Veterinary Voices

This is a bonus episode because Immigration New Zealand recently announced that, effective 1 November 2021, employers who have migrant workers (visa holders) on their staff will now require to be accredited under the new Immigration New Zealand requirements. In this episode Richard Howard - Licensed Immigration Consultant - of Pathways New Zealand (based in Hamilton and Wellington) answers questio...

Dr Megan Alderson of The Strand Veterinarian in Parnell, Auckland, New Zealand, talks about implementing various wellness progs into her veterinary clinic - her trials and tribulations. Dr Megan is very open and forthcoming with the information she shares: what's worked and didn't work her clinic's budgets and  how much she budgets for staff wellness and wellbeing She also shares ho...

Part 2 (of 2) with Dr Francesa Brown on how to have a healthy vet clinic and a healthy bottom line. Dr Brown covers: What KPIs to measure Where to start in supporting your team to be / get / stay healthy What questions to ask How to implement and how not to implement Johari Windows The real and true cost of staff turnover She also asks for input / support / information as she gets ready to start h...

This week is part 1 of a two-part series with Dr Francesca Brown of Otago Polytechnic. If you don’t know Dr Francesca, she’s a veterinarian who graduated from Massey University’s class of ’98.   After graduating and gaining experience in clinical practice Francesca moved to education and then into leadership in Allied Veterinary professional education, at both Otago Polytechnic, as the Head of the...

The veterinary practice management software company ezyVet launched MindfulMay as a way to give back to the global veterinary sector. Starting in May 2021 with two webinars, ezyVet wants to create a worthwhile resources (veterinarian to veterinarian) that helps make a positive difference. In this episode Julie South catches up with Pip and Lance from the marketing department of ezyVet in Auckland,...

Did you know there are questions you just can’t ask your coworkers … your colleagues... at work …?   I’m not talking being PC-on-steroids type subjects, I’m talking Privacy Act breaches – and that’s what this episode of PCWN is all about.   If you’re tasked with hiring OR you’re a job-seeker who’s considering your next career move OR you’re someone, like me, who often has to open their mouth to ch...

IndieVets - the collaborative and expanding group of independently owned and operated kiwi veterinary clinics - opened its doors early in 2021. Its ethos is " local vets for local pets ". Julie asks Steve: What does he say to those people who think he sold out on the whole local thing because he created, then sold, Pet Doctors to an Aussie ASX corporate? Will he sell IndieVets?  How can...

This episode is to help veterinary clinic employers AND employees navigate the troubled waters of Covid-19 vaccination rollouts Given there’s been a bit of talk in the media lately about vaccinations and testing – or lack thereof - and the government’s commitment to get Godzone Aotearoa New Zealand’s population vaccinated this year, today’s episode is all about the Covid-19 vaccination rollout and...

Dr Alejandra Arbe-Montoya a PhD candidate from the University of Adelaide and Julie South discuss: Why veterinarians are leaving clinical practice, Moral Distress – what it is and why it needs to be included as part of the curriculum at vet school, How setting personal boundaries can help when you find yourself morally distressed, What types of communication you need to practice, How to handle Mor...

Does the thought of negotiating have you breaking out into a sweat or in hives? Would you rather do anything but negotiate? Many veterinary recruitment deals are lost - the dream candidate, the dream job - because the veterinary clinic or the candidate - didn't know how to make the job happen. There are many cases for using a professional recruitment agency in your veterinary clinic's hi...

What's it like working in New Zealand as an overseas-qualified veterinarian? This episode is the first in the library collection about what it’s like for an overseas-qualified veterinarian to work in New Zealand as a veterinarian .  Because, as I’m sure you know, not all overseas qualified veterinarians can actually work here as a veterinarian without re-qualifying first. Dr Rose Unsworth and...

Today’s show is especially helpful for existing locums of any kind:  veterinarians, nurses and vet techs as well as the clinics that hire them.   If you’re a locum, you’ll seriously want to listen to today’s show because it could save you a whole bunch of financial grief and headaches. If you’re listening from Australia – or when the borders open up you’ll be heading off and working in Australia –...

In today's episode: My thoughts on whether I think we have a veterinary shortage (or not). The shift I've noticed in the last nine months or so - since we've come out of AL4 Lockdown in 2021. Examples of a few job offers I've been involved in this year where each job-seeker has been over-the-moon with the offer of employment. One of the benefits of using a recruitment agency if...

This week I want to start a conversation, a discussion – with YOU.   I want to know what YOUR thoughts, opinions and ideas are on a letter I received over the weekend. It’s an Open Letter written by a practicing veterinarian in a small town who tragically lost her veterinarian husband to suicide three years ago.    The full text of Dr Jasmin's letter is on episode 18's Paws Claws Wet Nos...

At the beginning of this year, I had the opportunity of catching up with a VetStaff locum for lunch.   We solved all the problems currently facing the veterinary sector and the world. Over lunch, Dr Sam shared a book she’d read called Compassionomics – a book designed to answer a few questions – one of which was “does taking time for compassion make doctors better at their job?” I’m a Kindle woman...

If you're a new veterinary graduate - veterinarian, veterinary nurse or veterinary technician thinking about, or already living in, rural New Zealand then this podcast is for you because you could be eligible to apply for the $1,500 Virbac Rural Women New Zealand Animal Health Graduate Grant. Links and people mentioned in today's show Virbac New Zealand The team - Katie Turner - Digital...

Given that Covid-19 has been brought front-and-centre back into our lives and our businesses this week, I thought it might be a good idea to have a chat about the latest business subsidy available to clinics – and thus their teams – this week, what to do if one of your team members tests positive – the subsidy available to you, and then what you need to do if you or someone in your clinic needs to...

Now that there’s talk the Covid-19 vaccine being rolled out in Godzone Aotearoa New Zealand – and with a bit more of a concrete timeline than we’ve had before, can your employer give you an ultimatum – the jab or your job? Employers cannot force medication or any kind of medical choice onto staff.  If they do, they’re breaching the NZ Bill of Rights Act. Many employers offer flu jabs free of charg...

Reference (and background) checking - why you absolutely must see it as an investment rather than a cost  why you should do it – even when you think you can’t spare the time,  what questions to ask,  what answers might raise some red flags,  what to do with those red flags, and what you can and cannot do in relation to reference checking and NZ law In Godzone Aotearoa New Zealand there are some th...

As you’ll hear from Vanessa’s accent – she’s not a kiwi - she left her family and friends in Canada to come to New Zealand 8 years ago to fulfil her dreams of studying in NZ to become a veterinarian … she’s lived here ever since! Vanessa is a recent Massey University graduate with 3 years experience who works in a busy South Auckland practice as their fulltime companion animal veterinarian.  When...

Today’s episode is about the importance of having a GROWTH MINDSET vs a FIXED MINDSET and how to use take that approach to bring about positive change in your life and veterinary clinic.  E ither you’ve got a growth mindset or you’ve got a fixed mindset .  They were coined by Carol Dwek, an American Psychologist, about 6 years ago.  Dwek earned her PhD in Social and Developmental Psychology from Y...

This is the fourth episode (004) in the series supporting the parliamentary petition at GetVets. NZ . Today we look at some strategies to help you counter compassion fatigue – both as an individual veterinarian and, if you’re a clinic owner or practice manager, a few different things you can implement in your clinic. We hear an excerpt from a Ted-X talk, as well as a couple of sound bites from vet...

This is the fourth episode in the series supporting WHY I’m launching a parliamentary petition requesting the government to designate veterinarians as critical workers to let more into NZ to help the dire shortage we have right now.  You can sign the petition online at getvets.nz .  All online signatures ate 100% confidential . Late last year I received a letter from a very globally experienced co...

This is the third podcast in the series giving the background info as to why I’m supporting NZs veterinary sector by petitioning NZs parliament to change the classification of veterinarians to that of critical workers because the way it is now isn’t working. In this week’s episode we’ll talk about some of the other absolutely critical roles veterinarians play in the NZ economy because being a vet...

This week we look at some of the mental stresses that your favourite veterinary professionals are under so you can get a better understanding of what it’s like to walk a few kms in their shoes. This episode touches on some painful issues - like suicide. [You don’t have to listen to those facts if you don’t want to.  I’ll let you know before we get to those so you can stop listening at that point.]...