lecturer in Small Animal Medicine at Murdoch University in Western Australia. She’s also a medical consultant for Vetnostics and ASAP Laboratory, where a large part of her role is interpreting cortisol test results and supporting veterinarians in their clinical decision-making. In this conversation, Dr Sue challenges the belief that Cushing's is to some degree a 'lifestyle' disease that doesn't always need to be treated, we discuss the subtle ways that it can present, and of course we take a deep dive into those slippery cortisol tests, which should feel a lot less slippery after this episode. Dr Sue also presents a paradigm shift in how we think about treating these cases.


Topics:

0:00 Understanding the cortisol lab tests. 

4:40 ACTH stim vs LDDT - which is better? 

10:28 The TRUE significance of ALP in diagnosing Cushing’s.

13:30 Fasting triglycerides - your friend in Cushing’s screening? 

16:26 Deciding when to test for Cushings .

18:27 More on triglycerides and lipaemia 

23:52 Why Cushing’s cases don’t all have to have pu/pd. 

26:04 The many different faces of Cushing’s - spotting the sneaky hyperA case .

29:42 Why we should consider treating Cushing’s even if they aren’t textbook cases. 

31:41 Cushing’s and anxiety.

35:40 The dog with the high ALP but no clinical signs of Cushing’s.

39:44 Treatment trials for the ‘undiagnosable’ Cushing’s case.

45:13 Monitoring Cushing’s therapy with ACTH stim testing. 

52:30 The quick and easy ACTH stim test. 

56:20 Treating Cushing’s like a pro. 


This episode is supported by the SVS Pathology Network.

QML/TML Vetnostics (QLD & Tas): 1300 838 765 vetnostics@qml.com.au

Vetnostics (NSW & ACT): 02 9006 7468 enquiries@vetnostics.com.au

ASAP Laboratory (VIC): 1300 838 522 admin@asaplab.com.au

Vetpath (WA): 08 9317 0777 admin@vetpath.com.au


Join our community of Vet Vault Nerds to lift your clinical game and get your groove back with our up to date easy-to-consume clinical episodes at vvn.supercast.com, visit thevetvault.com for the show notes and resources for this episode, and connect with us through our online Vet Vault Network. for episode highlights, discussions, questions and support.

Join us at Vets on Tour in Wanaka, New Zealand on 13 - 18 August 2023 for great CE, live podcasting and snow... lots of snow!

May 09, 202301:13:43
#91: Human savvy: Navigating relationships with colleagues, work and ourselves. With Dr Olivia Oginska.

#91: Human savvy: Navigating relationships with colleagues, work and ourselves. With Dr Olivia Oginska.

Our guest for this episode - Dr Olivia Oginska, has made it her mission to help us have better relationships, both in and outside of work.

Olivia Oginska is a veterinarian, speaker, positive psychology coach, a certified workplace conflict mediator and an emotional intelligence specialist. Liv has been immersed in the global veterinary community since 2010 when she did multiple externships in the UK, North America and Australia. It was through Liv's veterinary career in the UK, including a surgery residency, that she also gained experience and credentials in positive psychology, emotional intelligence and conflict mediation. This cemented her passion for human wellbeing and interpersonal dynamics and for the last 3 years, Liv has devoted her veterinary career to supporting both individuals, teams and especially leaders in becoming more human-savvy through her consulting and coaching service.

This conversation with Liv is all about navigating work relationships and our relationships with ourselves - we explore what a healthy work relationship looks like. We explore the connection between burnout and the reliance on work to provide not only our professional and financial needs, but also our relationship needs, and we discuss a new way of thinking about balance, what self awareness and emotional intelligence looks like in practice, and much much more.


Topic List:

6:54 Relationships and connections at work - taking care of them.

10:11 Private life and professionalism.

11:00 On the floor relationships and friendships - do people want to be friends with colleagues anymore?

14:36 The connection between burnout and the reliance on work to provide money, growth, community etc.

17:43 The truth about work-life-balance.

23:19 Setting expectations with your partner or friends.

27:59 How to navigate conflict with colleagues.

35:31 Open conversations and leaning into 'conflict'.

38:47 Importance of self-awareness during conflict and how to view things from a different perspective.

48:00 Why do we feel the need to be right and prove ourselves?

49:35 Why we should change our minds and listen to other opinions?

54:49 How Olivia started her career and why she ended up in emotional intelligence coaching.

60:03 Hitting rock bottom and triggering a change in life.

60:09 What does a good team dynamic look like in terms of emotional closeness?

60:10 The importance of aligning values and boundaries.

60:19 Working through imposter syndrome.


Join our community of Vet Vault Nerds to lift your clinical game and get your groove back with our up to date easy-to-consume clinical episodes at vvn.supercast.com, visit thevetvault.com for the show notes and resources for this episode, and connect with us through our online Vet Vault Network. for episode highlights, discussions, questions and support.

Join us in at Vets on Tour in Wanaka, New Zealand on 13 - 18 August 2023 for great CE, live podcasting and snow... lots of snow!

Dr Liv's Consulting Business - Vet Gone Real

Apr 28, 202301:35:27
#90: The life changing effect of valuing yourself and your services, and how to get better at it. With Dr Olivia James.

#90: The life changing effect of valuing yourself and your services, and how to get better at it. With Dr Olivia James.

Many of us struggle with attaching a dollars-and-cents value to this ‘fixing animals’ thing that we do for a living. We tell ourselves stories about how our work is a labor of love, about ethics and about the noble nature of our profession, and we underestimate the value of our skills and knowledge. But stories can become limiting beliefs that hold us back from realizing our full potential as veterinary professionals and as thriving humans, which all-too-often ends up with this story that Dr Olivia James hears over and over in her coaching work: "I’m overworked, I’m poor, and I’m lonely."

Dr Olivia James is an equine dentistry specialist, former practice owner, founder and director of the educational platforms The Veterinary Dental Company and The Equine Practice Company and mentor and teacher though the business masterminds and coaching groups she hosts for equine practice owners, and in this episode she helps change our stories and beliefs around valuing our services. Olivia also provides practical strategies for reviewing what you charge in your business. Ultimately, this is a conversation about avoiding 'overworked, poor, and lonely.'

Topic list:


2:50 What has Olivia been up to since our last conversation.

7:20 Happy/ Thrive /Flourish: What are we actually aiming for?

9:20 Loneliness in practice.

14:40 How Olivia learnt how to charge.

19:50 Life changes that can happen when your business works better.

26:10 Why it sometimes makes more sense to invest money in the stock market than in buying a practice.

29:10 The mental blocks that make it hard for us to charge appropriately .

30:40 When clients accuse us of 'just being in it for the money.

34:30 Getting the team on board with price changes in your business.

36:50 The three ways of setting your charges.

42:10 The things we commonly fail to account for in working out cost of service.

44:30 The ethics of what we charge.

47:40 How to decide which prices to adjust.

50:30 Tying business to what matter most.

56:00 Olivia's book choices.

59:00 Olivia's answer to the one question.


Join our community of Vet Vault Nerds to lift your clinical game and get your groove back with our up to date easy-to-consume clinical episodes at vvn.supercast.com.

Visit thevetvault.com for the show notes and resources for this episode.

Join us in at Vets on Tour in Wanaka, New Zealand on 13 - 18 August 2023 for great CE, live podcasting and snow... lots of snow!




Apr 09, 202301:04:34
#89: Live recording: The jaundiced cat, and rethinking liver diagnostics. With Prof Jill Maddison.

#89: Live recording: The jaundiced cat, and rethinking liver diagnostics. With Prof Jill Maddison.

This episode from our clinical series is brought to you by Elanco, makers of the broadest range of parasiticides including Advocate, Milbemax, Seresto and Credelio Plus.


"The question about the biochemistry is really interesting, because what your question now is, is 'what is it, and where is it?' And the problem that we have is that the liver enzymes aren't gonna tell us, because it's really hard to separate hepatic from post-hepatic on bloods. ALP is very insensitive in the cat and will go up with both hepatic and post-hepatic. ALT will go up with hepatic and post-hepatic. Bilirubin will be up. So what?!"


We recorded this case-based interactive session about how to work up the jaundiced cat with one of the world's leading Small Animal Medicine specialists and teachers, ⁠Prof Jill Maddison⁠ at session our live event in 2022.

Prof Jill Jill Maddison, BVSc, DipVetClinStud, PhD, SFHEA, MRCVS, is a professor of general practice, the director of professional development, and the BVetMed and CertAVP course director at Royal Veterinary College. She is also a coordinator for London Vet Show and is a consultant at a local veterinary practice and at Beaumont Sainsbury Animal Hospital in London. Dr Maddison is the senior editor of the second edition of Small Animal Clinical Pharmacology and the senior editor of Clinical Reasoning in Small Animal Practice. She has lectured worldwide on clinical problem-solving, small animal internal medicine, and clinical pharmacology. 

In this session she helps us reason through a case of jaundice in a cat to create a deeper understanding, rather than a simple list of facts. She also shifts some long-standing beliefs around diagnostic testing in liver disease in both dogs and cats.


Topic list:

5:07 Where to begin your workup.

6:05 Defining the problem and localising the problem: Pre-hepatic, hepatic or post-hepatic?

9:17 How much does dehydration actually affect PCV?

10:43 Bilirubin - how useful is it?

"It’s the most over-interpreted test I reckon. I have so many vets tell me, “Oh, the bilirubin is 16, it has to have a problem with its liver…” No, it probably just has inflammatory disease."

13:14 Dd’s for hepatic disease in cats.

14:20 Dd’s for post-hepatic causes of jaundice.

16:04 Biochem in jaundice: ALP, ALT, GGT.

"The problem that we have is that the liver enzymes aren't going to tell us."

19:51 Why bile acids are useless in the diagnosis of liver disease.

"The bile acids don't tell you anything more than you already know. There is no relationship between the level of bile acids and the prognosis or reversibility of the lesion."

24:25 Can't I just trial-treat?

26:16 Ultrasound.

28:27 Signalment: how useful is it?

29:36 Cholesterol and liver disease.

30:52 Pancreatic lipase and pancreatitis in cats.

"What we found was that we had 24% false negatives. So we had a quarter of our cats who had what seemed to be pancreatitis that did not have an increased Pli."

36:54 Hepatic lipidosis.


For more world-class specialists in an easy-to-consume format join our community of Vet Vault Nerds at vvn.supercast.com.

Visit thevetvault.com for the show notes for this episode.

Join us in at Vets on Tour in Wanaka, New Zealand on 13 - 18 August 2023 for great CE, more live podcasting and snow... lots of snow!




Mar 31, 202342:04
#88: Okay vet, exceptional outcomes: fresh thoughts on leadership and motivation, with Dr Andrew Ciccolini.

#88: Okay vet, exceptional outcomes: fresh thoughts on leadership and motivation, with Dr Andrew Ciccolini.

Dr Andrew Ciccolini is a Medical Director at the National Mill Dog Rescue, a non-profit that rescues and rehomes discarded breeding dogs, and also the Director of Non-Profit Initiatives at Galaxy Vets. His background includes serving in the U.S. Army, where he worked his way up from Associate Veterinarian to VP of Operations. In addition to his veterinary degree, he also has a Master’s degree in Organizational Leadership.

In this conversation Andrew takes us on a wild ride through his career with detours into what it’s like to be a military vet, working with high-performance dogs, why choosing not-for-profit work works for him, why it might work for you, and how incorporating some of it in your business might work for your team. We draw on Andrew’s military experience and his leadership Master's to talk about leadership styles, finding the right ways to motivate a vet team beyond money (but also including money!), and Andrew tells us about his current work for the Galaxy Vets Foundation to support pet owners in Ukraine. 

Time markers: 

1. Bad decisions, good stories. 6:00

2. Life as an army vet in the US. 9:00

3. Working with high-performance dogs 12:15

4. What Andrew learnt in his time as a military vet. 14:46

5. Leadership lessons from the military. 16:00

6. Can you change your leadership style?  23:19

7. Motivating veterinary teams: beyond the $$$'s.  26:41

8. National Mill Dog Rescue. 31:40

9. Dealing with 'divided' teams. 33:30

10. Not-for-profit work. 35:54

11. Galaxy Vets Foundation and its work in Ukraine. 39:58

12. What we've learnt about Telemedicine from their work in Ukraine. 41:07

13. Rediscovering your passion through charity work. 43:24

14. Being okay with being okay. 49:10

15. The pass-along question. (Chihuahuas!)  53:00

16. Andrew's podcast choices.  56:20

17. The one question. 56:56

Join the mailing list to hear about new opportunities at Galaxy Vets here, or volunteer to provide telehealth services to the pets and pet owners of Ukraine here.

Get your clinical skills nudged way beyond okay with our clinical podcasts at vvn.supercast.com

Go to thevetvault.com for show notes and to check out our guests’ favourite books, podcasts and everything else we talk about in the show.

We love to hear from you. If you have a question for us or you’d like to give us some feedback please get in touch via email at info@thevetvault.com, or catch up with us on Instagram.

And if you like what you hear, please share the love by clicking on the share button wherever you’re listening and sending a link to someone who you think should hear this. 



Mar 08, 202301:02:40
#87: Breakdown to breakthrough, and how the blockchain and AI and will change veterinary science. With Dr Steve Joslyn

#87: Breakdown to breakthrough, and how the blockchain and AI and will change veterinary science. With Dr Steve Joslyn

Dr Steve Joslyn is a specialist veterinary radiologist and tech enthusiast with more than two decades of experience consulting for referral, teaching, and general practice hospitals on four continents. Steve is highly regarded for his radiology work on designing imaging workflows and clinical 3D printing services, among other ground-breaking projects. Steve’s passion for technology and informatics led him to co-chair a joint American and European Radiology committee exploring the role AI has to play in veterinary diagnostic imaging. With his latest project, Vedi, Steve and his team have created a universal health record that locks patient data to an animal's existing microchip, revolutionizing the way veterinary data is collected and disseminated in an effort to fix what he sees as one of the biggest, yet insidious, problems in the industry today - the "patient-data disconnect." 

In this episode, Dr Steve takes us on a tour of the possibilities, current and coming, that new technologies offer us in the veterinary space. We discuss artificial intelligence in veterinary practice, including the pitfalls to look out for, with a focus on where AI fits into the world of diagnostic imaging. Steve also gives some useful insights for anyone considering a residency, specifically a career in diagnostic imaging, and he shares candidly about his personal experience with a work-related breakdown episode. And of course, we dive deep into why our current ways of managing patient data are broken, and how we're going to fix it. 

(Oh, and just for fun - Steve's bio was written by AI, and an AI image generator designed the episode artwork for this one!)

Time markers for our topics of discussion: 

00:00 - 09:20: Steve’s bad decision / good story answer. 

09:20 - 29:20: Is imaging a dream job? And the residency journey. 

29:20 - 34:50: Breakdown to breakthrough, and the birth of Vedi.

34:50 - 39:20: Love the work, hate the job? What Steve learnt from his experience of a work-related mental breakdown episode. 

39:30 - 60:00: A better way to manage our patient data. 

60:00 - 60:09: Getting better at learning from our mistakes and the benefits of MnM rounds. 

60:09 - 78:00: AI in veterinary science. 

78:00 - 86:00: AI radiology interpretation software.

86:00 - 93:00: Steve’s podcast and book choices.

93:00 - 98:00: The one question.


Join the team for Vets For Climate Action for their epic hike on the Larapinta Trek from 28 June - 3 July 2023.

Go to thevetvault.com for show notes and to check out our guests’ favourite books, podcasts and everything else we talk about in the show.

If you want to lift your clinical game, go to vvn.supercast.com for a free 2-week trial of our short and sharp highly practical clinical podcasts.

We love to hear from you. If you have a question for us or you’d like to give us some feedback please get in touch via email at thevetvaultpodcast@gmail.com, or catch up with us on Instagram.

And if you like what you hear then please share the love by clicking on the share button wherever you’re listening and sending a link to someone who you think should hear this. 




Feb 21, 202301:38:05
#86: Demystifying inflammatory brain disease. With Dr Sam Long

#86: Demystifying inflammatory brain disease. With Dr Sam Long

Who loves neurology?! That little blob of skull-jelly and all the wires that come off it can be very confusing and very intimidating, even more so when we start talking about the encephalitis/meningitis complex of diseases that we encounter in our veterinary patients. To help us make sense of the different immune-mediated neurological diseases we’re joined by specialist veterinary neurologist Dr Sam Long. Dr Sam gives us a clear plan for getting to a diagnosis, including how to make sense of serology testing and how to use some new diagnostic tools available to us. He also shares his tips on a practical treatment plan, even if you don’t manage to confirm a diagnosis. 

Dr Long underwent his residency and specialist training in Glasgow in the UK.  Following his specialist training he undertook a PhD in canine brain cancer before moving to the United States to take up a position as head of the Section of Neurology at the University of Pennsylvania’s Veterinary Hospital.  In 2008 Dr Long returned to Melbourne to establish the University of Melbourne Veterinary Hospital’s first-ever Neurology clinical service and specialist training programme. In 2017 he established Melbourne’s first private referral neurology service and in 2020 moved his service to the Veterinary Referral Hospital in Dandenong.  His research interests are in the field of brain tumours, canine epilepsy, canine spinal cord trauma and canine degenerative myelopathy.  He supervises resident and registrar training and has authored more than 30 papers and multiple book chapters on veterinary neurology. 

This episode is supported by the SVS Pathology Network. Contact their veterinary pathologists to discuss a diagnostic plan for your neurology cases at:

QML/TML Vetnostics (QLD & Tas): 1300 838 765 vetnostics@qml.com.au

Vetnostics (NSW & ACT): 02 9006 7468 enquiries@vetnostics.com.au

ASAP Laboratory (VIC): 1300 838 522 admin@asaplab.com.au

Vetpath (WA): 08 9317 0777 admin@vetpath.com.au


Go to thevetvault.com for show notes and to check out our guests’ favourite books, podcasts and everything else we talk about in the show.

If you want to lift your clinical game, go to vvn.supercast.com for a free 2-week trial of our short and sharp highly practical clinical podcasts.

We love to hear from you. If you have a question for us or you’d like to give us some feedback please get in touch via email at thevetvaultpodcast@gmail.com, or catch up with us on Instagram.

And if you like what you hear then please share the love by clicking on the share button wherever you’re listening and sending a link to someone who you think should hear this. 



Feb 07, 202345:47
#85: Reality minus expectations, and a guide on how not to screw over your colleagues. With Dr Denis Verwilghen

#85: Reality minus expectations, and a guide on how not to screw over your colleagues. With Dr Denis Verwilghen

How nice are you to your fellow veterinarians? It's likely that most of us feel that we're professional and supportive with a high degree of collegiality. But if this is true, then why is it that so many vets have experiences that don't fit with this narrative - feelings of being 'thrown under the bus'? 

Dr Denis Verwilghen is boarded in both large animal surgery and equine dentistry. He’s a graduate of the University of Ghent in Belgium and he’s currently the clinical director of Goulburn Valley Equine Hospital. The path between those two points has taken him on a journey across many continents, cultures and institutions and afforded him the opportunity to wear multiple hats within the vet space, and has given him a unique set of insights. And Denis feels that when it comes to collegiality, we can do better. 

In this conversation, we explore where and how we fall short when it comes to our working relationships with each other, including some less obvious ways in which we sometimes unintentionally undermine each other.  We also talk about career goals vs life goals and the personal cost of chasing these, Denis’s thoughts on making major life decisions, and what he’s learnt about happiness. 


Join us at the VECCS Spring Symposium in Port Douglas on 23-26 March for some serious deep dives on all things fluid therapy and critical care, live podcasting, and heaps of fun in the jungles of Far North Queensland. 


Go to thevetvault.com for show notes and to check out our guests’ favourite books, podcasts and everything else we talk about in the show.

Get confident in your clinical game with our short and sharp highly practical clinical podcasts at vvn.supercast.com.

We love to hear from you. If you have a question for us or you’d like to give us some feedback please get in touch via email at thevetvaultpodcast@gmail.com, or just catch up with us on Instagram.

And if you like what you hear then please share the love by clicking on the share button wherever you’re listening and sending a link to someone who you think should hear this. 




Jan 29, 202301:38:16
#84: Simple, not easy: Personal finance for veterinarians, with Noel Whittaker

#84: Simple, not easy: Personal finance for veterinarians, with Noel Whittaker

We talk about well-being a lot on this podcast, but one thing we don’t really discuss all that often is financial well-being. And while it’s a truism that money can’t buy you happiness, I'm also of the opinion that if the number of shifts you do is purely determined by your level of debt rather than your level of enthusiasm that there is likely to be an increase in sadness! Which is why we invited one of the world’s foremost authorities on personal finance, Noel Whittaker, to set us off on the right path. 

This episode is a recording of a Q&A session that we did with Australian finance icon, Noel Whittaker, and several of the team from Animal Emergency Australia to help us with our burning money questions.  Noel is a bestselling author, finance and investment expert, radio broadcaster, newspaper columnist and public speaker. He reaches over three million readers each week through his columns in major Australian newspapers and magazines, and also broadcasts on over 50 radio stations. He has over 20 bestselling books, including a brand new one called 10 Simple Steps To Financial Freedom.  His first book, Making Money Made Simple, set sales records across the country and was named in The 100 Most Influential Books of the Twentieth Century. For 30 years, Noel was the Director of Whittaker Macnaught, one of Australia’s leading financial advisory companies, with more than two billion dollars under management. In 1988 Noel was named Australian Investment Planner of the Year and, in 2003, he was awarded the Australian Centenary Medal in recognition of his services to the financial services industry. In 2011 he was made a Member of the Order of Australia for service to the community in raising awareness of personal finance. He is currently an Adjunct Professor and Executive-in-Residence with the Queensland University of Technology, as well as a committee member advising the Australian Securities and Investment Commission.

We're joined by the team from AEA to answer questions about financial topics relevant to most of us, including whether it's best to buy or rent, smash the mortgage or start investing, whether it makes sense for younger people to pay extra into their retirement fund, how to think about student debt, insurance planning, balancing debt with investment, planning advice for rising interest rates and much more.  (Quick translation for our non-Australian listeners: Super  = Retirement fund. HECS debt = Student loan) 

If you'd like your financial and professional journey to be as part of a veterinary team that does more than just talk about team well-being, listen to our job add at the end of episode 83 to find out about working with me in one of the best locations in Australia and AES Tanawha, or contact me at vetvaultpodcast@gmail.com to ask all your questions. 

Go to thevetvault.com for show notes and to check out our guests’ favourite books, podcasts and everything else we talk about in the show.

If you want to lift your clinical game, go to vvn.supercast.com for a free 2-week trial of our short and sharp highly practical clinical podcasts.

We love to hear from you. If you have a question for us or you’d like to give us some feedback please get in touch via email at thevetvaultpodcast@gmail.com, or just catch up with us on Instagram.




Jan 10, 202301:00:39
#83: Diversity, inclusion and veterinary euphoria. With Dr Kate Toyer and Dr Cam Raw

#83: Diversity, inclusion and veterinary euphoria. With Dr Kate Toyer and Dr Cam Raw

This episode is supported by Animal Emergency Services Tanawha, part of the AEA group. If you're interested in the career opportunity discussed in this episode contact us at vetvaultpodcast@gmail.com to find out more. 

Dr Kate Toyer graduated as a vet in 1995, got married in 1996 and bought shares in a veterinary practice with her partner in 2000. In 2007 she gained Memberships of the ANZCVS in Veterinary Surgery and also the College Prize for her work on developing one of the first interactive online courses with the then PGF. (Sydney University CVE). She and her partner had 3 children, and what looked like the perfect veterinary life. But Kate felt like a fraud because the person living this dream life was a man called Adam. In 2011 Kate told her wife she wasn’t a “normal” guy, and in 2015 she started HRT and publicly transitioned, becoming the only 'out' trans female veterinarian in the world at the time. In 2016 Kate founded Australian Rainbow Veterinarians and Allies, a support and advocacy organisation for LGBTIQA+ people in the veterinary industry which she currently leads. In 2021 she joined forces with Dr Cam Raw to start The Veterinary Kaleidoscope Podcast where they explore the experiences of people from diverse backgrounds in the veterinary world. 

Dr Cam is a Palawa man with family links to the far south of Lutruwita (Tasmania). In the nine years since graduating he’s worked in cattle practice in Victoria, mixed practice in the UK, remote small animal practice in the Northern Territory and now in a teaching and research role in Melbourne. Providing veterinary care and building relationships in remote communities across the Top End have provided pathways to explore his cultural identity in ways he never imagined growing up, and a big focus of his current work relates to Indigenous representation, mental well-being and diversity and inclusion. 

Kate and Cam are the perfect guides through this conversation about inclusion and diversity, including what these terms mean, whether they are the same thing, how the vet profession fairs when it comes to being inclusive, and how we can get better at it. Dr Kate shares her story and tells us about how something called 'gender dysphoria' has parallels in the veterinary profession and how can choose euphoria. Cam tells us about the rediscovery of his own indigenous Australian culture, how his career journey deviated out of standard clinical practice and his work in remote Australian communities, and I get to ask all the questions you've probably always wanted to ask!

Attend the Veterinary Kaleidoscope Summit 2023, Australia's first-ever summit dedicated to exploring diversity and inclusion in veterinary science on 27 and 28 February. 

Increase your knowledge, skills and confidence with our short and sharp highly practical clinical podcasts at vvn.supercast.com



Jan 02, 202302:01:59
#82: If it is to be: Dr Michael Archinal on choosing your own adventure, a side-career in media, remote indigenous dog health, and using gratitude as a shield.

#82: If it is to be: Dr Michael Archinal on choosing your own adventure, a side-career in media, remote indigenous dog health, and using gratitude as a shield.

Dr Micheal Archinal has been a vet for over 35 years and is the senior director of 9 veterinary hospitals. He has post-graduate training in animal behaviour, acupuncture, dermatology and pharmacology. Michael has also had an illustrious media career that includes 13 years as a weekly guest presenter on Channel Nine’s Mornings with Kerri-Anne and  21 years as an ABC radio talk-back host, as well as being a regular contributor on National ABC radio afternoons. He's a long-term columnist for multiple publications and the author of  "Animal Wisdom", which has sold over 10,000 copies. Michael also helped to establish a remote indigenous dog health programme in Utopia in the Northern Territory where he still volunteers and which saw him nominated as an Australian of the Year Finalist for the ACT in 2016. 

Our conversation covers Michaels's journey from struggling practice owner to building a large group of vet hospitals, the joys and challenges of working in remote communities, how Michael makes hard decisions and how he deals with less-than-ideal outcomes, his media career, his fascination with the human-animal bond, the importance of ongoing learning, gratitude, and much more. 

Go to thevetvault.com for show notes and to check out our guests’ favourite books, podcasts and everything else we talk about in the show.

If you want to lift your clinical game, go to vvn.supercast.com for a free 2-week trial of our short and sharp highly practical clinical podcasts.

We love to hear from you. If you have a question for us or you’d like to give us some feedback please get in touch via email at thevetvaultpodcast@gmail.com, or just catch up with us on Instagram.

And if you like what you hear then please share the love by clicking on the share button wherever you’re listening and sending a link to someone who you think should hear this. 







Dec 01, 202201:19:47
#81: Tick paralysis update 2022: How to manage the antiserum shortage, and what’s new in case management. With the Tick Paralysis Advisory Panel.

#81: Tick paralysis update 2022: How to manage the antiserum shortage, and what’s new in case management. With the Tick Paralysis Advisory Panel.

If you are a clinician working in a paralysis tick area of Australia then you’ll be well aware of the 2022 shortage of tick antiserum, and you very likely have some questions, like how do we ensure that we still do the best for our patients, where do our previous dose rates for TAS even come from, and why is it suddenly ok for us to use less? You might even be wondering how the vet boards will view deviations from the label dose if that’s what we’re required to do in response to the shortage. 

We’ve gathered some of the smartest people on the topic to get your questions answered. The smart people in question are Prof Rick Atwell, Dr Terry King, Dr Heather Russel and Dr Rob Webster, who are all members of the Tick Paralysis Advisory Panel, a group of veterinary and scientific experts who convene to review the latest scientific information regarding the prevention and management of tick paralysis to provide guidance and recommendations to vets and pet owners. This discussion covers what we know (and what we think we know!)  about paralysis ticks, their toxins and how it relates to antiserum dose, as well as new insights around managing tick cases beyond just TAS. 

Visit VETAPEDIA.com.au for additional resources on tick paralysis and many other Veterinary Emergency and Critical Care guidelines from the team at Animal Emergency Australia. 

Go to thevetvault.com for show notes and to check out our guests’ favourite books, podcasts and everything else we talk about in the show.

If you want to lift your clinical game, go to vvn.supercast.com for a free 2-week trial of our short and sharp highly practical clinical podcasts.

We love to hear from you. If you have a question for us or you’d like to give us some feedback please get in touch via email at  thevetvaultpodcast@gmail.com, or find us on Instagram.

And if you like what you hear then please share the love by clicking on the share button wherever you’re listening and sending a link to someone who you think should hear this.




Nov 20, 202252:37
#80: Everything you need to know about canine lymphoma. With Dr Penny Thomas

#80: Everything you need to know about canine lymphoma. With Dr Penny Thomas

This episode from our clinical podcast series is brought to you by the SVS Pathology Network - Australia's exclusive provider of the advanced testing techniques discussed in this episode. 

We sit down with Dr Penny Thomas from Veterinary Oncology Consultants to ask all of the questions you've ever had (and probably a few you didn't know you had!) about canine lymphoma. Dr Penny covers the common sticking points, like how to make sure you get an accurate diagnosis, new advances in diagnostic testing, a very practical way to prognosticate your lymphoma patients, what you can do for the sick lymphoma patient while you wait for the oncology appointment (spoiler alert... yes, pred!), and therapy options - from simple and cheap to going all-in on trying to achieve remission. 

Follow these links for additional information on flow cytometry and immunocytochemistry mentioned in this episode, or contact your local SVS pathologist.  


We're going LIVE  in Noosa on 22-25 November with the gurus of small animal medicine, Prof David Church and Prof Jill Maddison, as well a very special non-clinical day with Philip McKernan. Use VVLISTENER at checkout for our listener discount. 


Go to thevetvault.com for show notes and to check out our guests’ favourite books, podcasts and everything else we talk about in the show.

We love to hear from you. If you have a question for us or you’d like to give us some feedback please get in touch via email at thevetvaultpodcast@gmail.com, or just catch up with us on Instagram.

And if you like what you hear then please share the love by clicking on the share button wherever you’re listening and sending a link to someone who you think should hear this. 



Nov 11, 202247:05
#79: Exploring the trends, the myths and the facts around pet nutrition. With Shiva Greenalgh

#79: Exploring the trends, the myths and the facts around pet nutrition. With Shiva Greenalgh

Shiva Greenalgh is a registered animal nutritionist who specialises in companion animal nutrition in both commercial production as well as clinical and therapeutic nutrition for individual pets. She holds a Master's of Animal Science in Animal Nutrition and has recently completed a PhD in animal nutrition. Shiva's career journey has included roles as a wildlife carer and a vet nurse. She currently works as a nutrition consultant for pet owners, vets and commercial businesses through her consulting service Sydney Animal Nutrition, as well as a product development manager for a commercial pet food company. Basically, Shiva's job involves diving deep into the facts on a topic that many of us vets try to avoid, and she’s sharing those facts to help you make informed decisions for your patients and have better conversations with your clients about nutrition.  

Join us on 26 and 27 October 2022 The VET Expo in Sydney where we'll be podcasting live and hanging out with some of the best and most innovative minds in the veterinary profession, like Shiva. Use VETVAULT70 at checkout to get 70% off your ticket price. 

We're going LIVE with our own event in Noosa on 22-25 November with the gurus of small animal medicine, Prof David Church and Prof Jill Maddison, as well a very special non-clinical day with Philip McKernan. Use VVLISTENER at checkout for our listener discount. 

Go to thevetvault.com for show notes and to check out our guests’ favourite books, podcasts and everything else we talk about in the show.

If you want to lift your clinical game, go to vvn.supercast.com for a free 2-week trial of our short and sharp highly practical clinical podcasts.

We love to hear from you. If you have a question for us or you’d like to give us some feedback please get in touch via email at thevetvaultpodcast@gmail.com, or just catch up with us on Instagram.

And if you like what you hear then please share the love by clicking on the share button wherever you’re listening and sending a link to someone who you think should hear this. 





Oct 20, 202245:43
#78: Superhero conversations, sh&* sandwiches, and what we can learn from Ted Lasso. With Dr Rebecca Faris

#78: Superhero conversations, sh&* sandwiches, and what we can learn from Ted Lasso. With Dr Rebecca Faris

Challenging situations, negative emotions, hard conversations... pretty standard stuff in the average day of a vet, right? This is a conversation about finding a positive perspective on all these, plus all of the other stuff that gets in the way of an enjoyable veterinary career. Join us with Dr Rebecca Faris as we explore positive psychology, what real mindfulness looks like and why it’s essential in the work that we do, how to discover and live your strengths and how to have those hard conversations.

Rebecca's veterinary career journey has taken her from cattle vet legend, complete with ANZCVS membership in dairy medicine, via a mentoring and teaching role at Melbourne university to currently spending time on the dark side with part-time smallies emergency work. In 2016 Bec’s curiosity and the desire to become a better vet led her on a journey of discovery on how to become a better human. In 2019 she graduated with a Professional Certificate in Applied Positive Psychology,  and immediately put her new knowledge to work as an educator, teaching local school communities how to be more resilient. These days, Rebecca is using what she’s learnt to help make the vet profession better through her wellbeing consultancy, FlourishEd,  which provides positive, playful, and targeted well-being education for organisations that want to create environments where their people flourish.


Join us with Rebecca at The Vet Expo in Sydney on 26 and 27 October for some live podcast recording. 

Go to thevetvault.com for show notes and to check out our guests’ favourite books, podcasts and everything else we talk about in the show.

Unplug, connect and grow with us at our first-ever Vet Vault Live conference with Prof Jill Maddison and Prof David Church in Noosa on 22-25 November.

If you want to lift your clinical game, go to vvn.supercast.com for a free 2-week trial of our short and sharp highly practical clinical podcasts.

We love to hear from you. If you have a question for us or you’d like to give us some feedback please get in touch via email at thevetvaultpodcast@gmail.com, or find us on Instagram.

And if you like what you hear then please share the love by clicking on the share button wherever you’re listening and sending a link to someone who you think should hear this. 


Oct 09, 202201:03:44
#77: Excellence with heart. With Dr Jeannet Kessels.

#77: Excellence with heart. With Dr Jeannet Kessels.

Ours is a pretty cerebral profession, right? But if you think about the reasons we do what we do - our WHY, for most of us, it’s mostly about heart. This creates some challenges though. Like how do you protect your heart? How do you not abandon it in exchange for 'progress' How do you rediscover your heart when most of your life has been run on brain power? How do you GROW your heart, strengthen it, and create the space to find out what lives deep inside your heart that needs to be expressed? Big questions for sure, but our guest for this episode does a fantastic job of providing clues to the answers to these questions. 

Dr Jeannet Kessels is a highly respected veterinarian with over 30 years of clinical and business experience. She’s the founder and owner of  Greater Springfield Veterinary, home to 50 team members across three locations. She also created Groodles Australia, a community enterprise which has raised more than half a million dollars for charity to date. Jeannet still actively mentors her team, though she has retired from clinical work to focus on the defining issue of our time: climate change, in particular its effects on animal health and welfare, production, and biodiversity. She founded and continues as Chair of Veterinarians for Climate Action, through which Jeannet is working to inspire and inform all of us who care for and work with animals to act urgently on climate change.

Join in the conversation as we discuss what the right kind of growth looks like, finding and living your higher purpose, the fear of success, how to use your voice as a vet in the face of climate change, facing criticism, worrying less, and doing it ALL of this... with heart.


Come say hello to us at The Vet Expo in Sydney on 26 and 27 October for some live podcast recording. Jeannet will also be there to host a session there on climate change. 

Go to thevetvault.com for show notes and to check out our guests’ favourite books, podcasts and everything else we talk about in the show.

Unplug, connect and grow with us at our first ever Vet Vault Live conference with Prof Jill Maddison and Prof David Church in Noosa on 22-25 November.

If you want to lift your clinical game, go to vvn.supercast.com for a free 2-week trial of our short and sharp highly practical clinical podcasts.

We love to hear from you. If you have a question for us or you’d like to give us some feedback please get in touch via email at thevetvaultpodcast@gmail.com, or just catch up with us on Instagram.

And if you like what you hear then please share the love by clicking on the share button wherever you’re listening and sending a link to someone who you think should hear this. 


Sep 25, 202201:22:18
#76: She said she would, and then she did. With Dr Jocelyn Birch Baker

#76: She said she would, and then she did. With Dr Jocelyn Birch Baker

It used to be that work was work: it had its constraints and limitations, and if you had responsibilities or interests that seriously clashed with those constraints then maybe the working world just wasn’t for you. But the people who make up the heart of vet practices today don’t necessarily want to make that binary choice. Many workplaces are trying to adapt to create space for a workforce with more varied needs, but there are challenges to overcome.

Dr Jocelyn Birch Baker is a veterinarian and a practice owner who is taking on those challenges with inspiring results. She’s built a practice that flexes to meet the needs of her team, and in doing so she’s not only created a flourishing workplace but also solved the twin problems of recruitment and retention. These days Jocelyn also helps other practices achieve the same for their teams through her consultancy venture, Smooth Operating Vets.

In this conversation, Jocelyn shares her story and the lessons she’s learnt along the way that has shaped the way the thinks and leads. We talk about bad decisions, hard lessons, choosing respect over competitiveness, living your values, finding the line between compromise and self-care, motherhood in practice, returning to practice after an extended break, and a better way to practice. 


Come say hello to us at The Vet Expo in Sydney on 26 and 27 October for some live podcast recording. Jocelyn will also be hosting a session there on creating mum-friendly practices. 

Go to thevetvault.com for show notes and to check out our guests’ favourite books, podcasts and everything else we talk about in the show.

Unpluggrow, connect and growh with us at our first ever Vet Vault Live conference with Prof Jill Maddison and Prof David Church in Noosa on 22-25 November

If you want to lift your clinical game, go to vvn.supercast.com for a free 2-week trial of our short and sharp highly practical clinical podcasts.

We love to hear from you. If you have a question for us or you’d like to give us some feedback please get in touch via email at thevetvaultpodcast@gmail.com, or just catch up with us on Instagram.

And if you like what you hear then please share the love by clicking on the share button wherever you’re listening and sending a link to someone who you think should hear this. 


Sep 13, 202201:07:31
#75: Solutions for the staff crisis, core drivers, and the up side of rock bottom. With Dr Sam Bowden

#75: Solutions for the staff crisis, core drivers, and the up side of rock bottom. With Dr Sam Bowden

We like to do optimism on the Vet Vault, and because of all the enthusiastic people we speak to on here our positivity bias is constantly reinforced. But the reality is that there still is a lot of room for improvement in the vet world. LOTS of room. Many people in the profession are still stuck in old patterns of excessive hours, excessive workloads, lack of time, insufficient remuneration, frustration and dissatisfaction. But our guest for this episode is a pattern interrupter.

Dr Sam Bowden is a former practice owner and a serial entrepreneur, in and outside of the vet profession. He’s the co-founder and CEO of the Accelerate Practice Academy - a coaching service for veterinary and other health practices, and he has devoted the last 12 years of his career helping practice owners increase their happiness, work-life balance and profitability. But as you’ll hear in this episode - it’s not just about numbers and sales and management - it’s mostly MINDSET, and that’s where we pause and what we explore in this conversation; from what drives us as individuals, seeing opportunities in periods of change, leveraging your skills and interests, solutions to the veterinary staff shortage crisis and about seeking the moment of great personal change. 

Arrange a chat with Sam at support@acceleratepracticeacademy.com to find out about his Accelerate Mastermind Group to help get your practice where you want it to be, and learn to love dentistry with his Vet Dental Academy. (And don't forget to name drop: tell him the Vet Vault sent you for your listener freebies.) 

Go to thevetvault.com for show notes and to check out our guests’ favourite books, podcasts and everything else we talk about in the show.

Join us for our first ever LIVE event in Noosa in November '22 with special guests Prof David Church and Prof Jill Maddison. 

If you want to lift your clinical game, go to vvn.supercast.com for a free 2-week trial of our short and sharp high-value clinical podcasts.

We love to hear from you. If you have a question for us or you’d like to give us some feedback please get in touch via email at thevetvaultpodcast@gmail.com, or just catch up with us on Instagram.

Support the pets of Ukraine here

And if you like what you hear then please share the love by clicking on the share button wherever you’re listening and sending a link to someone who you know will enjoy listening.



Aug 30, 202201:59:13
Housekeeping episode: Money and attention

Housekeeping episode: Money and attention

A quick discussion on how we've decided to handle sponsors, affiliate programs and money in general on the Vet Vault and what it means for you. 

Aug 30, 202203:60
#74: The mental rectal part 2: Compassion fatigue. With Rhonda Andrews and Dr Taleta Hompas

#74: The mental rectal part 2: Compassion fatigue. With Rhonda Andrews and Dr Taleta Hompas

Rhonda is back for another thorough probing of the mind, and in this episode, we examine the phenomenon of compassion fatigue from tip to… tail. What is it, how is it different from burnout, how do we recognise it, and what can we do to head it off long before it rears its ugly head? (Spoiler alert: yes, rest and self-care and boundaries and all of those other common sense things all play an important role, but you might be surprised by what the ONE THING is that can provide you with the best protection against becoming a member of the ‘I survived compassion fatigue’ club.)

This episode features a conversation between Rhonda and Dr Taleta Hompas as they unpack Taleta’s story and her experiences around compassion fatigue. Taleta is a vet whose career has covered multiple aspects of the vet journey: from the frontlines of the reception desk to the trenches of vet nursing and intense stints of emergency vetting, all the way to founder and director of an emergency business and being responsible for the wellbeing of the team. She shares openly about the insidious creep of compassion fatigue in her career, a breaking point, and getting back to passion and compassion without the fatigue.

If you haven’t met Rhonda yet - where have you been?! Rhonda is the founder, managing director and senior psychologist at the Barrington Centre, a specialist psychological firm that works with individuals and teams to help them address complex environments. Rhonda also helped create a program specifically modified for the Vet Profession called Systems of Support, or SOS.

Go to thevetvault.com for show notes and to check out our guests’ favourite books, podcasts and everything else we talk about in the show.

Join us for our first ever LIVE event in Noosa in November '22 with special guests Prof David Church and Prof Jill Maddison. 

If you want to lift your clinical game, go to vvn.supercast.com for a free 2-week trial of our short and sharp high-value clinical podcasts.

We love to hear from you. If you have a question for us or you’d like to give us some feedback please get in touch via email at thevetvaultpodcast@gmail.com, or just catch up with us on Instagram.

And if you like what you hear then please share the love by clicking on the share button wherever you’re listening and sending a link to someone who you know will enjoy listening.

Aug 16, 202245:20
#73: Ethics, trust and the mythical 'gold standard'. With Dr Tanya Stephens

#73: Ethics, trust and the mythical 'gold standard'. With Dr Tanya Stephens

It’s very easy to get stuck in a mindset of “I’ve chosen THIS thing, so all other things are off the table, because once you choose THIS thing, then THESE are the things I HAVE to do."   But who says we have to? 

Dr Tanya Stephens' career is that it’s not just one thing. Her story clearly demonstrates that you don’t HAVE to do anything in a certain way. Clinical practice doesn’t have to take up all your time and exclude other interests. Practice ownership doesn’t have to be a ball and chain. Having young kids doesn’t have to mean you can’t run a business. Research doesn’t have to be done just by 'researchers'.

Dr Tanya Stephens is a small animal practice owner and practitioner who still very much enjoys practice. As a practitioner, she is particularly interested in professional ethics and promoting evidence-based medicine. She is also a wildlife researcher with original research on galactosaemia in kangaroos. Her interests lie in animal welfare, research, evidence-based medicine, professional ethics, wildlife and sustainable agriculture and she is a regular presenter and published author on these topics. She is the editor of One Welfare in Practice: the Role of the Veterinarian and is a Fellow of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons. Tanya is past President of the ANZCVS Animal Welfare Chapter, past President of AVAWE, the welfare and ethics branch of the AVA, an exec member of AVCB, which is the Conservation Biology branch of the AVA, Chair of the AVA’s Animal Welfare Trust, honorary consulting veterinarian for the Children’s Medical Research Institute, veterinary member of the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal, Chair of the NSW Kangaroo Management Advisory Panel and member of the Kangaroo Management Taskforce plus the Chair of the NSW Greyhound Welfare Integrity Commission Animal Welfare Committee.

Jump in with us to hear how Tanya followed her curiosity to create a career around what worked for her. Of course, we also talk about ethics and the line between thorough and too much, trust, and why Tanya thinks we might be losing it, the perils of defensive practice, the concept of "gold standard" and why aiming for it might not always be the best idea, how YOU play a key role in animal welfare in your consult room and beyond, and much much more.


Go to thevetvault.com for show notes and to check out our guests’ favourite books, podcasts and everything else we talk about in the show.

If you want to lift your clinical game, go to vvn.supercast.com for a free 2-week trial of our short and sharp highly practical clinical podcasts, or join us live and in person in Noosa from 22-25 November for our first ever Vet Vault Live! with Prof David Church and Prof Jill Maddison.

We love to hear from you. If you have a question for us or you’d like to give us some feedback please get in touch via email at thevetvaultpodcast@gmail.com, or just catch up with us on Instagram.

And if you like what you hear then please share the love by clicking on the share button wherever you’re listening and sending a link to someone who you think should hear this.


Aug 05, 202201:20:06
Kidney compilation, with Prof Jill Maddison, Dr Rosanne Jepson and Dr Clint Yudelman

Kidney compilation, with Prof Jill Maddison, Dr Rosanne Jepson and Dr Clint Yudelman

It’s been a while since we’ve released one of our clinical episodes on here, so we thought we’d create this lovely little compilation of kidney content for you. These are some of our biggest ‘AHA!’ moments from a series of episodes that we've done over on the clinical podcast over the past few months on those tricky little beans that stop us from being poisoned by our own waste products.

We start with some wisdom from small animal medicine guru Prof Jill Maddison about making sense of azotaemia and USG. Spoiler alert - it's not as straightforward as you might think, and there are DEFINITELY a few traps to avoid that Jill outlines in this conversation. Next is Dr Rosanne Jepson, another medicine specialist and associate professor at the Royal Vet College and a leader in the field of nephrology and especially hypertension to guide us through everything blood pressure.  And tying a bow on it all is Dr Clint Yudelman from Insight Mobile Diagnostics to help us make sense of the relationship between calcium and kidneys. 


And if you want MUCH more of Prof Maddison then join us live in Noosa in November when she joins forces with Prof David Church for what promises to be the most fun vet event of the year. Details are here - but don't book there - email us at vetvaultpodcast@gmail.com to tell us that you heard about the conference on here and we'll send you a listener-only discount code.  

Go to thevetvault.com for show notes and to check out our guests’ favourite books, podcasts and everything else we talk about in the show. 

If you want to lift your clinical game, go to vvn.supercast.com for a free 2-week trial of our short and sharp highly practical clinical podcasts.

We love to hear from you. If you have a question for us or you’d like to give us some feedback please get in touch via email at vetvaultpodcast@gmail.com.


Jul 21, 202241:51
#72: Re-defining veterinary nursing, with Ken Yagi.

#72: Re-defining veterinary nursing, with Ken Yagi.

70+ episodes into the podcast, and not a single episode with a vet nurse. Shame on us! But we're changing that with this episode through a conversation with a vet tech who is leading the charge into the future of vet nursing.  

Kenichiro Yagi is Chief Veterinary Nursing Office at the Veterinary Emergency Group (VEG), where his role is to help develop career pathways in veterinary nursing and raising nursing care standards and competency.  Ken is a Registered Veterinary Technician and Veterinary Technician Specialist in Emergency and Critical Care and Small Animal Internal Medicine with a Master’s Degree in Veterinary Sciences. He also serves as program director for the Recover Initiative, a global effort to standardise how veterinary CPR is performed around the world. He’s received a whole host of awards, including veterinary technician of the year in 2016, and he’s been pushing the standards of nursing for two decades through his teaching and training, speaking and writing. 

"There's a lot more to veterinary medicine than just being a vet, and there's a lot more care that the patients need. And I've certainly created my own career out of it." 

So who's this episode for? Well, we've always been a podcast primarily for vets, and that hasn't changed.  We’d love for this conversation to help open the eyes of our vets to the possibilities, the talent and the passion that is right under your nose and to give you some ideas of what that talent is capable of and how you can help steer it. But it's definitely also an episode for nurses and techs. I challenge you as a nurse to listen to this and NOT feel the desire to find new ways to extend yourself and to make even more of a difference! Ken’s story is a real eye-opener about what is possible in your nursing career in the right environment. 

Also - who's joining us live in Noosa in November with Prof David Church and Prof Jill Maddison for what promises to e the most fun vet event of the year?! Details are here - but don't book there - email us at vetvaultpodcast@gmail.com to tell us that you heard about the conference on here and we'll send you a listener-only discount code.  

Go to thevetvault.com for show notes and to check out our guests’ favourite books, podcasts and everything else we talk about in the show. 

If you want to lift your clinical game, go to vvn.supercast.com for a free 2-week trial of our short and sharp highly practical clinical podcasts.

 We love to hear from you. If you have a question for us or you’d like to give us some feedback please get in touch via email at thevetvaultpodcast@gmail.com, or just catch up with us on Instagram. And if you like what you hear then please share the love by clicking on the share button wherever you’re listening and sending a link to someone who you think should hear this. 

Jul 10, 202201:09:30
#71: Stronger than you think. With Elizabeth Woolsey Herbert.

#71: Stronger than you think. With Elizabeth Woolsey Herbert.

This is an episode about courage. About putting yourself in situations that are out of your comfort zone and then finding it within yourself to make it work, because self-care does not equate self-limiting, and you're probably stronger than you think. 

Elizabeth Woolsey Herbert is a retired equine veterinarian and practice owner. She moved from the US to Australia as a young vet and practised equine veterinary medicine for over 35 years. She’s also the author of a series of fictional and non-fiction books as well as a string of professional papers. She recently retired and has returned to the US, where she is now focusing on her writing career, and catching more fish. Here are a few lines about herself from our initial ‘get-to-know each other' e-mails:

1. I did the hard yards.

2. I did it often on a 24/7 basis.

3. I went through every imaginable bad thing that could happen and survived.

Elizabeth’s story is filled with stuff we need to hear: It’s about a career driven by purpose and passion and a sense of responsibility. About the importance of relationships, continued growth, curiosity and creativity, using humour as a shield, and about finding joy in your work, but also fulfilment outside of work. Elizabeth also talks about turf-guarding between vets, gives some practical tips on avoiding worry, and shares what she’s learnt on how to build an amazing supportive team. We talk about the joys and challenges of rural practise, and about her creative writing career. 

"Never die without chocolate in your mouth!" 

But there’s also some darkness in this story, as there is in most good stories, and we're dragging that darkness into the light with the help of psychologist Duanne Smith, with Elizabeth's permission. Duanne helps to unpack aspects of Elizabeth's journey in a post-episode bonus section (at the 1 hour 17 min mark) by answering questions about where to go for help and how to ask for it (and how to accept it!) when you're hitting a rough patch, and also how to identify someone who might be in need of help, and how to respond, including how to talk about suicide. 

"Speak to another human voice, because it is about attachment. One of the main protective factors around depression mental health and suicide is that you're not doing it alone."


Some helpful resources if you need help: 

Samaritans Emotional Support: 135 247

Black Dog Institue list of urgent support resources.

Or contact us at thevetvaultpodcast@gmail.com if you feel like a chat with someone you know.


If you want to lift your clinical game, go to vvn.supercast.com for a free 2-week trial of our short and sharp high-value clinical podcasts.

We love to hear from you. If you have a question for us or you’d like to give us some feedback please get in touch via email,  or just catch up with us on Instagram.

And if you like what you hear then please share the love by clicking on the share button wherever you’re listening and sending a link to someone who you know will enjoy listening.




Jun 25, 202201:47:55
#70: Self-kindness, the illusion of "I HAVE to", and why vulnerability might save us. With Philip McKernan

#70: Self-kindness, the illusion of "I HAVE to", and why vulnerability might save us. With Philip McKernan

There are so many important conversations happening at the moment about the challenges facing the vet profession and the possible solutions. We love it when we hear things like: 'We have to get better at setting boundaries. We have to stop feeling so guilty. We have to value ourselves more. We have to be more kind to ourselves.' But the big question remains: HOW?!

How do we do those things when we don't even understand WHY we feel guilty? Why is it that we can’t value ourselves? Why are we so weird about money conversations? Why are we so hard on ourselves?

This is why we've brought you Philip McKernan: to help us do the deep work. 


  "I feel we have a moral obligation to do this work. If we choose to leave the couch, leave our bedroom and walk out into the world and interact with humans, we have a moral obligation to do the work on ourselves so that we can show up as better humans every single day."


Philip McKernan is a speaker, author, coach, and ‘enlightened hooligan’. From working with the Canadian Olympic Team and at the Pentagon to writing 5 books, despite his dyslexia, the man has a lot to share. And share it he does in this conversation with his zero-bullshit cut-to-the-bone approach. We jump straight into the deep end with what being kind to yourself really looks like, and why we (with a particular focus on the vet profession) are so bad at it. Philip pressure tests some of our core beliefs around who we are, what we do, why we do it and who we do it for, and dismantles some myths around how we do them.  


"A lot of what I hear is that 'we're serving people, and the industry demands this,'  and I go, 'yeah, I get it, but I don't get it, and I don't buy it, because at the end of the day, you still have a choice."


Go to thevetvault.com for show notes and to check out our guests’ favourite books, podcasts and everything else we talk about in the show.

If you want to lift your clinical game, go to vvn.supercast.com for a free 2-week trial of our short and sharp highly practical clinical podcasts.

We love to hear from you. If you have a question for us or you’d like to give us some feedback please get in touch via email at thevetvaultpodcast@gmail.com, or just catch up with us on Instagram.

And if you like what you hear then please share the love by clicking on the share button wherever you’re listening and sending a link to someone who you think should hear this. 



Jun 09, 202201:12:40
#69: Vetrepreneurism. With Dr Aaron Wallace

#69: Vetrepreneurism. With Dr Aaron Wallace

How would you define an entrepreneur? Mirian-Webster says it’s someone who starts their own business, especially when this involves a new opportunity. Here’s another fact: we are at a point in time when our profession is FILLED with new opportunities. I’m sure you’re spotting them all around you. But once you spot that opportunity, how do you translate it from an idea into reality? How do you overcome all the doubters and nay-sayers, especially when the loudest nay-sayer is probably you!?

Dr Aaron Wallace is a veterinarian and a bonafide entrepreneur. He co-founded Lacuna Diagnostics, a digital cytology company, while he was still a vet student and helped to establish and grow lacuna to the point where it was recently sold to Heska. Aaron's brainchild is rolling out across the world under the new name of HeskaView Telecytology. 

Happy ending right? But happy endings almost never happen without tough beginnings and good stories. In this episode, Aaron shares that story. We talk about entrepreneurship in veterinary science, where the new opportunities lie in our profession, how to bring YOUR big idea to the vet world, the traits that you’ll learn as a vet that will serve you well outside of vet, and much more. 


Go to thevetvault.com for show notes and to check out our guests’ favourite books, podcasts and everything else we talk about in the show.

If you want to lift your clinical game, go to vvn.supercast.com for a free 2-week trial of our short and sharp highly practical clinical podcasts.

We love to hear from you. If you have a question for us or you’d like to give us some feedback please get in touch via email at thevetvaultpodcast@gmail.com, or just catch up with us on Instagram.

And if you like what you hear then please share the love by clicking on the share button wherever you’re listening and sending a link to someone who you think should hear this. 



May 29, 202201:23:44