The Overwhelmed Vet Podcast

How do you deal with being rejected? Head high, a shrug, and on to the next thing? Or do you get upset, retreat and struggle to move on? Whether you’re putting yourself out there for a new job, a promotion or even a new partner, rejection can give us a blow that leaves us incapable of getting up again. In this episode I go through why it is completely normal to struggle with rejection, and the thr...

If you work in Vet Med, then you can’t sit around and wait for things to get better - for you to magically FEEL better. The time to do something is now, and in this episode I explain why.  I recommend listening to episode 53 (my interview with Ceri Lewis “When your brain tries to kill you”) first. Don’t wait to see the edge on the horizon - prevent it from happening in the first place. You don’t k...

One of the things that wear us out the most is being stuck in confusion and indecision.  Should I stay or leave this job? Should I even stay in vet med? The reason it's so hard to make a decision is because deep down we're afraid of change. We're also afraid of regretting our decision, in case we didn't make "the right one” In this episode I take you through the process th...

How do you get back from rock bottom twice in your veterinary life? How do you even HIT rock bottom twice? As a veterinarian, we know that we have a much higher suicide rate than other professions, and we intellectually kind of “get” it. But how do you know that YOU suddenly are at risk? What are the thoughts and feelings to look out for - how can you catch it in time? Where do you turn for help -...

People always ask me how I get so much done and my first thought is always “huh? I don’t do that much, do I really?”.  But YES, I DO, and I think it’s time I share how I get things done with almost no stress (I can’t say zero stress, I’m still human). When we’re wanting to do things in our lives such as: Work out/do yoga/other physical activity during the week Meal prep Finish work on time Write a...

Spoiler alert: It’s much easier to realise once you’re OUT of it and can look back. So from that place, I want to give you the 11 top clues that I wish I had paid attention to when I was in burnout, so I could have gotten out earlier. Have a listen, and pay attention to the “Ooops I do this all the time!” If there are more than a few, you want to do an audit of your life.  Ask your loved ones what...

Do you feel you’re in a toxic treadmill of constant things to do that never ends? Do the words “I’ll just quickly …” or “I’m quite busy …” or “I can’t right now, I’ve got a lot to do…” pass your lips more often than not? Do you sometimes dream of having just a LITTLE accident or a “harmless coma” so you can STOP for a second and just lie down with no negative consequences? Then you’re likely livin...

Ever felt like you are trapped and stagnating in vet med?  Well Alex hasn’t, because through his 20 year career as a Miami veterinary technician he has kept challenging himself and found innovative ways to grow in every way. Being an entrepreneur as well in this field is no joke, and we can learn a lot from how he managed not to burn out. Listen to our conversation around how he managed to stay an...

You may think you should be better at coping with vet med. I’m here to tell you you shouldn’t, and exactly why. Ever heard about Urlugaledinna? Me neither, but in this episode you’ll find out who he is and why it’s important. Also the two things that happened 30 years ago that changed the playing field in vet med to an extent no one could have prepared us for. And finally, my 3 top tips to adapt t...

Ever experienced this? You: had a bad experience with a client yesterday, and today you wake up full of dread and anxious about going to work h ad a bad bleed during a bitch spey and now you panic every time you see a spey on your op list w orked in a toxic environment and now you feel defensive and resentful towards vet med even if you’re currently workingin a nicer place Our past experiences can...

There will come a point in your life when you look back and suddenly think “Am I successful?” Likely - your brain will say “no”. It will compare you to other people, and find you lacking. Success is not as clear cut as we might think. It’s not necessarily fancy specializations, lots of money or meeting the queen. In this episode of The Overwhelmed Vet Podcast you’ll learn how NOT to define success...

Vet Med is no dance on roses. It’s incredibly rewarding. We make a huge difference to a LOT of animals and their owners. AND - when things go wrong, they can REALLY go wrong.  There are more victims than may meet the eye, and you want to be prepared. Tune in to learn the 3 things you might not know yet, that can make the difference of breaking or making it in the world of  veterinary medicine Virt...

Getting a message from work, or a dreaded email from the Royal College can make our anxiety shoot through the roof in seconds. Is it WRONG to feel anxious and defensive about messages that we didn’t really want to receive? And how can we avoid pulling an all nighter ruminating over it, contemplating worst case scenarios? This episode will help you react in a way that doesn’t make the unwanted mess...

How significant are you? When you play small and fail to say what you really want, and stand up for yourself, you become insignificant. When you’re insignificant, your patients lose out on your valuable insight and opinions. The people that surround you don’t get the real version of you. It may seem you’re being humble, but in reality there’s something else behind it. In this episode I take you th...

I opened the kennel and the dog face planted on my trainers. Oops. We had had a busy ER shift and I had finally gotten around to check on this impatient: A labrador that had been referred for out of hours analgesia and fluids because of abdominal pain. Now it had suddenly become a neuro case and I was panicking. I called the owners, called the referral centers and managed to get her in for an emer...

Two vets at completely different points in their lives - one burnt out after 10 years in practice and wanting to leave at all costs but staying because it’s the thing everyone expects. The other one absolutely loving life, has re-ignited her passion for veterinary medicine and feels like she’s finally living the exact life SHE wants to live. How do you get from one spectrum of this scale to the ot...

Ever thought you couldn’t cope in vet med? Between being understaffed, having patients coming in with no warning, upset and frustrated pet parents… Now imagine doing the same job, but with teeny premature babies! One of my best friends Silvia Correa is an experienced nurse in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit in Liverpool.  Today we sat down and discussed how it’s possible to cope, improve AND love...

When you lack self confidence, life is so much harder! You struggle with feedback You worry about what other people think about you Self doubt constantly creeps up and spoils your day. Doing new things becomes too scary, and you beat yourself up when you don’t get it right the first time (which makes it really hard to get good at some things in the clinic!) In this episode I’ll teach you: The diff...

Making a mistake is never fun, no matter how big or small. You can NOT 100% avoid making mistakes in this profession, because we’re doing new things everyday, often in a rush and with different people. So what can you do WHEN you mess up and the worst case scenario comes true? 10 times overdosed? Dog swallowed ET tube? In this episode I want to share with you the top tips for getting through a mis...

Why do some people seem to be so motivated, and I just feel like staying in bed and not going to work again? Or at least THIS work? There are SO many reasons to feel unmotivated in vet med - but also so many to STAY motivated! In this episode I share with you the THREE steps you can take in order to feel motivated again. You don’t HAVE to stay motivated in vet med - but it is not much FUN going th...

My client left her job and was STILL obsessed with her manager's opinion of her. Why do we get so worked up when we’re unfairly judged? And why does other people’s opinion matter so much to us? Working in vet med it can be REALLY challenging, because when clients are wrong about us we feel our identity as a decent vet is threatened.  And when a colleague or manager has the wrong opinion us -...

Vicky is a vet nurse struggling to find time for everything out of work. She jumped on the opportunity as an email subscriber to get an hour of intensive coaching! In this podcast episode you’ll get an idea of how you can get coached if it’s the first time you’ve ever met me, and how much clarity you can get in your life just in one session. Because it’s NEVER just about getting stuff done.  It’s...

You’re on your shift. A patient comes in. You take a thorough history, you examine, and you think about a plan of actions. And now …. You have to give the pet owner an estimate of how much it’s going to cost them! If you struggle, and end up doing some of these things: Underestimate to make sure they approve Judge their appearance and try to guesstimate how much they can pay Not charging or underc...

Do you feel trapped in vet med? Are you dreading the start of the week, wishing you could do ANYTHING else than working in a clinic? Have you half heartedly tried to look around for something else but - 1) there doesn’t seem to be opportunities for you out there or  2) you do NOT have the energy or enthusiasm to make plans and really go for it? A vet reached out to me about this, and ended the mes...

Overwhelmed in the veterinary clinic? Crazy busy and feels like you’re trapped in a hamster wheel?? Time for a second episode on overwhelmed vets = 2.0! In this episode I’ll help you redefine busyness in the clinic and look at how you can deal with the stress. Learn how to: get a perspective, prioritise and delegate as opposed to spinning around putting out fires. make solid decisions that will he...