The Vet Tech Cafe's Podcast

Caffeinators, get a bottle Bailey's because we're going to Ireland! Susan Ryan stopped by the Vet Tech Cafe, literally today, to talk all things veterinary nursing in Ireland! She talked about getting a lot of her education and experience in the UK because it wasn't available in Ireland, but how Ireland is moving forward in the veterinary profession. She compared and contrasted working in the UK v...

Caffeinators, guten tag! The Vet Tech Cafe is on the road again! This time we are headed to Switzerland! We recently sat down with Natasha Summerfield to talk all things life as a veterinary technician and VTS in Switzerland. This was a great discussion and she talked to us about education and credentialing, utilization and collaboration, public perception, and so much more, including her travels...

Have you ever considered leaving vet med?  Like actually leaving the field completely?  Tune in to hear our thoughts on this topic and our perspective on our  most recent episodes with two veterinary technicians that did just that. Also - what's your car's name?

Caffeinators, to finish our Mental Health Awareness Month series, we finally connected with Tosha Zimmerman! We were working on having Tosha as a guest a few years ago but she lost her job and she moved into a different field. We've wanted to talk to her for a long time, and time was right to talk about looking for work in another field, and transferability of skills and all that was the focus for...

Caffeinators, if you've been following us for a while, you may remember an episode from FIVE years ago with April F. Bays. Well, she has left the profession, and we focus this episode on the why and the what now. We've long avoided this topic because we didn't want to be seen as "encouraging" people to leave the field. But for some, that may be the last option to save their sanity. We see lots of...

Caffeinators, get in-we're going to the land down under! For this episode, we headed all the way to Sydney, Australia to chat with Melissa Shoard! Melissa is a VTS(ECC) with a whole bunch of other credentials that we asked her to explain. We chatted about education and credentialing in Australia, her work with the VNCA, her podcast that she records, and so much more! This was such a fun episode, y...

Caffeinators, get in we're going to Budapest! You know we love to talk about veterinary medicine around the world. At our last staff meeting, we went through the AVECCTN membership list and reached out to everyone that works in a country we hadn't featured yet. Miklós Róth from Hungary was the first to write back and what a fun conversation this is. We talked about what vet med looks like in Hunga...

Welcome to the taproom!  We've got a lot of upcoming international guests that we're really excited about.  We also talk about the big news with Chewy.  And of course dinner party questions!   What do you want to be remembered for? What's your favorite sandwich? Let us know in the comments!

Caffeinators, get ready to get your nerd on for this one. Carolyn Tai recently came by the Vet Tech Cafe. She's a double-boarded VTS in ECC and SAIM, and is a dialysis technician at the veterinary school at Tufts University. We talked ALL things extracorporeal therapy. Dialysis, TPE, hemoperfusion, etc. She shared a few crazy cases she's worked on recently and what her role is in this setting and...

We recorded our first live episode at NAVC's HiVE Midwest conference in Covington Kentucky!  We had some great guests stop by to chat with us about the conference.  We're hoping to do this again at future HiVE conferences. Show Links: Hive South:  https://experience.navc.com/event/HiVESouth2026/summary?utm_campaign=HiVE_2026&utm_medium=website&utm_source=content Hive East: https://experien...

This is our very first installation of the Vet Tech Taproom where it will just be us chatting about topics we've come across that we want to discuss amongst ourselves.  In our first episode, we introduce the series and discuss what it means to be "Veterinary Influencers".     The link to the article: https://drandyroark.com/im-a-veterinary-influencer-and-guess-what-you-are-too/

Caffeinators, grab your poutine and a cup of Tim Horton's because we're going back north of the border! Barb Deg recently came by the Vet Tech Cafe, and her journey through vet med alone is worth the price of admission, but then we talked all things behavior and scent dogs, and so much more cool stuff. She has her own behavior consulting business and we talk about what all is involved in that, tra...

Caffeinators, are you ready to talk AI in veterinary medicine? Are you wondering if and how it can help you in your work as a veterinary technician? Then this is the episode for you! We recently sat down with Robyn Sutton to talk all things AI in vet med. Robyn is an RVT, VTS(ECC) but has left clinical practice and now works for a veterinary AI company. We talked how it can improve our workflows,...

Caffeinators, do you feel ... "vintage"? This episode is for you. What is vintage, you ask? There's no specific age or length of time in the field, rather, it's more how your body feels physically after working in this field. Do you have more than one joint that pops when you get off the floor? You're vintage. Do you wear special shoes or wear inserts to help your back? You're vintage. and on and...

First Taproom of 2026.  We've been nominated for an award!  Please vote for us! https://thebridgeclub.com/bright-minds-voting/ We also talk a lot about the "guilt" of calling out or not filling shifts.  Tell us what you think about this! We've got a lot of things planned for the new year.  Stay tuned!

Caffeinators, Vet Tech Cafe is Australian for podcast. If you're vintage like us, you may remember that Foster's beer commercial and when you hear this episode, it'll make more sense. We're headed back down under to check in again with Cat Walker! You may know her as Radio Vet Nurse, but she's launched a veterinary mediation business as she has a law background, and as you know, we always want to...

Caffeinators, as we close out 2025 we take a look into the industry side of the profession with Vicky Ograin. Vicky is a long time RVT who left clinical practice over 20 years ago to work for Hill's Pet Nutrition. She's also since obtained a VTS(Nutrition) and an MBA. She's currently a Scientific Communication Senior Specialist within the US Professional Veterinary Affairs Department. It's a very...

Our year end taproom!  We said it in this episode, but we'll say it again.  Thank you to your patreons.  They really make doing this podcast so much easier.   Have a listen and hear our favorite episodes for this year.  Tell us what your favorite episodes were this year!  

Caffeinators, you may remember our recent episode Sara Hunt talking about all things VTS Diagnostic Imaging (if you missed it, be sure to check it out!), and we're back again with another VTS(DI)! This time, Liane Shaw came by the Vet Tech Cafe. Why two guests from the same Academy, you ask? Because they are doing two VERY different things with their credential. Liane works in Academia at Purdue t...

Caffeinators, you know we don't often have guests at the Vet Tech Cafe that aren't credentialed technicians, but when we do, it means it's an important conversation. This is one of those episodes. Caitlin Palmer came by recently and she is a career CSR and is on the President's Advisory Board for the North American Association of Veterinary Receptionists, NAAVR. Did you know that existed? Some ama...

We just finished up the NAVC HiVE conference in Anaheim CA!  Have a listen to our recap and look out for future HiVE conferences coming to your region!    

Caffeinators, you've been asking for him for years, and we were finally able to have Walter Brown come by the Vet Tech Cafe! We recently had lunch with him at IVECCS and had a long discussion about axolotls there, so we talked about his love of exotics, and tarantulas in particular. We also talked about content creation and how all of that came to be for him, which is a wild story. He's also very...

Caffeinators, you know we strive each year to sit down with the sitting President of NAVTA, so buckle up because here we go! Beckie Mossor recently came by to tell us what NAVTA is working on, talk about their recent demographic survey, and also talk a bit about National Vet Tech Week, which has morphed a bit over the last several years. We also talked about another project she's heavily involved...

Caffeinators, can you believe it's time to kick off Year 7 of the Vet Tech Cafe?! And you know what that means, our annual check in with Liz Hughston! This is an important one, as she's "retiring" from vet med. She'll still be active in some areas, but has already began scaling back in many others, and will continue to do so. So we talked about retirement from vet med and what that looks like, and...

Welcome to the Taproom!  Today's topics: Jeff is back to work!  And we tackle the topic of Vet Tech Week.  Thank you all for your feedback on National Vet Tech Week.  We tried to go through all your comments and comment on them with our thoughts.  Let's keep the conversation going as we move in to Vet Tech Week.   Our Links: Check out our sponsor  https://betterhelp.com/vettechcafe  for 10% off yo...