Blunt Dissection

On today’s show, I am joined by Nancy Slessenger. Nancy, I’m quite confident, most of you have never heard of before. But I’m also confident that you are going to learn more in this show that will help you work with your fellow human beings than any before.

So let me tell you more about this incredible woman.

Nancy is the author of over 20 publications including “How to Write Objectives that Work” with sales of over 250,000 copies and “Difficult People Made Easy”, a booklet of practical tips for dealing with difficult situations.

In 1995 she started a management consultancy and went on to develop a recruitment process that now achieves a success rate of over 91% compared with the average of 25 – 30%. Her company, Vinehouse Hiring now specialises only in recruitment and hiring for small to medium sized owner-run businesses in the English-speaking world.

Before starting her own company Nancy worked in the manufacturing industry, starting at Mars, and was director of an electronics company a few years later.

But most impressively of all, Nancy was my own coach for years and is who I credit with helping me to become not just a better leader, but a better human being.

Now, just before we jump into the episode, I just wanted to drop a quick word from today’s show sponsor which today is VetX:Thrive. If you are struggling as a vet, then please check this out. VetX:Thrive is a community that will help you find your happy place in veterinary medicine, and it does this by training you in the non-clinical skills required for success. Goal setting, staying positive, combatting burnout, handling rude clients... and much much more. VetX:Thrive members also get access to the best mentors around and are networked together as part of a supportive global community all focused on helping each other to succeed. So if this sounds like something that might help you then please head to drdavenicol.com/vetx and click on VetX:Thrive to learn more.

Now back to the show, this episode was one of my favourites, partly because Nancy has got so much she can teach us all, but also because she’s become a very dear friend and is a wonderful storyteller. I really hope you have as much fun and get as much knowledge from listening as we did from recording it.

This is a very deep dive into the world of performance management mixed wonderfully with Nancy's whimsical stories. Enjoy.

On today’s show, I am joined by Dr Cody Creelman Cow Vet. Cody, our second Canadian in a row, is cow vet “extraordinaire” growing up near Beaverlodge, Alberta on a commercial cattle operation and attended the University of Alberta where he received his Bachelor of Science in Agriculture with distinction in 2006.

He followed this up with his Doctor of Veterinary Medicine in 2011 from the Western College of Veterinary Medicine.

Soon after, Dr Creelman joined Veterinary Agri-Health Services as an associate veterinarian and is now a managing partner with professional interests including pathology, large animal surgery, feedlot medicine and the production of abscess and gore-spattered videos for youtube.

These videos and his talent for crafting together the story of his everyday life with great images, and upbeat feel and great music; have elevated him to become a bona fide veterinary youtube star with farmers, vets and students alike. Cody has amassed an impressive 30,000 subscribers with over 6.5 million plays of his content notably over 2.5 million of those plays are of exploding cow abscesses, so there are clearly some very sick puppies embedded within his audience!

Now, just before we jump into the episode, I just wanted to drop a quick word from today’s show sponsor which today is my very own VetX Graduate Mentoring community. If you are a practice owner and want to offer your new vets a higher level of support, so they grow faster and stay longer with your practice, then jump onto my website drdavenicol.com/vetx and learn how we are helping graduates across the world thrive in practices just like yours.

Back to Cody, and aside from his evident love of life, one of the things that most impresses me about Cody is his ability to produce high quality, high volume content consistently. He averages a whopping two video blogs and two podcasts each week. The guy is a genuine content monster. He does this while running three businesses and bringing up his young family too.

So, if you are having a hard time wondering whether you might be able to publish an article each month for your blog, you might do well to watch Cody’s moves carefully.

So with that said and done; let’s not waste any further time. It gives me enormous pleasure to bring you my conversation with Cody Creelman, Cow Vet.

On today’s show, I am joined by Dr Cody Creelman Cow Vet. Cody, our second Canadian in a row, is cow vet “extraordinaire” growing up near Beaverlodge, Alberta on a commercial cattle operation and attended the University of Alberta where he received his Bachelor of Science in Agriculture with distinction in 2006.

He followed this up with his Doctor of Veterinary Medicine in 2011 from the Western College of Veterinary Medicine.

Soon after, Dr Creelman joined Veterinary Agri-Health Services as an associate veterinarian and is now a managing partner with professional interests including pathology, large animal surgery, feedlot medicine and the production of abscess and gore-spattered videos for youtube.

These videos and his talent for crafting together the story of his everyday life with great images, and upbeat feel and great music; have elevated him to become a bona fide veterinary youtube star with farmers, vets and students alike. Cody has amassed an impressive 30,000 subscribers with over 6.5 million plays of his content notably over 2.5 million of those plays are of exploding cow abscesses, so there are clearly some very sick puppies embedded within his audience!

Now, just before we jump into the episode, I just wanted to drop a quick word from today’s show sponsor which today is my very own VetX Graduate Mentoring community. If you are a practice owner and want to offer your new vets a higher level of support, so they grow faster and stay longer with your practice, then jump onto my website drdavenicol.com/vetx and learn how we are helping graduates across the world thrive in practices just like yours.

Back to Cody, and aside from his evident love of life, one of the things that most impresses me about Cody is his ability to produce high quality, high volume content consistently. He averages a whopping two video blogs and two podcasts each week. The guy is a genuine content monster. He does this while running three businesses and bringing up his young family too.

So, if you are having a hard time wondering whether you might be able to publish an article each month for your blog, you might do well to watch Cody’s moves carefully.

So with that said and done; let’s not waste any further time. It gives me enormous pleasure to bring you my conversation with Cody Creelman, Cow Vet.

My guest on today’s show is cat vet extraordinaire, Dr Susan Little. Susan received her DVM from Ontario Veterinary College, Guelph and has been in feline practice since 1990, achieving board certification in Feline Practice in 1997.

She is part owner of two feline speciality practices in Ottawa and is a board member/Past President (2015) of the American Assoc. of Feline Practitioners, Dr Little also serves on the board of the International Council for Veterinary Assessment (the dudes that set the NAVLE).

Susan is undoubtedly one of the hardest working speakers on the veterinary circuit, her Airmiles collection is only outweighed by her risk of DVT, such is the time she spends travelling globally to educate us all.

But all of her hard work has paid dividends in the form of huge recognition from her peers with accolades including from the Canadian Veterinary Medical Association Small Animal Practitioner Award (2010), the NAVC Small Animal Speaker of the Year Award (2013), and the International Society of Feline Medicine/Hill's Pet Nutrition Award for outstanding contributions to feline medicine (2013).

Finally, it would be rude not to mention the two books Susan has edited and co-authored: First up, The Cat: Clinical Medicine and Management, and also August’s Consultations in Feline Internal Medicine.

Now, just before we jump into the episode, I just wanted to drop a quick word from our show sponsor which today is the VetX Graduate Mentoring community. If you are a practice owner and want to offer your new vets a greater level of support so they grow faster and stay longer with your practice, then jump onto my website drdavenicol.com/vetx-grad and learn how we are helping graduates across the world thrive in practices just like yours. The class is open for global entry now so check it out.

This was my first time spending time with Susan one on one and I hope it will not be my last, she was a riot from start to finish giving generously with both time and knowledge. But what struck me the most was her passion and enthusiasm for both veterinary medicine and life in general.

So without further ado, it is my great pleasure to bring you my conversation with the amazing, Dr Susan Little.

In the show we cover:

1. Susan’s Oyster Fetish

2. The really dull, but (probably) authentic reasons she became a vet.

3. Her views on the current (poor) "State Of The Veterinary Union”.

4. The tough points in her career and the tools she uses to maintain her state of mind and performance.

5. Why she loves checklists and thinks we should use them way more in veterinary medicine.

6. Life auditing and how to say no.

7. Multiple tips she has for all clinics to improve their feline experience (at no or little cost.

Follow Susan at @catvetsusan on twitter, Instagram and Facebook.

On today’s show, I’m delighted to welcome one of the most well-read, insanely qualified and awesome people in veterinary medicine you’ve most likely never heard of, Dr Sheilah Robertson.

Sheilah grew up in Scotland and graduated from Glasgow University. Her career in veterinary medicine spans more than three decades and encompasses numerous roles and qualifications acquiring four diplomas and one PhD while teaching at schools in the United Kingdom, Canada and the United States.

Sheilah has held many prestigious positions including work with AVMA, she's a two-time member of the American Animal Hospital Association and American Association of Feline Practitioners Pain Management Taskforce. And has served as the president of the American College of Veterinary Anesthesia and Analgesia.

That’s saying nothing of the massive list of publications she has written or contributed two including two books. It’s safe to say she’s a titan in the world of anaesthesia and pain management.

In 2017, Sheilah joined Lap of Love Veterinary Hospice as the Senior Medical Director. Where the rumour has it that the company had to reduce their font by two points to come anywhere near getting all of the alphabet of letters onto her business card!

I’m not going to read it out here but in the show notes you can see for yourself, she has so many letters after her name it’s like someone got very loose with a can of alphabet spaghetti.

Now, just before we jump into the episode, I just wanted to drop a quick word from our show sponsor which today is the VetX Graduate Mentoring community. If you are a practice owner and want to offer your new vets a greater level of support so they grow faster and stay longer with your practice, then jump onto my website drdavenicol.com/vetx-grad and learn how we are helping graduates across the world thrive in practices just like yours. The class is open for global entry now so check it out.

This episode ranks as one of my favourites (I know I say that a lot and I genuinely mean it each time). The reason being that Sheilah is such a warm, friendly and humble person with a great sense of humour. It really was a joy to listen and learn from her. The time just flew past I could have talked for hours more.

So without further ado, I present to you, my interview with the amazing Dr Sheilah Robertson.

In the course of our talk, we cover many topics including:

1. Anaesthesia safety tips and risk you probably didn’t know before - my eyes were certainly opened.

2. Why and anaesthesiologist would move to work with an end of life care business.

3. What we can be doing to improve care for geriatric patients.

4. She spells out a great anaesthetic protocol for older pets for dental work.

5. How to improve anaesthesia and mortality in cats.

6. What the big ethical dilemmas are in veterinary medicine.

On today’s episode, it’s a pleasure to be joined by Dr Mia Cary. When I ask for guest recommendations from you guys, Mia’s is a name that comes up frequently, and here’s why. She has seen animal care from multiple different and interesting vantage points. And she’s excelled in them all.

She began her career as a marine biologist before trading dolphins for dogs and completed her veterinary degree at the University of Florida.

After graduation, she had a short spell in general practice before moving into her first industry role with Novartis where she spent many years rising to the level of national sales trainer and brand manager.

She then moved to the snappily titled Boehringer Ingelheim Vetmedica where she held the roles of Marketing Manager for the Companion Animal Section and Director of Professional Services for the mid-Atlantic area.

Her career then took a new direction when she traded a life in pharma for a role as the head of training and innovation for the North American Veterinary Community. A role she last year somewhat controversially traded in to move over to the American Veterinary Medical Association where she is now Chief of Professional Development and Strategic Alliances.

Alongside her day jobs, Mia has also served as the 2017 President for the American Association of Industry Veterinarians and is on the Board of Directors for Pet Peace of Mind.

And if all of that left you a little overwhelmed then just know this, Mia is an amazing example of leadership done right and she knows this industry, at least the North American bit of it, inside and out.

Now, just before we jump into the episode, I just wanted to drop a quick word from today’s show sponsor which today is the VetX Graduate Community. If you are a practice owner and want to offer your new vets a greater level of support so they grow faster and stay longer with your practice, then jump onto my website drdavenicol.com/vetx-grad and learn how we are enabling practices to recruit and retain talent by helping young vets across the world thrive in clinics just like yours.

And with that said and done let’s get into the show. Mia is about as positive a person as you might meet and despite her success, she remains a humble, fun person to spend time with. She is truly a cheerleader for our profession. And I challenge anyone to find a picture on social media where she is not grinning from ear to ear like the proverbial Cheshire Cat. So, without further ado, and with great pleasure, I give you my interview with the human dynamo that is Dr Mia Cary.

In this episode we cover:

What’s going on at the University of Florida Vet School (they seem to be putting something special in the water there).

Why she traded in NAVC for AVMA and what she’s working to achieve.

What changes are going to be most likely to shape the profession in the coming 5-10 years.

Why her mum is such a rock in her life and how that helped to form her character.

Imposter syndrome.

Why farting is not only human, but one of life’s great ice breakers! (Seriously).

On today’s show, I am delighted to be joined by Squadron Leader Tim Davies, a qualified fast jet instructor for the Royal Air Force.

Over his 20 year career, Tim has been a frontline Tornado GR4 low-level strike attack pilot, before becoming a fast jet flying instructor. He served all over the world and clocked up over 2,500 flight hours.

As an instructor he flew the Hawk T2 in an advanced flying training role teaching students and instructors how to use the aircraft as a weapons system. If that doesn't mean a lot then think Jester or Viper in the film Top Gun.

Tim has been responsible for training every frontline pilot in the RAF since 2007. At the last count that’s over 350 highly skilled operators. So, I hope you’re starting to get a sense of why I am so thrilled to have him on the podcast.

Anyone who has successfully flown military aircraft for 20 years and says "I'm just into studying failure, that's kinda my thing” certainly gets my attention.

Though at first glance war and healthcare seem unlikely bed friends, there are, on closer inspection, many parallels between our industries in the shape of operational risk management, safety, recruitment and training/development.

This episode is very granular, there are so many learnings woven throughout that I ended up listening to it no fewer than three times and found myself picking up some new insight each time around. So, I strongly encourage you to do the same.

Now, just before we jump into the episode, I just wanted to drop a quick word from today’s show sponsor which today is my very own VetX Graduate Mentoring community. If you are a practice owner and want to offer your new vets a greater level of support so they grow faster and stay longer with your practice, then jump onto my website drdavenicol.com/vetx and learn how we are helping graduates across the world thrive in practices just like yours.

And with that said and done let’s get into the show. Tim was a fantastic guest so it gives me great pleasure to bring you my conversation with one of the most experienced fighter pilots and fast jet instructors on the face of the planet. Squadron Leader Tim Davies.

Topics covered in this episode include:

1. How the RAF deals with training in high-risk environments

2. Why all successful pilots are made to fail and the earlier the better so they can learn to build resilience.

3. How he deals with mental health, growth and development in high-pressure roles.

4. Deviant practice and how it can destroy lives and businesses.

5. What qualities he looks for in pilots (hint - they would be good to select for in veterinarians too).

6. An acronym that turns failure as an experience on its head.

On today’s show, we welcome Dr Gerardo Poli, author of the minivet guide, Emergency Veterinarian and Director at Animal Emergency Service, a business with four hospitals based in Queensland, Australia.

He completed his Vet Degree at the University of Queensland, Australia in 2008 - graduating with first class honours. He was awarded the Australian Veterinary Association Student Award and Gerardo was also selected as valedictorian of his year.

Following graduation, he spent almost three years in a busy small animal general practice finding his feet but in 2010 discovered his passion in the high octane field of emergency and critical care.

Gerardo achieved his Membership with the Australian and New Zealand College of Veterinary Scientists in the field of Emergency and Critical Care in 2012. Completing his decade-long education binge with his Masters of Veterinary Studies through Murdoch University two years later in 2014.

When he straps on his Superman outfit at work, Gerardo gets most excited about snatching critically ill patients back from the jaws of death, especially when it involves ultrasound and radiology, surgery and CPR.

But his talents do not end in the emergency room and many of you will know him as the author of the best selling MiniVetGuide, a diagnostic decision-making book which has sold more than 10,000 copies and is beloved of student and new graduate vets worldwide.

All of which seems like a very long way of saying he’s a bit of a rock star.

In this conversation we discussed:

1. Resilience and building esteem

2. Being OK with overwhelm

3. How to transfer skills (particularly challenging clinical ones) to the next generation of vets.

4. Principles vs protocols in medicine.

5. Why capability is a double-edged sword.

6. How he creates space for his team to grow.

7. And why he believes you have to invest in your people.

Gerardo may move fast at work, but he is something of a deep thinker which made his insights during our conversation even more valuable. I hope you enjoy and learn as much from this conversation as I did. And without further fanfare, sit back and enjoy my conversation with the fantastic, Dr Gerardo Poli.

On the podcast today I’m joined by Dr Peter Weinstein. Peter has had a rich, varied and successful career based in Southern California. He is a graduate of Cornell University and got his veterinary degree from the University of Illinois. After graduation, he worked as an associate for three years before opening his own practice.

While running his practice he, like many of us, learnt the hard way that it takes way more than just a love of animals to run a successful hospital and so undertook his MBA.

This was a decision that made a major positive impact on his trajectory and his practice subsequently took off, resulting in its eventual sale to a corporate consolidator. At which point Peter "segway-ed" out of clinical practice and into the land of politics and business consulting.

In part 2 of his career, he served as President and Executive Director of the Southern California Veterinary Medical Association, President of the California Veterinary Medical Association and he is a Past-President for VetPartners in the US.

Additionally, he acted as Medical Director in the Claims Department for a large US based pet insurer. In short, there are few people on the planet who have seen veterinary medicine from so many different angles.

Peter now provides consulting services as PAW Consulting and perhaps most excitingly co-authored the E-myth veterinarian with global business legend Michael Gerber. (And I’ll tell you what it’s lucky this is a podcast as I’m going a quite sickening hue of green here such is my tragic combination of love and envy for this project.

Peter is a fun guy with a massive amount of life and veterinary knowledge to share, so It was such a pleasure and honour to have him on the show - this episode will bring you value regardless of your role covering topics like how to deal with failure, his opinion on the state of the profession, his approach to self-development, and how to have success as a small business owner.

I hope you enjoy this conversation as much as I did and get massive value from it.

So without further ado, I give you my conversation with the legend that is Dr Peter Weinstein.

This month’s episode is a mash up from all ten of my guests from around the world in 2017. I’ve cut five of the most powerful minutes from each interview into one episode so you can distill a huge amount of value.

Also if you’ve never listened in to the Blunt Dissection Podcast before then this episode is a great starting point.

Ep 1: Diederik Gelderman: Leadership - What is it and why we are all leaders?

Ep 2: Garret Turley discusses dealing with your inner trash talk and making decisions.

Ep 3: RVC Graduates of 2017 talk about the things graduates want to see from their future employers - this is dynamite if you are looking to hire a millennial vet.

Ep 4: Dr Sue Ettinger busts some pet cancer myths that abound in the industry.

Ep 5: Dr Karen Bradley & Kim Therrian discuss their own unique angles on women in veterinary leadership.

Ep 6: John Sheridan paints a picture of what Future Vet Clinic Inc might look like.

Ep 7: Dr John Dooley & Dr Nadine Hamilton open their hearts and share their stories of veterinary suicide and prevention.

Ep 8: Professor Stuart Carmichael talks about how we train and develop the vets of tomorrow.

Ep 9: Dr Dani McVety - On the loss of talent and how she successfully bonds vets to her Lap of Love Veterinary Hospice Care business.

Ep 10: Dr Andy Roark - on using personal brand to improve relations with clients and how to manage your time on social media.

I’d like to take this opportunity to thank all of my guests for appearing not he show and giving their time up freely. I’m so grateful to you all.

And I’d like to also thank you the listeners for your support and ears. If you weren’t;t there then I wouldn’t;t be doing this. So thank you all from the bottom of my heart.

As things stand we’re now close to 1200 downloads per month meaning in we’re reaching 14000 sets of ears per year. I figure I never dreamed could be possible.

So what started as an experiment is now a central pillar of my work and already in 2018 I have some amazing guests lined up.

But as always I’m keen for your feedback. Who do you mot want to hear from on the podcast? Let me know and I’ll do my best to make it happen.

Have a very merry Christmas (or not depending on your religion, beliefs etc). A happy New Year and I look forward to bringing you more amazing people from the world of veterinary medicine in 2018.

Peace, love and happiness.

Dr D.