The Uncharted Veterinary Podcast

What happens when a team member’s side hustle starts spilling into your clinic? In this episode, Dr. Andy Roark and Stephanie Goss unpack a real scenario where a technician’s pet-sitting business blurs professional boundaries, leaving leaders stuck between being supportive and protecting the practice. You’ll learn how to respond without overreacting, how to set clear expectations when no policy ex...

Veterinary visits are dropping, the schedule has open slots, and yet your team still feels completely swamped. In this episode of the Uncharted Veterinary Podcast, Dr. Andy Roark and Maria Pirita break down what to do when declining advance bookings signal long-term risk, but your team does not see a problem because walk-ins keep the day busy. They explore why this disconnect happens, how leaders...

Your team is showing up, doing the job, and following the rules, but the energy is gone, the spark is missing, and it feels like everyone is just clocking in and clocking out. In this episode, Dr. Andy Roark and Stephanie Goss unpack a mailbag question from a practice manager facing quiet quitting in their veterinary team, not through laziness or rule-breaking, but through disengagement that is ha...

Feeling like practice ownership might have passed you by, even after years of hard work, paid-down debt, and careful planning? In this episode, Dr. Andy Roark sits down with Roy Jain, COO and Co-Founder of Blue River PetCare, to tackle one of the most common and painful questions associate veterinarians face today: is practice ownership still possible, or is the system stacked against you? Togethe...

When your team won’t move unless someone tells them exactly what to do, leadership starts to feel exhausting fast. We’re wrapping up the year by revisiting the top UVP episode of 2025, a standout conversation that resonated with practice managers, medical directors, and leaders who are tired of babysitting capable adults and ready to build a culture where initiative is the norm. In this Hall of Fa...

Veterinary leadership can feel heavy during the holidays. Between emotional cases, personal transitions, and the pressure to finish the year strong, many leaders find themselves exhausted, reflective, and unsure how to carry both the joy and the weight of the season. This episode brings together honest holiday leadership reflections from Dr. Andy Roark, Tyler Grogan, CVT and Maria Pirita, CVPM off...

When a front desk team member escalates client tension instead of calming it, the entire clinic feels the ripple effect. In this episode, we tackle a tough and common challenge in veterinary medicine: a highly reliable receptionist who becomes defensive and reactive when clients become upset. We break down why this happens, how fear and past experiences amplify emotional responses, and what leader...

A longtime veterinary technician feels trapped under an inexperienced new manager, and the entire team is slipping into frustration and burnout as leadership crumbles around them. In this episode of the Uncharted Veterinary Podcast, Dr. Andy Roark and Stephanie Goss dig into the real challenges of working under a difficult boss in veterinary medicine. They explore why imperfect leaders are inevita...

When your veterinary clinic starts growing faster than your systems can handle, it can feel like you’re constantly putting out fires instead of leading with confidence. In this episode of The Uncharted Veterinary Podcast, Dr. Andy Roark and Stephanie Goss dive into the realities of veterinary clinic growth, sharing how to move from survival mode to sustainable leadership. They explain why rapid ex...

Veterinary professionals often pour time, money, and energy into certifications that don’t always deliver the results they expect. In this episode, Dr. Andy Roark and Maria Pirita, CVPM break down how to decide if becoming a certified veterinary assistant, technician, or manager is truly worth it. They explore how to weigh the financial, emotional, and career impact of credentialing and share how...

What happens when friendships in your veterinary clinic start to blur the line between connection and cliques? In this episode of The Uncharted Veterinary Podcast, Dr. Andy Roark and Stephanie Goss dig into one of the most uncomfortable culture challenges in practice: favoritism. It often begins innocently, with a doctor and technician who click, who work smoothly together, and who spend time outs...

Your team comes back from CE full of ideas, energy, and handouts. Two weeks later, it is as if none of it ever happened. Sound familiar? In this episode of the Uncharted Veterinary Podcast, Dr. Andy Roark and Maria Pirita tackle one of the most frustrating challenges in veterinary leadership: how to actually implement what your team learns at continuing education events. CE should spark growth, no...

Veterinary client communication is at a crossroads. Teams everywhere are feeling the strain of constant calls, texts, and emails from clients who expect immediate answers. The pace of communication has accelerated faster than many veterinary practices can keep up with, creating a daily challenge: how do we stay personal and present while meeting growing digital demands? That question is at the cen...

What do you do when the veterinary feedback you’re getting feels personal, unfair, or downright mean? In this episode, Dr. Andy Roark and Stephanie Goss unpack a real letter from a mother in veterinary medicine whose daughter, a new CSR, is struggling with harsh feedback and unkind coworkers in her first clinic job. From the painful moment she was told, “I don’t like your face,” to an unsettling “...

What happens when you mix Halloween, dice, and a veterinary leadership team? You get one of the most entertaining and insightful episodes of The Uncharted Veterinary Podcast yet. In this special episode, host Dr. Andy Roark and the Uncharted team dive into veterinary gamified learning through an original role-playing game called Uncharted Adventures. The result? Laughter, chaos, and a fresh look a...

If your veterinary team is exhausted, overbooked, and asking why you are still taking on new clients, this episode is for you. In this conversation, Dr. Andy Roark and Maria Pirita unpack one of the most common leadership challenges in a busy veterinary practice: explaining the need for new clients without overwhelming your team. They explore what’s really behind staff resistance, how to separate...

If you’ve ever felt overwhelmed by negativity in Facebook groups or struggled with whether you should even engage on veterinary social media, this episode of the Uncharted Veterinary Podcast is for you. Dr. Andy Roark and Stephanie Goss dig into the stress that comes from online reputation battles, why comment section arguments rarely work in your favor, and how to set healthy social media boundar...

When your top-producing veterinarian starts squeezing in extra appointments, turning in higher invoices, and choosing more expensive medications, it can spark concerns about whether you have a “money hungry vet” on your team. In this episode of the Uncharted Veterinary Podcast, Dr. Andy Roark and veterinary management consultant Monica Dixon Perry unpack the challenges of production-based compensa...

When wealthy pet owners happily spend on designer collars and gourmet treats but refuse essential veterinary care, the frustration for veterinary teams runs deep. In this episode of the Uncharted Veterinary Podcast, Dr. Andy Roark and Stephanie Goss unpack why affluent clients decline services, how this impacts team morale, and what strategies can help bridge the gap. From shifting your mindset to...

Ever had a case where the client was all in on helping their pet feel better, but regular in-clinic treatments just weren’t practical? Maybe it was a large dog with arthritis whose owner struggled to get them in the car. Or a client who cringes at the thought of daily medications. Dr. Andy Roark sits down with the brilliant Dr. Deb Torraca, veterinarian, rehab expert, and founder of Wizards of Paw...

When a new graduate veterinarian joins your team, they bring fresh energy, curiosity, and hope for the future. But what happens when an experienced associate begins to undermine that confidence? Veterinary workplace bullying isn’t always loud or obvious, yet its impact can be devastating. Toxic behavior drives away bright new grads, damages team morale, and creates long-term retention challenges f...

When your clinic goes through a veterinary practice sale, it can feel like the ground shifts overnight. Associates wonder what their future looks like, owners face the weight of transition, and teams question whether the culture they love will survive. In this episode of the Uncharted Veterinary Podcast, host Dr. Andy Roark talks with Dr. Gene Bauer of Blue River Pet Care about what really happens...

When your clinic hits chaos, nothing hurts morale faster than a disappearing team member who slips away from the treatment floor when they are needed most. In this episode of the Uncharted Veterinary Podcast, Dr. Andy Roark and Stephanie Goss tackle a real mailbag case about “Brenda,” a well-meaning but frustrating employee whose habit of vanishing during busy times leaves teammates overwhelmed an...

When you’re the one constantly picking up the slack in your practice, frustration can quickly turn into resentment. In this episode of the Uncharted Veterinary Podcast, Dr. Andy Roark sits down with Dr. Saye Clement to tackle the all-too-common struggle of feeling overworked while others seem to move more slowly. Together, they dig into why resentment creeps in, how to recognize it early, and what...

Are you struggling to bring doctors on board after a hospital acquisition? In this episode of the Uncharted Veterinary Podcast, Dr. Andy Roark and Stephanie Goss tackle the challenges of onboarding an acquired hospital, from resistant associates to the cultural shift that comes with moving from independent practice to corporate structure. They break down how leaders can build trust, create buy-in,...