From ER Chaos to Fossil Diving: Natalie Pedraja’s Vet Med Journey and Mental Health Advocacy.

Hosts Dr. Chelsea and vet tech Trish welcome licensed vet tech Natalie Pedraja of Virginia, who shares her 17-year path in veterinary medicine, from shadowing as a teen and vet science classes to emergency practice, tech school, and leadership roles. She recounts difficult workplaces, including being terminated for discussing wages, intense GP chaos, patient-care failures and retaliation in academia at WSU, and later conflicts in specialty practice and preclinical research, all contributing to burnout and outpatient mental health treatment supported by FMLA. Natalie describes hobbies that helped her heal, including pottery, foraging, and risky South Carolina river diving for fossils and artifacts, finding megalodon teeth and a mastodon molar. After returning to Virginia and briefly working security, she became an UrgentVet practice manager, improved clinic performance, advocated for staff wages, and built a supportive team culture.

00:00 Show Cold Open

01:27 Scuba Fears and Rivers

04:46 Reef Snorkel Stories

09:20 Early Vet Med Origins

14:23 Tech School and Undergrad

16:20 ER Burnout and Firing

17:25 GP Chaos and Cat Hoarders

24:03 Back to ER and Mentorship

29:17 ICU Culture Shock

31:55 Medical Errors in Academia

34:45 Car Wreck and Burnout

39:16 Securing Gear in Cars

40:38 Favorite Dive Spot

41:53 River Diving Dangers

43:06 Fossil Finds and Big Teeth

46:40 Artifacts and River History

49:49 Pottery and Moving West

52:49 Workplace Conflict and Reporting

55:55 FMLA and Healing Break

58:51 Mall Cop to Practice Manager

01:03:45 Building a Thriving Clinic

01:11:26 Advocacy Wages and Team Care

01:14:56 Wrap Up and Listener Call