First Taproom of 2026.  We've been nominated for an award!  Please vote for us!

https://thebridgeclub.com/bright-minds-voting/

We also talk a lot about the "guilt" of calling out or not filling shifts.  Tell us what you think about this!

We've got a lot of things planned for the new year.  Stay tuned!

Caffeinators, Vet Tech Cafe is Australian for podcast. If you're vintage like us, you may remember that Foster's beer commercial and when you hear this episode, it'll make more sense. We're headed back down under to check in again with Cat Walker! You may know her as Radio Vet Nurse, but she's launched a veterinary mediation business as she has a law background, and as you know, we always want to talk to those that are blazing their own path! This was a fascinating discussion about mediation and what that looks like and how it applies to our field, and we also covered a lot of other ground as well. You don't want to miss this one-if nothing else, for her accent!

Show Links:

"Generations" by Jean Twenge:

Our Links:

Check out our sponsor https://betterhelp.com/vettechcafe for 10% off your first month of therapy

Follow us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/vettechcafe

Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vettechcafepodcast

Follow us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/vet-tech-cafe

Like and Subscribe on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCMDTKdfOaqSW0Mv3Uoi33qg

Our website: https://www.vettechcafe.com/

Vet Tech Cafe Merch: https://www.vettechcafe.com/merch

If you would like to help us cover our podcast expenses, we'd appreciate any support you give through Patreon. We do this podcast and our YouTube channel content to support the veterinary technicians out there and do not expect anything in return! We thank you for all you do. 🐾

Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/vettechcafe

Caffeinators, as we close out 2025 we take a look into the industry side of the profession with Vicky Ograin. Vicky is a long time RVT who left clinical practice over 20 years ago to work for Hill's Pet Nutrition. She's also since obtained a VTS(Nutrition) and an MBA. She's currently a Scientific Communication Senior Specialist within the US Professional Veterinary Affairs Department. It's a very unique role and we talk a lot about the demand for credentialed technicians in these larger companies because of their clinical experience. We also talk all things nutrition and we cover a lot of other ground as well. We hope you had a great 2025 and we look forward to seeing you at the Vet Tech Cafe and Vet Tech Taproom in 2026! Happy New Year!

Our Links:

Check out our sponsor https://betterhelp.com/vettechcafe for 10% off your first month of therapy

Follow us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/vettechcafe

Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vettechcafepodcast

Follow us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/vet-tech-cafe

Like and Subscribe on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCMDTKdfOaqSW0Mv3Uoi33qg

Our website: https://www.vettechcafe.com/

Vet Tech Cafe Merch: https://www.vettechcafe.com/merch

If you would like to help us cover our podcast expenses, we'd appreciate any support you give through Patreon. We do this podcast and our YouTube channel content to support the veterinary technicians out there and do not expect anything in return! We thank you for all you do. 🐾

Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/vettechcafe

Our year end taproom!  We said it in this episode, but we'll say it again.  Thank you to your patreons.  They really make doing this podcast so much easier.  

Have a listen and hear our favorite episodes for this year.  Tell us what your favorite episodes were this year!

Caffeinators, you may remember our recent episode Sara Hunt talking about all things VTS Diagnostic Imaging (if you missed it, be sure to check it out!), and we're back again with another VTS(DI)! This time, Liane Shaw came by the Vet Tech Cafe. Why two guests from the same Academy, you ask? Because they are doing two VERY different things with their credential. Liane works in Academia at Purdue teaching the next generation of veterinary technicians about all things DI! We talk about education, the advancements in the field of DI, the Academy itself, and so much more. Be sure to tune in!

Show Links:

https://todaysveterinarynurse.com/clinical_topics/radiology-imaging/

Our Links:

Check out our sponsor https://betterhelp.com/vettechcafe for 10% off your first month of therapy

Follow us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/vettechcafe

Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vettechcafepodcast

Follow us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/vet-tech-cafe

Like and Subscribe on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCMDTKdfOaqSW0Mv3Uoi33qg

Our website: https://www.vettechcafe.com/

Vet Tech Cafe Merch: https://www.vettechcafe.com/merch

If you would like to help us cover our podcast expenses, we'd appreciate any support you give through Patreon. We do this podcast and our YouTube channel content to support the veterinary technicians out there and do not expect anything in return! We thank you for all you do. 🐾

Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/vettechcafe

Caffeinators, you know we don't often have guests at the Vet Tech Cafe that aren't credentialed technicians, but when we do, it means it's an important conversation. This is one of those episodes. Caitlin Palmer came by recently and she is a career CSR and is on the President's Advisory Board for the North American Association of Veterinary Receptionists, NAAVR. Did you know that existed? Some amazing people have started that organization and we talk a lot about it and the role of the CSR, and also that sometimes contentious dynamic of the front vs back of the hospital. There is some real wisdom and entertainment in this episode, don't miss it!

Show Links:

https://naavr.org/

https://www.myvetcandy.com/blog/2025/8/4/from-vet-receptionist-to-comedy-queen-how-caitlin-palmer-is-helping-to-revolutionizing-veterinary-education

Our Links:

Check out our sponsor https://betterhelp.com/vettechcafe for 10% off your first month of therapy

Follow us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/vettechcafe

Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vettechcafepodcast

Follow us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/vet-tech-cafe

Like and Subscribe on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCMDTKdfOaqSW0Mv3Uoi33qg

Our website: https://www.vettechcafe.com/

Vet Tech Cafe Merch: https://www.vettechcafe.com/merch

If you would like to help us cover our podcast expenses, we'd appreciate any support you give through Patreon. We do this podcast and our YouTube channel content to support the veterinary technicians out there and do not expect anything in return! We thank you for all you do. 🐾

Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/vettechcafe

We just finished up the NAVC HiVE conference in Anaheim CA!  Have a listen to our recap and look out for future HiVE conferences coming to your region!

Caffeinators, you've been asking for him for years, and we were finally able to have Walter Brown come by the Vet Tech Cafe! We recently had lunch with him at IVECCS and had a long discussion about axolotls there, so we talked about his love of exotics, and tarantulas in particular. We also talked about content creation and how all of that came to be for him, which is a wild story. He's also very passionate about bringing veterinary medicine to inner city schools as a career option, so we talked about all that too! We covered so much ground in this one, and this could easily turn into a series of episodes.

Our Links:

Check out our sponsor https://betterhelp.com/vettechcafe for 10% off your first month of therapy

Follow us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/vettechcafe

Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vettechcafepodcast

Follow us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/vet-tech-cafe

Like and Subscribe on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCMDTKdfOaqSW0Mv3Uoi33qg

Our website: https://www.vettechcafe.com/

Vet Tech Cafe Merch: https://www.vettechcafe.com/merch

If you would like to help us cover our podcast expenses, we'd appreciate any support you give through Patreon. We do this podcast and our YouTube channel content to support the veterinary technicians out there and do not expect anything in return! We thank you for all you do. 🐾

Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/vettechcafe

Caffeinators, you know we strive each year to sit down with the sitting President of NAVTA, so buckle up because here we go! Beckie Mossor recently came by to tell us what NAVTA is working on, talk about their recent demographic survey, and also talk a bit about National Vet Tech Week, which has morphed a bit over the last several years. We also talked about another project she's heavily involved in, the Veterinary Industry Giving Tree. As always, it was wonderful to chat with her and see what she, and NAVTA, are up to!

Our Links:

Check out our sponsor https://betterhelp.com/vettechcafe for 10% off your first month of therapy

Follow us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/vettechcafe

Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vettechcafepodcast

Follow us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/vet-tech-cafe

Like and Subscribe on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCMDTKdfOaqSW0Mv3Uoi33qg

Our website: https://www.vettechcafe.com/

Vet Tech Cafe Merch: https://www.vettechcafe.com/merch

If you would like to help us cover our podcast expenses, we'd appreciate any support you give through Patreon. We do this podcast and our YouTube channel content to support the veterinary technicians out there and do not expect anything in return! We thank you for all you do. 🐾

Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/vettechcafe

Caffeinators, can you believe it's time to kick off Year 7 of the Vet Tech Cafe?! And you know what that means, our annual check in with Liz Hughston! This is an important one, as she's "retiring" from vet med. She'll still be active in some areas, but has already began scaling back in many others, and will continue to do so. So we talked about retirement from vet med and what that looks like, and also the dissolution of the National Veterinary Professionals Union, and the difficulty there. She thinks this might be her last episode with us, but we'll try to convince her to come back next year to see how retirement is actually going!

Our Links:

Check out our sponsor https://betterhelp.com/vettechcafe for 10% off your first month of therapy

Follow us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/vettechcafe

Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vettechcafepodcast

Follow us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/vet-tech-cafe

Like and Subscribe on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCMDTKdfOaqSW0Mv3Uoi33qg

Our website: https://www.vettechcafe.com/

Vet Tech Cafe Merch: https://www.vettechcafe.com/merch

If you would like to help us cover our podcast expenses, we'd appreciate any support you give through Patreon. We do this podcast and our YouTube channel content to support the veterinary technicians out there and do not expect anything in return! We thank you for all you do. 🐾

Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/vettechcafe