The Uncharted Veterinary Podcast

A veterinary professional who thought they found their dream clinic is starting to see some old-fashioned medicine that needs to go. In this episode of the Uncharted Veterinary Podcast, Dr. Andy Roark and Stephanie Goss address a mailbag letter from a new team member at a rural practice who is alarmed by outdated and unsafe medical practices. Concerned about the lack of physical exams, rushed appointments, and poor surgical sterility, this person wonders how to raise these issues without overstepping their bounds. Andy and Stephanie discuss how to navigate the difficult conversation of addressing substandard care, offering advice on recognizing capacity limits, setting personal and professional standards, and practical ways to advocate for patient safety. Let's get into this episode...

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Care is Your Calling

This clinic is struggling with big changes, leading to being short-staffed, and the kicker? The boss simply cannot hire right now. This week on the Uncharted Veterinary Podcast, Dr. Andy Roark and Stephanie Goss address a mailbag letter from a practice trying to maintain high-quality care after losing team members, leaving them as a single-doctor practice. They explore how to balance patient and client care while being severely short-handed and whether to make sacrifices or adjust their business model. Andy shares valuable advice on recognizing capacity limits and not trying to be all things to all people, while Stephanie offers practical business solutions, focusing on numbers and pragmatic adjustments. Let's get into this episode...

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Care is Your Calling

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How do we balance supporting the team’s well-being with the demands of running a successful veterinary practice? This week on the Uncharted Podcast, Dr. Andy Roark and Stephanie Goss navigate these choppy waters, helping listeners find the perfect balance between personal and business needs. They dive into the importance of using varied measuring sticks for success and how to recognize and accommodate different life phases and priorities. Stephanie and Andy provide a treasure trove of actionable steps to help veterinarians chart a course towards a realistic work-life balance. Let's get into this episode...

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Care is Your Calling

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The practice manager at this clinic struggles between business operations and team communication. Dr. Andy Roark and Stephanie Goss address a mailbag question from a medical director struggling with a practice manager who excels in metrics but falters in team interaction. Andy and Stephanie dive into the friction often seen between the business and medical sides of veterinary practices, especially in corporate settings. They emphasize the importance of empathy, trust, and good intent, providing actionable steps to bridge the gap between operations and medicine. They also offer strategies for giving positive feedback and fostering a supportive environment. Let's get into this episode...

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Care is Your Calling

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An associate veterinarian who loves their job, is struggling with a practice owner's overbearing management style that pushes the boundaries of work-life balance. The team receives numerous emails and texts on their days off, and the feedback is often negative and micromanaging, creating a stressful work environment. Dr. Andy Roark and practice management super nerd, Stephanie Goss get real vulnerable sharing their own experiences with similar challenges. Together they offer insights into setting boundaries and fostering a positive workplace culture while taking our listeners on another ride to Camp Tough Love. Let's get into this episode...

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Care is Your Calling

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Shawna Castillo, Director of Care Plans at Otto, joins us to tackle a critical question from a practice manager struggling with client credit limitations. Despite offering CareCredit, Scratchpay, and VetBilling, many clients still face challenges. The burning question: How do we design wellness plans in a way that is not going to make my team or my doctors lose their ever-loving minds? Practice Management super nerd, Stephanie Goss and Shawna Castillo offer their perspectives on this subject. This week's episode of the Uncharted Veterinary Podcast is brought to you by Otto. Shawna Castillo, with her 20 years of experience in the veterinary and animal health space, brings a wealth of knowledge to this topic. As a leader in people, processes, and technology, Shawna excels in influential team leadership, process improvement, client retention strategies, and customer success enablement. At Otto, she oversees the Care Memberships program, helping veterinary hospitals boost their economy, client retention, team efficiencies, and patient outcomes. Shawna's passion for understanding human and animal motivators and her love for using technology to strengthen the bond between pets, their owners, and veterinarians, makes her the perfect guest for this mailbag. Stephanie and Shawna discuss the need for care plans, enabling pet parents, especially younger generations, to afford preventative care through manageable monthly payments. They discuss key factors to consider when designing care plans and strategies to overcome common barriers from associate DVMs, team members, and clients. Shawna's insights offer invaluable guidance for veterinary practice managers and leaders looking to implement effective wellness plans without overwhelming their teams. Let's get into this episode...

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES Otto Care + Uncharted Deal: https://otto.vet/uncharted/ Referenced Article: https://www.avma.org/news/turn-data-when-decisions-get-tough UVP 233 - Vet vs. Wellness Plans: https://unchartedvet.com/vet-vs-wellness-plans/

A frustrated veterinary practice leader wonders why it seems like the details no longer matter to their team. This week on the Uncharted Veterinary Podcast, Practice Management expert Stephanie Goss and Dr. Andy Roark tackle their shortest mailbag question ever: does anyone care about the details? Together, they work through the headspace behind this question, discussing the complexities of veterinary medicine and how to foster honest conversations that lead to accountability. From fecal loops to technician tasks to tardiness, Dr. Andy Roark and Stephanie Goss walk through real-life examples, offering valuable action steps to help the team understand why the details matter. Let's get into this episode...

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Care is Your Calling

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This practice owner aims to develop a plan for both a new, eager graduate and an established associate who is less enthusiastic about development. Dr. Addie Reinhard, CEO of MentorVet, joins Dr. Andy Roark on this week's podcast to tackle this unique challenge. Dr. Reinhard brings a wealth of expertise to the conversation, as the founder of MentorVet—an organization known for its evidence-based approaches to promoting well-being within veterinary medicine. Her extensive research, including her role in the Merck Animal Health Veterinary Wellbeing Study, focuses on developing interventions to support mental health and well-being in the veterinary field. All of this making her the perfect person to help us with this week's mailbag. Together, Dr. Addie Reinhard and Dr. Andy Roark discuss the importance of tailored development plans, employee ownership, and provide actionable steps for any practice leader looking to enhance their mentorship programs. Let's get into this..

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Care is Your Calling

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An associate is struggling with their perception that the management team is not holding an otherwise exceptional team member accountable for excessive call-outs, resulting in gaps in coverage. This week on the Uncharted Podcast, Stephanie Goss and Dr. Andy Roark respond to an email signed from "A motivated associate who needs my support team to show up to work and the management team to hold them accountable." They discuss a team member who is excellent at their job but has chronic migraines causing constant absences. Andy and Stephanie aim to move from frustration to a positive mindset to tackle this mailbag question, head on. Let's get into this episode...

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Care is Your Calling

Clients are feeling extremely frustrated by not being able to get seen with a sick pet quickly enough for their liking and unfortunately, the front desk is taking the brunt of the client frustration. This week on the Uncharted Podcast, Stephanie Goss and Dr. Andy Roark jump headfirst into another mailbag episode. They received an email from a practice who is absolutely drowning in clients. They have 5 doctors offering care weekdays AND weekends and they still can't keep up. This practice is pleading for suggestions on not letting the constant backlash wear them down at the desk or on the phones. The team feels like this can be an amazing field to work in, but are feeling like its hard not to dread coming in when the bad calls start to outweigh the good. Let's get into this episode...

Mentioned in this episode:

Care is Your Calling

Join us for the Medical Director Summit!

Get the Protocol Training Game Here!