FlightPlan: Quick Consults

AI is everywhere right now, but where is it actually making a difference in the practice? Today's conversation skips the product pitches and focuses on what matters: reducing friction around the work your team is already doing. From AI scribes and admin support to client follow-up, workflow orchestration, and turning data into insights you can act on, the right tools can get your team to trus...

Twelve years after losing Dr. Sophia Yin, her push to take patient fear and stress seriously still shapes veterinary medicine. Today's panelists talk about how far we've come from labeling patients "difficult" or "dominant." They also dig into what happens when low-stress handling becomes part of the whole practice: fewer bites, happier teams, and clients who see how...

Melissa Mauldin and Brenda Medina both started at the front desk, and 40+ combined years in veterinary medicine later, neither path looked like a straight line. Melissa worked her way from CSR to bookkeeping, practice and regional management, and now VP of HR for Encore Vet Group. Brenda thought she'd become a tech before realizing the medical side wasn't for her, working her way up from...

If we want vet professionals to have sustainable careers and real, livable wages, that has to come from somewhere: the care we provide. In Part 2, practice owners, Dr. Brianna Armstrong and Dr. Marie Maher dig into what that means on the business side, why teams need to stop apologizing for what things cost, and how pricing confidently (while still working within the spectrum of care) is what lets...

"It's just so expensive" is one of the most common things veterinary teams hear, and one of the hardest to answer without feeling defensive. In Part 1 of a 2-part episode, two practice owners get honest about affordability for pet owners and sustainability for hospitals, and why charging what care actually costs shouldn't come with guilt attached. They break down what really go...

Where's the real opportunity for your practice in 2027 and beyond? Brenda sits down with Dr. Marty Greer of Veterinary Village, Maggie Holcomb of Reynolda Veterinary Hospital, and Michelle Winter of Encore Vet Group to talk about the services reshaping veterinary care, from technicians stepping into a bigger advisory role to rethinking spay and neuter timing to expanding into senior care, reh...

Have you accidentally trained your team to wait for you? If a vacation brings decisions to a halt until you're back, this episode is for you. Brenda sits down with a panel consisting of a veterinary consultant, a practice manager, and a practice owner/veterinarian to talk about letting go of being "the fixer," starting with the everyday things that pile up waiting for the boss, like...

This episode, Brenda's flying solo — answering the questions listeners have been quietly wondering about but haven't known who to ask! Is your team busier than ever, but the financials still aren't adding up — and you're not sure if it's a real problem or just everyone "feeling" overwhelmed? What do you do when your most talented employee turns out to be a rough...

Why does one leadership style never work for every employee? Brenda sits down with Debbie Hill, Brandon Hess, and Amy Tipton to make the case that "treat people the way THEY want to be treated" beats the golden rule when it comes to leadership — and that management should stay consistent while leadership has to flex person-by-person. From there, the panelists dig into what adapting actua...

If your team cares about doing right by clients and each other, why does communication still go sideways so often? Our panelists dig into that question this episode, and the answer isn't a lack of effort — it's that we all show up wired differently. Different motivators, different learning styles, and moments where passion or emotion take over can make even well-intentioned people miss e...

Every day, veterinary teams move from a euthanasia appointment straight into a new puppy visit — and are expected to just switch gears. But what does that emotional whiplash actually cost us, and do we have permission to feel it? In this episode, Natalie Marks, DVM, CVJ, CCFP, Elite FFCP-VA and Founder/CEO of VANE, joins us to discuss ideas from her article " 3 Ways Veterinarians Can Stay Pre...

Why do so many good people struggle to work together? Often it's not a personality clash — it's that high performers don't understand what actually drives their own behavior, let alone anyone else's. In this episode, we break down what the Predictive Index really is: a behavioral assessment that reveals the innate drives behind why we act the way we do. We dig into why a divers...

Brenda flies solo this episode to unpack the book, Unreasonable Hospitality through a veterinary lens, breaking down 7 recipes for creating standout experiences for your team and clients. From mise - en - place-style preparation before appointments to the small, intentional details that turn a single visit into years of loyalty, Brenda shares real practice examples, including a Southeast Texas tea...

We've talked about what burnout looks like and why managers feel stuck in the middle. Part 3 is where we get to the part that actually matters: what do we do about it? Backed by the same VHMA research that sparked this series, we close out Beyond Burnout with a forward-looking conversation about what sustainable veterinary leadership actually looks like in 2026 and beyond. From the simplest o...

Practice managers are accountable for results they don't always have authority to control, caught between what their team needs and what leadership is asking for. It's a setup that breeds burnout — and according to a recent VHMA study , it's pushing nearly half of managers to consider walking away from their roles. In Part 2 of our Beyond Burnout series, we dig into what it feels li...

A recent VHMA study found that 48% of veterinary practice managers are considering leaving their role. That number should stop us in our tracks — but for many practices, the warning signs go unnoticed until it's too late. In Part 1 of our Beyond Burnout series, we get into what burnout actually looks like in practice managers before they hit the wall. It doesn't always arrive as a dramat...

Handing someone a skills checklist isn't mentorship. It's a starting point! In this episode, our panelists dig into why the veterinary profession has long conflated training with mentoring, and what it actually looks like to invest in someone's growth beyond the checklist.  From the value of having a mentor outside your direct chain of command, to why safe spaces to fail matter more...

AI is everywhere — but what does it actually look like in a veterinary clinic? In this episode, we get practical: where AI is genuinely saving time (we're talking hours per vet), how it's transforming medical records and reducing cognitive load, and what real-world experience with AI in lab equipment looks like. We also tackle the risks — over-reliance, the fear that saved time just mean...

Inconsistent PIMS codes don't just create an organizational headache — they undermine every financial, clinical, and operational decision that flows from your data. In this episode, we dig into what it actually costs your practice when everyone's coding differently, and why fixing it matters more than most teams realize. From the classic dental coding dilemma (does that x-ray live under...

In this episode, our panelists unpack the leadership behaviors that can quietly erode trust, even when intentions are good, from inconsistency in communication and accountability to the impact of favoritism and the importance of leaders admitting their own mistakes. They also share practical, repeatable ways leaders can build stronger, higher-performing teams every single week — including creating...

Veterinary practices often promote their best people and then wonder why things aren't working. Sound familiar? In this episode, Brenda Tassava Medina, Amy Brauns, Melissa Mauldin and Angela Gainey dig into one of the most overlooked problems in practice leadership: what happens after the promotion. Too often, new leaders are handed a title and left to figure the rest out on their own. No coa...

Months of conversations. Dozens of perspectives. And some very clear patterns! In this solo episode, Brenda Tassava Medina shares the themes she keeps hearing from high-functioning veterinary practices and what struggling ones consistently miss. The best practices aren't running on hustle. They're intentional about how work flows, how culture gets built, and how their teams are set up to...

We say it all the time...you can't pour from an empty cup. So why does everyone in veterinary medicine keep pouring anyway?! In this episode, we get honest about burnout: what the early warning signs actually look like (cynicism, apathy, dehumanizing clients — and they're different for everyone), and why psychological safety through regular one-on-ones is your first line of defense. We a...

"Work-life balance" might be the most overused phrase in veterinary medicine, so if balance isn't the goal, what is? In this episode, we're joined by Dr. Tate, a veterinarian and practice owner who has never fully bought into the myth, and Ron Sosa, a neuro-inclusive leadership coach who has held nearly every role in a veterinary practice. Together, they get real about what sus...

In this episode, two veterinarians and a practice manager share how teams can balance high standards of care with the financial realities clients face. The conversation highlights the importance of reading client cues, offering clear options along the spectrum of care, and meeting clients where they are without compromising medical integrity. The panel also dives into practical strategies to impro...