Vet Med Wellness + Leadership

Dr. Pamelar Hale has returned to the podcast, this time with her colleagues Dr. Keith True and Dr. George Melillo. Together, these veterinarians bring decades of experience and a shared passion for vet-owned clinics and veterinarian leadership in the field. The wealth in the industry is more often not going to veterinarians but instead to corporations, and while corporations have a place in the fi...

MySimplePetLab, founded in 2019 by Dr. Dennis Chmiel and Dr. Nancy Willerton, has innovated a space that improves the lives of pets, pet owners, and veterinarians. As an animal health company and national diagnostic lab, MySimplePetLab uses at-home lab testing and care kits to not only reach pets faster but also optimize vet appointments and relieve pressure on veterinarian teams. There can be man...

Leaders in the veterinary field need to be supported and trained because they impact the rest of their organization. Too often, they are thrown into positions with no education on how to be leaders. Dr. Sally Ryan has a wealth of experience in the veterinary industry, and she is the founder, consultant, and instructor of Veterinary Leadership Services. In this conversation, we talk about some barr...

Financial strain and hardship are common stressors in the veterinary profession. If you’re a practice owner considering selling your property or wanting to better understand the value of your health care real estate, Rahul Chhajed of Matthews Real Estate has some great tips. Rahul is the leader of Matthews Health Care division, where he primarily focuses on veterinary spaces. We discuss a big piec...

Meditation and Mindfulness are research and evidence based practices that reduce stress and instances of burnout or compassion fatigue that occur in veterinary practice! Dr. Marie Holowaychuk is a small animal emergency and critical care specialist and a passionate advocate for veterinary team wellbeing! Dr. Holowaychuk shares her story and winding path that led her to where she is today, includin...

Joining me all the way from the UK is Dr. Liz Barton, an accomplished vet with what she calls a ‘squiggly’ career path, leading her to co-found wellbeing and support communities such as WellVet and Vet Mums. Creating groups of extrinsic resilience has such an impact when people can turn to peers or their teams for support in their times of need. Dr. Barton was managing well - happy and healthy - w...

One of the major impacts on veterinary mental health is the veterinary workforce crisis. Dr. Bob Lester, an accomplished veterinary healthcare executive, joins me with a dose of optimism and some great options for how we can work towards fixing this shortage in the industry.  Dr. Lester calls the workforce crisis a "problem of abundance." This is so true; pets are now more important part...

A core strength of those in the veterinary industry is our ability to create deep connections with our animal patients. Dr. Bruce Silverman joins me to share the value of the spirituality and zen moments that come with this connection. During a time in the field when we have more patients than ever before, it is easy to become burnt out, stressed, and feel rushed. Dr. Silverman drives home that ou...

“Be the change you wish to see in the world”. This Ghandi quote is one that I think really encompasses the conversation I had in this episode with the veterinary practice manager, Kassandra Erven. In the veterinary industry our number one goal is to help animals and with them comes their owners, our clients. Too often vets are taught the hard skills, the science but not enough on client communicat...

There are studies that prove that owning your own business can reduce your rate of burnout. Tiffany Riley,  a licensed Vet Tech in Montana, shares how she found the opportunity to create a new role in her industry that not only reduced her burnout but reignited her passion for animal care. Lack of autonomy, lack of contribution control, lack of choice, and lack of developmental opportunities…are a...

Today l am discussing disability as a veterinarian and student with the remarkable Dr. Christina Kaye. Dr. Kaye is a talented veterinarian who has congenital vision disabilities and has received visual accommodations throughout her academic and professional journey.   We explore the importance of asking for help and what you could benefit from in terms of special accommodations. For Vet students,...

Today I talked to two veterinarian friends and business partners, Dr. Seth Bleakley and Dr. Brandon Prince, who met during their early careers and bonded over a common story in the vet industry - the inhumane treatment of veterinary professionals. Despite being highly educated and making a good salary, both doctors felt overworked, undervalued, and lacking fulfillment in their jobs. This led to th...

Feeling lost, numb, dreading your day, and overall burned out? Dr. Caitlin Vaughn, a veterinary professional and founder of Unlocking Vet Med, believes that sharing our stories gives us strength, and most importantly you don't have to feel this way. Dr. Vaughn shares her road through the veterinary profession and her personal experience with burnout that led to her inspiration for coaching an...

With this podcast, I truly hope to reach and improve the lives of veterinarians and other professionals in the industry. Today I am talking with Cheyenne Williams, who has worked in Vet Med for 11 years. Cheyenne shares her touching and personal story that connects her to her work with the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. In 2016 Cheyenne lost her mother to suicide, she found herself na...

Dr. Craig is a 39-year veteran of the industry and has a wealth of knowledge to share. Including insights that track the entire span of a veterinarian's career. Veterinary school is where it all begins, where individuals who have always wanted to be a vet go to learn. Dr. Craig spoke of a "problem" that is occurring in admissions. What was once in-person interviews and essays, have...

“You’re just in it for the money”, a statement heard in clinics around the country that hits with a sting for veterinarians. But are they wrong? Most veterinarians are caring, tender, service-led people who deeply want to treat and help animals, but…they also have expensive student loans and personal goals like starting a family or buying a house. Like every person on the planet, veterinarians nee...

If you’re like me, seeing the news…some situations can feel so far away and removed. But they are very real, and in the case of the War in Ukraine, there is something you can do to help. In war-torn Ukraine, it is estimated… 6,000,000 domestic animals have died 50,000 dolphins in the Black Sea have died Hundreds of thousands to millions of wild animals are threatened And the number of companion an...

Dr. Phil Richmond's early career in the veterinary field quickly became overwhelming from self-imposed overworking and overextending, leading to depression and even suicidal ideations. Dr. Phil is fortunate to have coworkers who saw the signs and helped him get the help he needed and deserved from a local medical professional help program. Now, he is spreading the word about trauma and its ef...

With 27 years as a Veterinary Medicine professional, Andrea Tschakert has seen the industry change, morph, and come back. She describes the path of vet med as a figure 8. Over time she has gained insight on two big topics, Culture and Cash. Andrea describes culture as the way veterinary clinics process people and their pets. And over the decades she has seen it manipulate, grow, shrink, and manife...

As a new veterinarian post-graduation in 2012, Dr. Amanda Ensor had bright expectations and big goals for her career. Unfortunately, her experience was met with a toxic vet culture that crushed her dreams. Dr. Ensor did not let that stop her as she persevered through the next 10 years of her career. Today she shares her journey of how she overcame her own lack of mentorship to become a full-time m...

Dr. Shannon Bass wears a lot of hats in both her personal life and even more so in the veterinary field after working in almost every role in a hospital. She now holds the position of Director of Talent Acquisition, Specialty, for VCA Animal Hospitals. Knowing firsthand the challenges we face in the veterinary profession, Dr. Bass highlights the importance of developing and supporting hospital lea...

Most veterinarians enter their practice because they love medicine and patient-client care…not because they love the details of running a business. In fact, these responsibilities can cause overwhelm, and burnout, and can cause general care in the clinic to suffer. Dr. Ira Gordon is a veterinarian who has experienced the same fate. He loved veterinary medicine but the burden of running his practic...

Dr. Ivan Zak joined the field with a passion for ER medicine, but 6 years of overworking himself led to intense and crippling burnout. Dr. Zak described burnout as a total loss of joy with no escape. No matter what he tried to do, the feeling of disconnection and cynicism plagued him. Now he is motivated to build an organization that will systematically prevent veterinary burnout. Galaxy Vets, fou...

Over the course of 20 years, Sabrina Beck has grown through many positions in the animal and veterinary industry. Today she is a practice manager and the founder of Blue Poodle Consulting. With her firm, she advises teams and practice managers on how to build happy and healthy veterinary teams. Sabrina encourages hospital and clinic owners to prioritize the people in their practice because it trul...

Since she was a child, Dr. Dani Rabwin has always loved animals and pursued a career in veterinary medicine. As her career developed Dr. Dani began to see her passion for people, connecting through pets, and teaching and helping others. In the midst of the online era of 2020 Ready, Vet, Go was born. Ready, Vet, Go is a 6-month formal mentorship program for new veterinarians. The design of this pro...