The Vet Blast Podcast presented by dvm360

Josh Rosen, DVM, aka Dr Josh, is a traveling relief veterinarian who’s passionate about bringing clinical empathy and effective communication to every exam room. With years of experience working in diverse hospitals, Dr Josh has seen firsthand how connecting with pet parents — and the veterinary teams who serve them — leads to better patient care and healthier work environments.

Through his social media presence as @dogtorjosh on Instagram, he educates both veterinary professionals and pet parents on how communication and compassion can transform the veterinary experience. Whether it's coaching veterinarians on reflective listening, helping clients understand their pet’s care plan, or encouraging teams to create more supportive workplaces, Dr Josh is on a mission to make veterinary medicine more human — one conversation at a time.

When he's not in the clinic, you can find him exploring new cities on his travels, hanging out with his beagles Molly and Cora, or creating relatable VetMed content that reminds us all why we love this profession.

Chelsea McGivney, DVM earned her Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree from Colorado State University.Her diverse veterinary career includes completing a small animal internship, working as an emergency and general practitioner, serving as an in-home end-of-life care veterinarian, and working in the pet food industry as a veterinary consultant for a leading company. This unique blend of experiences prepared McGivney for her role as General Manager at Caring Pathways, where she leads a dedicated team of at-home, end-of-life specialists. Her deep passion for the human-animal bond allows her to combine her professional expertise with her love of veterinary care to support families during some of life’s most tender moments.

Tyler Carmack, DVM, CVA, CVFT, CHPV, CTPEP,  is the Director of Hospice and Palliative Care for Caring Pathways. She founded Hampton Roads Veterinary Hospice, an AAHA Accredited End of Life practice, and has practiced exclusively hospice and palliative care since 2011. She has served on the Board of Directors of the International Association for Animal Hospice and Palliative Care (IAAHPC) since 2016 in various roles, including President in 2020 and 2025. Carmack holds certifications in animal hospice and palliative care, veterinary pain management, peaceful euthanasia, veterinary acupuncture, TCVM food therapy, and TCVM End-of-Life care.

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Veterinary Medicine was a 2nd career for Jill Clark, DVM, who had a successful 17-year career as an Assistant Director in film and television production that followed her early start in that profession as a child actor. Looking for a change, she was accepted into veterinary school and graduated from Oklahoma State University with her DVM (’96). Clark practiced medicine in a 6-doctor practice as an associate and then Medical Director of a satellite practice for 10 years before joining a group of 8 hospitals that grew to 80, National PetCare Centers, eventually taking on the Vice President of Operations role. Next up, she served 12 years with VCA in hospital operations, managing 22 General and Specialty Practices, and then as a vice president at the VCA home office in Los Angeles, overseeing VCA’s doctor recruiting team, campus relationships, and intern/resident placement. In 2010, she was responsible for creating VCA’s award-winning corporate university, WOOF-U, which trained and developed over 24,000 veterinary learners and is still VCA’s primary training vehicle today.

Clark founded IGNITE Veterinary Solutions in 2016 with the singular goal of elevating the role-specific knowledge and capabilities of veterinary teams to enhance their well-being and the well-being of the patients and clients they serve. Her passion for the underserved learners in our profession is obvious in IGNITE’s focus on CSRs and their advancement. Clark and her co-author, Kristi Fisher, CVT, created the Veterinary Receptionist Certificate of Excellence (VRCE), which has made a material difference in the lives of more than 5,000 CSRs and growing. Her passion for elevating CSRs to a new level led her to create the non-profit North American Association of Veterinary Receptionists (NAAVR) in 2024 with Debbie Boone, CVPM, and Rhonda Bell, CVPM, PCM, CDMP. This association advocates for CSRs, normalizes and creates continuing CSR education tracks at state and national conferences, and provides the tools necessary for CSRs to thrive in their role. Her nearly 30-year career in veterinary medicine has been dedicated to constantly improving veterinary outcomes and operations. It has created many opportunities for the professional growth of the incredible people who make up our profession.

Clark’s other passions are showing American Quarter Horses and spending time with the love of her life and fellow veterinarian Bob Murtaugh, DVM, MS, and their 7 dogs, 9 horses, 4 cats, 4 goats, 4 mini-Belted Galloway cows, and 4 chickens on their ranch outside of Austin, Texas.

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Karl C. Maritato, DVM, DACVS-SA, is a Board-certified Veterinary Surgeon at MedVet Cincinnati, where he has been part of the medical team since 2010. Maritato attended the University of Florida, where he earned two Bachelor of Science degrees. At Ross University School of Veterinary Medicine, he earned his Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree, graduating with highest honors and at the top of his class. Following his graduation from veterinary school, Maritato completed a yearlong internship in small animal medicine and surgery followed by a yearlong surgical internship at the Louisiana Veterinary Referral Center, now MedVet Mandeville. He then completed a 3-year residency in small animal surgery at MedVet Columbus. After completing his residency and becoming a board-certified Diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Surgeons, Maritato played an integral role in the development and introduction of new surgical options for the Cincinnati community. Within months of opening the surgery department, he performed the first cement-less canine total hip replacement and minimally invasive arthroscopic procedures in Cincinnati. He has surgically repaired thousands of ruptured anterior cruciate ligaments (ACL) in dogs.

When MedVet Dayton opened in 2012, he used his skills and experience to develop a full service surgery department there as well. Maritato is the co-editor of a textbook on locking implant technology for use in small animals as well as the co-editor of an issue of Veterinary Clinics of North America on minimally invasive fracture repair. He is also the author and co-author of scientific articles in a variety of veterinary publications, including Veterinary Surgery, the Veterinary Clinics of North America, the Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association, Veterinary Comparative Orthopedics and Traumatology, Compendium for Continuing Veterinary Education, Journal of Feline Medicine and Surgery, Journal of Small Animal Practice, Preventive Veterinary Medicine and Clinicians Brief.  Maritato is also consistently invited to review surgical literature for accuracy for select veterinary journals. Maritato is an active advocate of continued education for veterinary professionals and has lectured on a variety of small animal topics throughout the country at regional, state, and national venues, as well as in Europe.

Known as the practice geek, Madonna Livingstone, BVMS, MRCVS, qualified from Glasgow Vet School in 2002 and is Head Vet and Head of Exotics at the Ark Veterinary Clinics Ltd, Coatbridge, Scotland with a 80% exotics case load. Livingstone delivers all the clinical exotic lectures for Glasgow Veterinary School, is the clinical lead for the Final Year selective Exotics rotation for Glasgow Veterinary School, delivers the husbandry and nutrition lectures for exotics to the Veterinary Bioscience course, and is an affiliate veterinary surgeon of Glasgow Veterinary School.

She also is the exotics consultant for Nation Wide Laboratories and Lab Services Ltd, has a diploma in parrot behavior, has been published on rabbits, reptiles, parrots, ferrets in peer reviewed journals and is sole author of a textbook on rabbits and small exotic mammals (Exotics Made Easy: Demystifying Rabbits and Small Exotic Mammals), is currently co-authoring a pictorial guide to rabbit and small exotic mammal surgery and is in the planning stages of writing the follow up Exotics Made Easy textbook on reptiles.

Livingstone speaks widely on exotic animal medicine and surgery to Vets and Veterinary nurses via conferences and webinars plus delivers bespoke in house CPD (CE) for practices. She has also spoken at the Scottish Parrot Society, Beloved Rabbit Charity events, and the International Herpetological Society to owners and enthusiasts. 

She has a firm belief that all species deserve the same high level of care and is passionate about empowering veterinary professionals to incorporate these amazing species into their caseload. Although her main interest is in exotic animal species, she also enjoys soft tissue surgery and behaviour of all species.

Livingstone was awarded with the prestigious UK Rabbit Vet of the Year Award (2022) by Burgess and the Rabbit Welfare and Association Fund (RWAF) and the External Lecturer of the Year Award (2022, 2023, and 2024) by Glasgow Vet School students.

When not working, Livingstone can be found spending time with her husband, her three dogs, 20 chickens, 8 ferrets, 4 cockatiels, and 2 dwarf puffer fish.

Shannon Bass, DVM, grew up in a veterinary practice and spent 19 years in clinical practice after graduating from Texas A&M College of Veterinary Medicine. She worked as a general practice doctor, emergency veterinarian, acupuncturist, and medical director of a specialty/emergency hospital. After almost 2 decades of practice, Bass moved into veterinary recruiting, focusing on specialty and emergency roles. She is currently the Vice President of Medical Leadership at Vets Pets, a group of veterinary hospitals in North Carolina.  

Organized veterinary medicine is something Bass is passionate about. She enjoys serving as the 2024-25 President of the NCVMA and co-chairs a VECCS committee working on an Emergency Medicine Certificate for veterinary students. She is a conference speaker and podcast guest on leadership and communication topics. 

Outside of work, Bass enjoys traveling with her husband, 2 sons, and 3 legged labrador mix. She is an endurance athlete, yoga instructor, and adventurous cook. 

Ashley Lall is a 24-year-old first-generation New Yorker born to immigrant parents from Guyana. Lall is hearing impaired and currently attends veterinary school at the University of Bristol in the United Kingdom, with a passion for avian medicine. Her goal is to make a difference in animal care

Check out Ashley's article on dvm360.com here: https://www.dvm360.com/view/becoming-a-first-generation-veterinarian

Renee D. Schmid, DVM, DABT, DABVT, is senior veterinary toxicologist and director, veterinary medicine for Pet Poison Helpline. She earned a bachelor of science in agriculture and her doctorate degree at Kansas State University in Manhattan. She joined the helpline and Safety Call International in 2013.

Tyler Primavera, DVM, is a practicing veterinarian. He recently self-published the children's book Eli the Flying Dog. When not at the clinic, he can be found working on his business Vetspacito, which seeks to help more pets get better care poco a poco. Vetspacito has a wide range of educational client veterinary videos in English and Spanish on YouTube. When not working, he enjoys dancing. His book and more info can be found here: https://linktr.ee/drprimavet

Alex Sigmund, DVM, DACVO, is a board-certified veterinary ophthalmologist, “The Vet Eye Guy” on Instagram, and founder of Insight Veterinary Eye Care, LLC that provides continuing education and teleconsultation services. He enjoys combining his passion for ophthalmology by engaging owners and veterinarians via social media, continuing education events, and one-on-ones. Sigmund wants every veterinarian to be comfortable with the basics of ophthalmology to improve patient care and client understanding. He has plans to start his own private practice in the near future that will focus on the client/patient experience in addition to high quality medicine. 

Sigmund enjoys working with exotic animals at local zoos and aquariums to ensure health and comfort for animals ranging from puffins to elephants. He completed veterinary school at the University of Georgia and a residency in comparative veterinary ophthalmology at the University of Tennessee. His publications have ranged from feline stem cell therapy to cataract surgery in raptors. Sigmund has a wonderful partner, an “old lady dog” named Asima, and a fluffy Ragdoll cat named King Louie that help occupy his time outside of the clinic.