Veterinary Voices

Want to improve job satisfaction and attract high-performing employees? You need to prioritise Quality of Life in your Workplace .  This Culture-Positive concept is gaining popularity.   But what is it exactly and how does it benefit both employees and employers?  Stay tuned as we explore the benefits of Quality of Life in your Workplace, how it can be your clinic’s recruitment superpower and how...

Are you curious about the power of gratitude? Perhaps you're sceptical of its benefits, thinking it's just a trendy buzzword.  What if I told you that there's scientific evidence that practicing gratitude can enhance your mental and physical health?  Join me:  today we dive deep into the world of gratitude, exploring its benefits and giving you practical tips on how to cultivate tha...

Are you struggling to juggle your professional and personal life? Do you feel like you're missing out on the things that matter most? Whether you're an introvert or an extrovert , finding the right balance can be a challenge. Here are 7 practical strategies tailored to your intro or extro “vert” personality-type that can help you create the balance you've been dreaming of. A lot of...

Are you a veterinary clinic owner, HR, or Practice Manager struggling to recruit and retain top performers?  Or maybe you're a veterinary professional on the hunt for your next career move?  Either way, this episode is for you!   We're diving into Vet Clinic Employer Branding , the power of employee testimonials to showcase the best clinics in town and how they can help you find the good...

Have you ever felt like you're stuck at the bottom of an insurmountable mountain or in a valley with no way out? How do you maintain that initial sense of wonder you first had when you started your veterinary career?    What is "grit"?  How and when do you use it? In this inspiring and openly honest episode, we continue our conversation with Dr. Crystal Loh, one of New Zealand'...

What would you tell your younger self if you could go back in time? Where's the most interesting place you've ever found a tooth? And what does Hobbiton have to do with becoming a boarded dental specialist? Today, Dr Crystal Loh , one of New Zealand's three companion animal dental specialists, shares her journey towards becoming a Specialist and offers valuable advice for anyone on...

Whether you’re looking to improve your leadership skills or interested in the impact of effective leadership at your vet clinic, today’s 101 Guide to the Situational Leadership Model is for you. Discover how to tailor your leadership style to fit just about any situation to achieve greater team success. Four Situational Leadership Styles: Directing Coaching Supporting Delegating Pros of Situationa...

Today, we're diving into another three powerful leadership styles – servant , coaching and authentic – that can transform the way you lead and inspire others.  We also look at what type of team member thrives best under each of these different leadership styles. Servant vs Coaching vs Authentic Leadership Styles Similarities : All three leadership styles prioritise building positive relations...

Have you ever been drawn to follow a charismatic or transformational Lead Vet or Head Nurse to their next job? If so, you likely understand first-hand how a leader's style can influence their team members' interactions and overall performance.  In this Leadership 101 series, we continue to delve into the different types of leadership styles.  Today we look at the nuances of managerial, c...

Crack the Code: Your 101 Guide to Recognising Different Leadership Styles Have you – or someone you know - ever left a workplace not because of the job but because the clinic owner, head nurse or lead vet, let toxic behaviour persist?   If so, you’ll “get” first hand how different leadership styles impact how individuals interact with their team members, how conflicts are resolved (or not), and ul...

I like to think that the state of my(Julie South) mental health is generally pretty good.   I know how to recognise when I get too close to the edge.  When I get to close to that endless downward negativity spiral where the vortex just sucks me in and it’s hard to move away into a more positive space. This week just gone, I noticed I was starting to edge towards “that” edge.    In times of uncerta...

Gaslighting, microaggressions, and passive aggressive behaviour create toxic relationships – at work and at home.  If you – or someone you know – wonders whether you’re going a bit crazy or feel like you have to walk on eggshells around certain people, then this is for you.  Today we look at some gaslighting, microaggression and passive aggressive warning signs and what to do about them, so you ca...

Equality vs Equity for Cost-Effective Veterinary Recruitment Here are 10 distinct ways "equity" is different to "equality" in the veterinary clinic workplace. We look at how you can address those differences to make you a more attractive PEOPLE .FIRST employer.   Being a PEOPLE. FIRST employer will make retention and recruitment of high calibre veterinary professionals much (mu...

There’s been a bit of a jargon bandied around the recruitment and HR worlds over the last few years of DEI – diversity, equity and inclusion .  Let's look at some DEI language - and how that plays out in your clinic - to either encourage inclusion or create cultural divides . Here are seven different things you can look at inside your clinic to encourage diversity and growth – personal, profe...

10 ways to help make your price rises more palatable for your clients so you can give your team a pay rise in these inflationary times Are staff motivation and clinic price increases connected – in this “life according to Julie episode”, I’m going to show you how they are.     But first – some of the backstory so you can see how the dots are all connected 😊 We – VetStaff – have had a bit of a run...

The last two episodes have covered unconscious bias when interviewing with the goal of not only shedding the light on unconscious bias at your clinic, but also to help you get a more diverse team… because, as we all know, the more diverse the opinions and experience you have in a team, the stronger that team is. If you’re a vet or nurse looking to make your next move, YOUR unconscious bias still e...

Continuing on from last week's 1-5 of Unconscious Biases: 6. Overconfidence bias Plays out when the recruiter is soooo confident in their own abilities to either pick a good candidate, or to eliminate the supposed bad ones, that they allow confirmation bias to creep in.  7. Similarity attraction bias Sometimes, the similarity attraction bias plays out and replicas of people are hired – becaus...

One of the “happening things” in the recruitment world in 2022 was the spotlight being shone on diversity . I've identified 16 different unconscious biases we all have when it comes to interviewing – and how these can play out during the recruitment process and what you can do to mitigate these. The end result of all of them is the same:  you may end up discounting and/or overlooking the best...

These 8 predictions are in no order of priority as they’re all important. #1 - vet clinic employer branding #2 - job sharing and genuine part time roles #3 – how remuneration is “packaged” #4 - veterinary nurse job satisfaction #5 – the really good employers will get better and the vet clinic employer brand divide will widen #6 – personalisation in recruitment will be crucial - AI – artificial int...

How professional or collegial is the veterinary profession in New Zealand ? We pick up today where Dr Paul Unsworth gets on his self-professed soapbox about the requirement for veterinarians to work after hours.  He parallels the after hours requirements and expectations of veterinary medicine versus human medicine.      I’m interested to hear your thoughts and ideas on this – please feel free to...

What makes a "good" veterinarian and/or a "good" veterinary clinic.   Today Dr Paul Unsworth challenges me - Julie South - with specificity.    As he says, "good" and "bad" aren't easily classified. If getting fit is on your to-do list for 2023, then stay tuned to the end to find out how to save $500 on an ebike. Today, UK-qualified New Zealand locum ve...

Crystal Ball Gazing Today we do a bit of crystal ball gazing with Dr Paul Unsworth – Companion Animal Locum Veterinarian.   This is the first of a multi-part series. We’re talking about some of the changes Dr Paul has seen since he started his career. Gender Equality and Diversity We also talk about gender equality and professional representation which always a topic that results in passionate deb...

The old model of running a veterinary business no longer works - it's time for a fresh look and different approach. This is the final episode (of 3) is Dr Jade Hackney’s series about life after veterinary burnout and recovery. At the Christchurch wellness symposium I - Julie South - spent the first day sitting next to a part-time vet - she:   worked 3x 10-hour days...  was a fully engaged, hi...

This is the second in the multi part series where Companion Animal Veterinarian Dr Jade Hackney   shares her path to living life to the full as a healthy and loving, long-term life partner and fully engaged veterinarian. Dr Jade talks about: the moment she and her life partner realised they no longer wanted to work fulltime in jobs they didn't enjoy to pay someone else's mortgage; their...

You can take the person out of vetting but can you take vetting out of the person?    This series of episodes with Dr Jade Hackney was recorded a few months’ ago but I thought the topic was very relevant – especially for veterinary professionals who may be reconsidering their careers in the veterinary space… especially the clinical veterinary space. For example, when you reconsider your career as...