Vet Med Wellness + Leadership

Dr. Jennifer Edwards has lived what I call a full-circle life, combining her passions for conscious leadership and veterinary medicine. Before addressing how to "wake up" in your life, we explore the concept of living on autopilot—a condition affecting many. Jennifer describes the symptoms as dissatisfaction, feeling stuck, disempowerment, and a resignation to a “sucky life.” We dissect...

Are you entering a leadership position? Today, Dr. Sarah Gillings shares her leadership development journey and offers insights on how others stepping into leadership can make their desired impact. Dr. Sarah gets right into the basics. Before you become a leader, you really don’t know what you don’t know. She reminds us that people pay much more attention to you than you realize, and your influenc...

We are operating in a time where diverse generations like the Baby Boomers, Gen X, and Millennials, and even some Gen Z, are working together in one clinic. These individuals come with varying backgrounds, lifestyles, and lived experiences that all impact the way they work. Dr. Craig Clifford joins me with his perspective as an overworking, burnout-prone Gen X.  Dr. Clifford explains the mindset s...

Today I am joined by Tedd Trabert and Dr. Bill Wagner of Associated Veterinary Partners. AVP is a veterinarian-founded and veterinarian-operated network of veterinary hospitals, managing 16 partner practice locations across 12 states in the U.S. Unlike many others, AVP is not controlled by private equity; all partner locations are co-owned by AVP and local practice leaders. This unique partnership...

Our guest today is Meghan Bingham, Vet Advisor at Granite Peak Associates. During our conversation, she emphasized the importance of realigning the team within a veterinary clinic to foster positive energy, professionalism, and psychological safety. Daily challenges such as cranky clients, the grief of euthanasia, and unfortunate medical mistakes can lead to negative attitudes, toxic behavior, and...

Jake McCormack is the Leadership Trainer at Veterinary Practice Partners, but he is also a Retired  Marine Corps Combat Veteran. This unlikely transition of careers is actually more connected than one might think.  During our powerful and emotional conversation, Jake shares his experiences in the military with trauma, loss, and mental health struggles. These are some of the same difficulties at th...

I am betting every veterinarian and pet owner has a story about how finances profoundly affected them when it came to veterinary care. I’ve shared my story about the weight I felt from frequent economic euthanasia. Money conversations are not just something that plague pet owners when they step up to the payment counter; there is depth on the other side of the exam table as well. In this episode,...

This episode features an Interview I did with Tom Seeko, host of the Smarter Vet Financial Podcast. We start off our conversation with my origin story and my childhood desires to become a veterinarian, as well as my experience in college at NC State. Shocked by the frequency of economic euthanasia, I entered a quarter life crisis and found psychotherapy to be so helpful in transformative therapy d...

PetSmart Charities, the nonprofit arm affiliated with PetSmart, is dedicated to increasing access to veterinary care for pets across the country. In this episode I had a great chat with Robyn James, the director of veterinary affairs, the organization is tackling significant challenges to support pets and their owners. Together we discuss the challenges that occur with access to care. Financial ba...

Today I am joined by a  panel of guests: Elizabeth Chosa, Laurie Fonken, Ami VanDeventer, and Trish Oberdorf from Veterinary Hope Foundation. Together, they give a 360 view of VHF and how it is growing and evolving continuously. Plagued by the question, “Could anyone truly be happy in the field?” Founders and board members came together to create supportive solutions and prevent crises. VHF is all...

You are going to love this conversation with Get MotiVETed Founder, Renee Machel. Get MotiVETed offers comprehensive wellbeing solutions for veterinary professionals. Their programs enhance individual and organizational wellness through world-class systems and entertaining content. Services include a CVBP Program, podcasts, RACE-approved courses, and personalized initiatives. They also provide sui...

In the demanding world of veterinary medicine, burnout is a pervasive challenge that can significantly impact professionals' well-being and job satisfaction. Steve Oehley, the founder of Next Step Vet, understands the complexities of this issue and offers valuable guidance to help veterinary professionals not just survive, but thrive in their careers. By recognizing the signs of burnout, such...

Handling dispute in animal industry can be frustrating, painful, and costly. Debra Hamilton, of Hamilton Law and Mediation, is dedicated to supporting individuals passionate about animal welfare and those working in the animal industry. Her focus is all about finding peaceful resolutions, recognizing that pets are more than just property—they're cherished members of the family. Hamilton offer...

Ryan Leech starts out this really intriguing conversation with a case for AI and why it is not to be feared. The bottom line is that AI tools like Chat GPT, Spotify DJ, and Digitails AI Tool: Tails are human prompted and meant to offload time consuming and often mundane tasks so that we can do the things we’re skilled at. Digitails has introduced AI into their PMS in the form of a cute little fox...

The reality of being a veterinarian is that you create relationships and bonds with the pets you work with over the years, and the longer your career, the more pets you see in full circle. The process of euthanasia for Dr. Pam Johnson’s childhood Doberman impacted her entire career. She knew she wanted to do better for the pets and clients she would encounter. 10 years into her career, she began t...

Today’s guest, Sydney Wandix, speaks to one of my favorite topics: the varying opportunities that fit under the vet med umbrella. There are so many careers available in this field that you don’t have to be stuck; you can try new things and hopefully find just the right fit. Sydney has run the gamut of jobs in the veterinary industry and is a licensed veterinary technician. She works for UrgentVet...

We have another incredible full circle story for you on this episode. Dr. Natalie Fayman shares her journey beyond vetmed after 33 years of exhaustion and burnout led her to a point of no return. When a  life coach helped Dr. Fayman work through her emotional eating coping mechanism, she had a powerful breakthrough and a total epiphany through positive intelligence. Leading her to the passion of h...

Does your veterinary job leave you depleted? Worn out? Reaching for chocolate and caffeine day after day after day? Kirbie Be had the same experience when she was an elementary school teacher. She shares with us her story of declining physical and mental health… all culminating in a big shift when she took a contract in the Caribbean at a prep school for the families of those at the Ross Universit...

A fun bunch joins me for this episode. I sat down with Dr. Chad Ely, Dr. Jessica Schultz, Dr. Lindsey Goeckner, and Dr. Mara Fehrenbacher from Effingham Vet Clinic. During our conversation, the glue that holds them together was no surprise. Humor. The team at Effingham has no shortage of jokes for each other when it comes to work. They find that taking a lighthearted laugh is the best cure for str...

Dr. Neil Shaw is the founder of SignalPET, where he has worked to refine revolutionary AI technology to boost veterinary confidence and reduce stress with assisted diagnostics. When a pet comes in for care, there are a variety of scenarios that could take place, and many fall to a pivotal question: Do they need radiology? This question can lead to an out of office referral, long wait times, or eve...

As providers in the veterinary industry, we have compassionate hearts, always wanting to help pets and their people too. But palliative care can be hard to bear, especially when you’re having difficult conversations daily.  Dr. Rachel Venable is the owner of Pet Cancer Care Consulting, where she offers teleconsulting. Telemedicine is growing in the vet industry and can be a great option for provid...

I met Daniel Valdes during a Celeritas Digital virtual peer group discussion (stay tuned till the end and check the links so you can get involved). Daniel is a dedicated project manager with Celeratis, a technology company with a heavy hand in animal health. Daniel has a personal connection to the vet industry and veterinary wellness, not only as a pet owner but also with his veterinarian sister....

Early on in Dr. Corey Blake’s, owner of Oceanside Animal Hospital and founder of Sacred Leadership, career, she realized owning a practice is much more than being a good DVM. She became so invested in doing the best for her team, clients, and patients.  Burnout was surely following. This is when she discovered Embodiment and Embodied Leadership. Too often, we are chasing external validation and ex...

Before she founded BETTERinary Personal Coaching, Dr. Ashlee Bruewer experienced the benefits of coaching.  From the age of 3, Dr. Bruewer remembers admiring her family veterinarian and wanting to be a small animal vet herself. Between then and now, she has reached her goal, but her career has taken many turns in between.  Dr. Bruewer shares her personal story in which she felt pressure to meeting...

Booster Pet is leading a revolution in the veterinary care industry. CEO of Booster Pet, Dr. Katie Cutter, joins me to explain their model and the wellness benefits that come along with it. The veterinary industry has experienced a lot of change over the years and a lot of struggles, and as Dr. Cutter points out, it needs to step back and build sustainable systems to support the industry. Those in...