Veterinary Voices

This is the second of the two part series with Dr Jane Ough – Companion Animal Veterinarian at South Wairarapa Vets – who’s wearing her very new New Zealand Veterinary Association Climate Change Ambassador’s hat. If you haven’t listened to the first part – 105 – I recommend you do that, to give you context for today’s continuation of our chat. We join the conversation where Jane expresses how worr...

Today we’re with Dr Jane Ough – Companion Animal Veterinarian at South Wairarapa Vets – who’s wearing her very new New Zealand Veterinary Association Climate Change Ambassador ’s hat. This is the second time Dr Jane has been on Paws Claws Wet Noses.    You can listen to her previous episodes 87 , 88 and 89 – where she introduced the climate change initiatives South Wairarapa Vets has implemented....

The second in the two part series where Professor John Munday talks about his world-first RAS research to treat cancer in cats and dogs.    After graduating, he worked for 2 years in a mixed animal practice in Whangarei.  He then returned to Massey and completed a PhD.  After completing his doctorate John then did a 2-year residency in veterinary pathology at Michigan State University before worki...

Professor John Munday is a Massey University graduate.  After graduating, he worked for 2 years in a mixed animal practice in Whangarei.  He then returned to Massey and completed a PhD.   After completing his doctorate John then did a 2-year residency in veterinary pathology at Michigan State University before working as an assistant professor at the University of Georgia for 4 years.   It was at...

Dr Megan Alderson, Companion Animal Veterinarian  + principal and partner of the Strand Veterinarian in Parnell, Auckland, New Zealand, introduces her new initiative The Vet Thrive Collective . In this episode Dr Megan and Julie talk about the six shields (tenets) that form part of the Vet Thrive Collective wellbeing programme: Breathe Rest Nourish Flow Forgive Compassion Dr Megan (and Dr Francesc...

Continuing on from episode 100 is part 2 of Dr Francesca Brown's research about what vet clinic clients want. The importance of training front line staff. Regard staff training as an investment, not a cost. A valuable strategy vet clinics can copy from dental clinics to help improve their bottom line. How important (or not) is pet insurance?    How the 20 / 80 Pareto Principal plays out in cl...

Dr Francesca Brown is a veterinarian who graduated from Massey University’s class of 1998.   Since graduating and gaining experience in clinical practice she moved to education and then leadership in Allied Veterinary Professional education, at both Otago Polytechnic, as the Head of the School of Veterinary Nursing and nationally as the Chair of the Educational Standards committee for Allied Veter...

EVP – Employee Value Proposition – the tacit understanding about how an employer treats its employees What an employer promises its employees goes beyond the legal requirements of being paid for the work done (by the employee) and the health and safety obligations employers have. It’s about whether your clinic allows a blind eye to be turned when someone’s bullied … or a sexist, ageist or racist c...

When you – or your team – show up for work at your vet clinic, what is it you want them to feel and think about working at your clinic? Do you – or they - feel excited or exhausted?  Delighted or filled with dread?  Full of optimism or cynicism? Culture exists whether you like it or not.    Whether the culture at your clinic is positive or negative, you’ve still got a cultural vibe happening. Sign...

Here are six make-sense steps to help increase staff retention at your clinic by 82% and increase staff engagement by 70% Onboarding is the bridge between the final stage of recruitment and the first step in employee engagement. Onboarding is more than asking your new hire to fill out a whole bunch of forms on their first day.    Onboarding is a systematic process to ensure your newest employee be...

What is "constructive dismissal" - 101 employment law overview with Julie South.   Dr Cath Watson - Chair of Healthy Pets NZ talks about ways supports can get involved in fundraising.    Cath talks about "Dogs Day Out" and Kerikeri artist Tessa Smith. Julie South announces last week's leader board in the VetStaff annual "Love Your Vet Nurse" competition in honour...

Part 2 of 3 chats Julie South had with Companion Animal Veterinarian and Chair of Healthy Pets New Zealand, Dr Cath Watson. This week Julie and Cath chat about some of the research that Healthy Pets NZ has undertaken. #LoveYourVetNurse annual competition in honour of Vet Nurse Awareness Week - Julie announces the leader board results after the first week of competition. It's the best competit...

Dr Cath Watson , BVSc - Companion Animal Veterinarian - has worked in a range of practices, both in here in Godzone Aotearoa New Zealand and in the United Kingdom.   She’s been a locum, an employee, and a business owner. Right now, Cath’s based in Central Otago but travels the country as a locum.  The reason Cath and Julie South of VetStaff are talking today is because of Cath's involvement i...

Before you start looking for your next vet or vet nurse job – there are some things you need to do first – to avoid heartbreak and stress further down the track. In summary Get clear on why you’re considering a new job.   If you like where you are, give your current clinic the opportunity to meet you in the middle.   If you’re a good vet or nurse and you match the culture and vice versa, they’ll w...

7 attributes of great team players 1.     Understand their role 2.     Embrace collaboration 3.     Hold themselves accountable 4.     Committed to their team 5.     Flexible 6.     Optimistic and future-focussed 7.     Can be relied upon and trusted Johari Window + 56 adjectives 5 things to compare yourself to every day VetStaff leading veterinary sector recruitment in New Zealand | veterinarians...

What makes a great leader?     Are people born natural leaders or can leadership be developed and taught? What’s the difference between a LEADER and a MANAGER? Did you realise that when you, or someone on your team is a great leader (or not) it affects your clinic’s ability to attract and recruit great vets and nurses?    Three differences Leadership vs Management 1. Process vs Vision 2. Organisin...

One small word - four different situations when you probably don't even realise you're using it + examples of how to swap to a statement more empowering and powerful (without being bossy or aggressive). A world first (as far as we can tell) initiative from VetStaff - we're looking for pilot veterinary clinics to be part of our Beta Launch.  You don't have to be an existing VetS...

Pressure is not Stress - Nick Petrie - Presenter at the NZVA 2022 Conference - VBB session Nicholas Petrie What "human rumination" is. Julie shares one of the ways she gets out of downward rumination spirals when she recognises them playing out in her life. Nick Petrie's White Paper - Pressure is Not Stress - 4 steps to be resilient in disruptive times Dr Jane Ough - Companion Anima...

VETERINARY CLINIC SALARY DATA Dr Mark Hosking , CEO of Franklin Vets, is a member of the NZVAs Veterinary Business Branch – the VBB.    At the recent NZVA Conference he introduced BBVet, an Australian company which runs a series of surveys tailored to the New Zealand veterinary profession.  Clinics that contribute to the data, will have access to high quality benchmarking information to be able to...

Dr Jane Ough is a Senior Companion Animal Veterinarian at South Wairarapa Veterinary Services.    Dr Jane’s time and pathway to the veterinarian she is today is quite different from the usual career path of veterinarians.   She’s from the BVSc Massey class of 1982.    Today, Dr Jane enjoys orthopaedic surgery especially mending broken farm dogs.  Dr Ough became concerned about climate change when...

The third and final episode with Iain McLachlan – CEO of the New Zealand Veterinary Council. We talk about: the veterinary shortage,  the nursing shortage,  why the NZ VC doesn’t include two of the world’s top 10 veterinary science universities in its List of Recognised Institutions,  when it's going to update that list of Recognised Institutions,  what clinics can do if they absolutely canno...

The second of three episodes with Iain McLachlan – CEO of the New Zealand Veterinary Council. We talk about: the veterinary shortage,  the nursing shortage,  why the NZ VC doesn’t include two of the world’s top 10 veterinary science universities in its List of Recognised Institutions,  when it's going to update that list of Recognised Institutions,  what clinics can do if they absolutely cann...

Today we start the first of three episodes where Iain McLachlan – CEO of the New Zealand Veterinary Council – and I, talk about the veterinary shortage, the nursing shortage, why the NZ VC doesn’t include two of the world’s top 10 veterinary science universities in its List of Recognised Institutions, when is it going to update that list of Recognised Institutions, what clinics can do if they abso...

Part 2 of the "Qs to A recruitment agencies before working with them" series. This episode specifically for the vet clinic - the HR manager, the Practice Manager, Lead Veterinarian or Veterinary Nurse who's charged with "recruitment" inside a vet clinic. In this episode Julie South of VetStaff details the questions you need to ask and the answers you need to listen out for...

Not all recruitment agencies are created equal.   Some recruitment agencies use the "spray and pray" method.   They'll get a job-seeker's CV, then spray it all over town (to their database) and leave it to the employer - the vet clinic - to do contact the CV owner, set up the interview, interview, and negotiate direct. Recruitment agencies that do this could be breaching the NZ...