The Vet Tech Cafe's Podcast

Caffeinators, you know we love to talk about veterinary technicians doing awesome things, and this episode with Sara Hunt is no different! We talk about her VTS in Diagnostic Imaging and how she's using that to perform ultrasounds! She actually started long before the VTS(DI) existed, but is now putting her title to good use! She takes us through training academies to perform ultrasounds, the ince...

Caffeinators, we are going to the South Side of Chicago to Fly the W for this episode and talk about all things shelter medicine. Carla Hubbs is the supervising veterinary technician of animal care and control in a very large, open intake municipal animal care and control facility. We talked about unique challenges and perceptions of shelter medicine she wishes her non-shelter colleagues were awar...

Caffeinators, you know we talk about mental health. A lot. For this episode, Dr. Marie Holowaychuk reached out to us to talk about her book and mental health and well being in our space and this episode is not to be missed. We must say it comes with a trigger warning that we do discuss, albeit very briefly, suicide, so if you are struggling please reach out via *988 or another resource. Through th...

Dave and Jeff at IVECCS in San Diego!  Recap of our conference experience.  We loved seeing all our caffeinators... too many to mention.  We've got some great guests lined up from networking this past week that we're very excited to talk to.  Were you at IVECCS?  We'd love to hear how your experience was! Our Links: Check out our sponsor  https://betterhelp.com/vettechcafe  for 10% off your first...

Caffeinators, do you like cats? That's a dumb question! This episode is all cats, all the time! Caitlin Dutcher-Lundy reached out to us a while back and this turned in to an awesome episode! Caitlin is THE FIRST VTS-CP(Feline) to have successfully applied and passed the examination, and we talked about the process and pathway, and also all the cool things her hospital does-SPOILER ALERT, her hospi...

As Dave and Jeff prepare for IVECCS they had one final Taproom before heading to San Diego!  What are your thoughts on Space vs. Ocean?  Which is scarier?   We've got a lot of great guests coming up in the next couple months!   HiVE Anaheim: https://navc.com/hive/vet-nurse-and-tech/ Illinois Veterinary Technicians: https://www.isvma.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/ISVMA-Title-Infographic-7.25-10.pd...

Caffeinators, are you ready to laugh and hear cool stories?! We recently had Chelsey Vanetten over at the Vet Tech Cafe, and she is a VTS in Anesthesia and Analgesia. She told us all about anesthetizing fish, researching large mouth bass, and how she utilizes her knowledge and expertise to elevate anesthesia in veterinary practices in which she provides relief services, and training and education....

Been a while since we had a taproom!  We're retiring our "state of the profession" quiestion for all our guests, but we had to let it go out with one last hurrah.  We talk about respect, patient:tech ratios, and surviving in the field.    

Caffeinators, does anyone on your leadership team have an advanced, non-veterinary, degree in something to do with leadership? If not, we highly recommend listening to this episode with Amanda Kriesel. She has a Master's degree in Industrial and Organizational Psychology, and did her thesis on OTJ veterinary technicians. This made for a fascinating discussion about leadership. She is also very act...

Caffeinators, do you know what benefits you receive? Do you understand there are various federal and state protections you're entitled to? Do you understand your benefits package or know where to find the information in your employee handbook? Do you even have one of those? In this episode of the Vet Tech Cafe, we sat down with Andrea Crabtree Wood who is a CVPM and has several HR certifications a...

Caffeinators, this is a HEAVY episode. But it is one you ABSOLUTELY need to tune in to. You may remember our episode with Kelly Foltz from 2023 where she touched on the idea of futile care and has since been involved in researching this topic (link below). In this most recent discussion we try to define and label this idea, which proves to be very tricky and as yet is still undecided. But the fact...

Caffeinators, let's talk oncology. And let's have that conversation with Inge Breathnach! Inge (@oncologyrvn) came by the Vet Tech Cafe recently (TWICE due to technical issues!) to talk all things oncology. We discussed the importance of alignment, ethically speaking, between the oncology nurse and the oncology veterinarian, the importance of celebrating your wins no matter how small they may be,...

Taproom 51! Jeff has a new baby! We discuss Vet Tech title protection in Illinois and recap of our May episodes. We also discuss time off.. paternity, bereavement.  What else do you get for time off?  Our upcoming episodes are getting scheduled.  Onco, futile care and shelter medicine coming up soon!

Caffeinators, you may remember we recently spoke with Kelly Drescher Johnson and talked about end of life care and grief, and the company she started, Veterinary Chaplaincy Services. During that discussion she mentioned the idea of the "World's Worst Cocktail Party" and grief. We decided to make that a whole episode for Mental Health Awareness Month! This discussion was fascinating and made so muc...

Caffeinators, you may remember when we had Lynn Blake on in the Summer of 2024. There were a few points in that discussion that made us think she'd be a perfect fit for our May episodes where we focus on mental health in our field for Mental Health Awareness Month. Lynn cam back recently to tell us what she's doing now and we discussed mental health in our field from several different angles, incl...

Taproom # 50!  Lots to unpack here.  Here's some links we discussed Minnesota: https://navta.net/industry-news/minnesota-association-of-veterinary-technicians-mavt-update-historic-veterinary-technician-licensure-bill-passed/?fbclid=IwY2xjawKEdsZleHRuA2FlbQIxMABicmlkETE5RkdkN1pOVjJNZFdva2pRAR6BEr4PhIBwEWu4Y8dwWRrIA6c0xlmY4yDXlH_Zw3cZIJYVwS0YooL4G_8gQg_aem_fGQxGLGSOUe9MNS7zcYIFQ Mid Level Practition...

Caffeinators, you know we love to highlight veterinary technicians and nurses that are out here blazing a path that makes us all better for it. This is another one of those episodes. We recently came across Amelia Sherwood, (@tissueviabilityvetnurse) and looking at her content and what she was doing, we knew we had to talk to her. She was gracious enough to to chat with us, and what an inspiring c...

Caffeinators, it's time for another uplifting, inspiring episode. We've had a few people recommend Beth Stark to be a guest on the Vet Tech Cafe, and we finally got to meet her at HiVE Anaheim as the three of us are HiVE Champions. We recently sat down with her to talk about her unique path, her passion for helping veterinary technicians advance their careers, work to prevent burnout, and also her...

Caffeinators, as you know, we don't have many DVM guests come by the Vet Tech Cafe, but when they do, it's because they have a unique viewpoint on a current issue. This is that episode! Dr. Sam Hollister reached out to us a while back wanting to talk about the "U" word - unionization in veterinary medicine. As a veterinarian, he presented some very unique viewpoints and compelling arguments in sup...

We're back from Phoenix!  Recap of our annual Phoenix trip and a discussion of the CVT changes in NJ that will be happening soon!  Come in and have a beer with us!   Follow us on Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/vettechcafe Follow us on Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/vettechcafepodcast Follow us on LinkedIn:  https://www.linkedin.com/company/vet-tech-cafe Like and Subscribe on YouTube: ...

Caffeinators, are you ready to hear from Megan Brashear? We honestly don't know why it took us so long to have her stop by the Vet Tech Cafe, but we sure are glad she finally did! If you don't know, Megan is one of the OG veterinary technician speakers and educators. She was do a series called On The Floor AtDove long before a webinar format was popular, and it is still very highly utilized on You...

Caffeinators, by now you know we strive to bring you episodes with awesome guests that are out there doing amazing things as veterinary technicians and veterinary nurses. Sometimes, they're people we know; sometimes, they're people you recommend to us; and sometimes, we just get lucky and come across them. This is one of those episodes. Recently, Dave was working on a lecture and read something th...

Caffeinators, you know we love to highlight people in our field that are blazing their own path and starting businesses, and this episode is just that! Becky Lacy and her partner Nikole Hludzik recently came by the Vet Tech Cafe to talk to us about their brand new venture, Animalance RVA! Animalance is an animal ambulance/transport service serving the greated Richmond, Virginia area. They provide...

Caffeinators, we strive to talk to veterinary technicians from all corners of the profession. This episode is a nod to that. Kendra Dostaler, aka Kendra the Vet Tech on social, recently came by the Vet Tech Cafe! She recently added VTS(EVN) to her crednetials-Equine Veterinary Nursing. We talked about all things equine medicine, regulatory affairs, large animal representation on a national scale,...

Taproom #48.  How is January almost over?  We recap our January episodes with Kelly and Juliann.  One thing that got brought up was CE for CSRs.  Does your hospital provide CE for your CSRs?  They should!  Lots of great episodes in the works for the next couple months, tune in for a teaser!