The Vet Nurse Hacker Podcast

The Hidden Burden: Chronic Illness in the Veterinary Profession Five years of constant pain, fifteen years of chronic illness, and what it’s really like to work behind the scrubs when your body won’t play along. 💬 What does it mean to work in a profession built on care when your own body won’t cooperate? In this deeply personal and powerful episode, Vicky opens up about living with hemicrania con...

Ticked Off: Inside The Ehrlichiosis Epidemic With Dr. Peter Irwin - Part 2 📄 Episode Show Notes In Part 1 of this series, Dr Liisa Ahlstrom helped us understand what ehrlichiosis is, where it’s spreading across Australia, and why prevention is so different from paralysis tick disease. In this episode, we take the next step with Professor Peter Irwin, internal medicine specialist and one of Austra...

Ticked Off: The Ehrlichiosis Episode with Dr. Liisa Ahlstrom Ehrlichiosis is here—and it’s not your usual paralysis tick story. In this warm, technical chat with Dr Liisa Ahlstrom, technical vet at Elanco for Seresto, we break down what ehrlichiosis is, where it’s showing up across Australia, and why prevention looks different when transmission can occur in as little as three hours. This is Part 1...

Beransa Backlash: Sorting Science from Speculation Guest: Babs Tasker , Emergency & Critical Care Vet Nurse, Veterinary Territory Manager Host: Vicky the Vet Nurse Length: ~1 hr 21 mins 🔍 Episode Summary: This episode dives head-first into one of the most contentious conversations in vet med right now: the backlash surrounding Beransa (Librela). With headlines, social media spirals, and specu...

Just a Vet Nurse, Asking to Be Seen: Laura Bennington on ECC, Leadership & Changing the Game  🩺 Episode Summary: In this deeply honest and empowering episode of the Vet Nurse Hacker Podcast, we sit down with Laura Bennington, RVN, VTS (ECC)—Emergency & Critical Care specialist, educator, and founder of VEST (Veterinary Emergency Specialty Training). From her early days in general practice...

Surfing the CO₂ Waves: How to Spot Shark Fin & The Leak on a Capnograph 🎧 Vet Nurse Hacker Podcast – Episode 10 Capnography isn’t just a bunch of squiggly lines — it’s your patient’s ventilation story, written in real time. And in this episode, we’re zeroing in on two triangle-shaped waveforms that can trip you up if you don’t know what you’re looking at: The Shark Fin and The Leak. You’ll le...

🎧 Vet Nurse Hacker — Ask Me Anything: Vet Nurse Hacker Confessions  Host: Vicky, VTS (Nutrition) Episode Type: Solo AMA (Ask Me Anything) 🩺 Episode Overview:  In this raw and real AMA-style episode, Victoria answers the juiciest questions she's received from vet nurses across the profession. From clinical confidence to imposter syndrome, burnout to boundaries, and everything in between — this ep...

In this powerhouse episode of The Vet Nurse Hacker Podcast, Vicky is joined by the legendary Megan Brashear, BS, RVT, VTS (ECC) — a veterinary technician specialist, international speaker, educator, and deeply respected leader in emergency and critical care. From baby Megan’s animal-obsessed beginnings to becoming one of the most recognisable voices in veterinary nursing education, this episode ex...

The Vet Nurse's Guide to Brave Conversations 🩺 Episode Summary: In this heartfelt episode of Vet Nurse Hacker, Vicky unpacks the emotional reality of having hard conversations in vet med—from asking for a break, to setting a boundary, to speaking up when something doesn’t feel right. If you’ve ever cried in your car after a shift or second-guessed your voice in the treatment room, this one’s for...

🎙️ Episode Title: Nailed It — How Vet Tech Alex Contreras Built KlipTrio From the Ground Up 🚨 Episode Highlights: In this inspiring episode of The Vet Nurse Hacker, Vicky is joined by veterinary technician, canine massage therapist, and entrepreneur Alex Contreras — the visionary creator behind KlipTrio, the world’s first 3-in-1 nail clipper with an integrated file and disposable styptic powder c...

In this episode of the Vet Nurse Hacker podcast, host Victoria speaks with Claire Boyle, a veterinary nurse and life coach, about her journey through the veterinary profession, her transition into corporate life, and her passion for coaching fellow veterinary professionals. They discuss the importance of self-care, setting boundaries, and the value of mentorship in navigating the challenges of the...

Ep 4: Scrubbed In, Left Out - We Do The Work, Now Let Us Own The Title In this episode of the Vet Nurse Hacker podcast, Victoria discusses the critical issue of title protection for veterinary nurses in Australia. She highlights the lack of legal recognition for the title 'veterinary nurse,' which allows unqualified individuals to use the title, posing risks to patient safety and undermining the p...

In this episode of The Vet Nurse Hacker Podcast, we dive into one of the most underestimated — but absolutely life-saving — tools in your hospital arsenal: nutrition support for renal patients. From cranky kidneys to even crankier appetites, feeding hospitalised cats and dogs with renal disease can feel like a never-ending battle. But don’t worry — we’ve got your back (and your syringe). We break...

In this very first episode of The Vet Nurse Hacker podcast, we sit down with the brilliant and down-to-earth Bri Harding — a vet nurse who turned her big ideas into bold action. From the hustle of clinic life to launching a tiny home Airbnb and creating an online puppy school, Bri shares her inspiring journey of building not just one, but two businesses from the ground up. We chat about the challe...

Had a shocker of a shift? You’re not alone, and you’re definitely not a bad nurse because of it. In this episode of The Vet Nurse Hacker, we’re getting real about those days when nothing goes right — the vein you just can’t hit, the case that haunts you, the moment you break down in the treatment room. It’s raw, it’s real, and it’s something every vet nurse has felt (even the ones who look like th...