Welcome back to another Vet Tech Taproom.  We wrap up our Mental Health Month series and discuss the tragic events at Shively Animal Hospital in Kentucky.  Grab yourself a beverage and listen in!

Welcome back to #mentalhealthawarenessmonth Caffeinators! We're back for our second episode looking at bullying in veterinary medicine. You may remember way back to 2020 when we had Emily Ione-Kinney on to talk about bullying in vet med. She introduced us then to some terms we hadn't heard before such as lateral and vertical violence and some ways bullying occurs you might not think of. This discussion is a continuation of that one and goes a good bit further. We all discuss things we've done in our past that looking back are considered bullying and how we're learning from that. We talk about how to be open to having some of these difficult conversations and how to start them. Bullying in veterinary medicine is everywhere and we all need to step up to break the cycle because if we don't we're not gonna last.

Show Links:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/emily-ione-kinney-74aa202b/

https://www.mtnwestvet.com/

Our Links:

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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

Dog Days Consulting Social Media Management - https://dogdaysconsulting.com/

Welcome to #mentalhealthawarenessmonth, Caffeinators. If you've been following along for any amount of time, you know this is a special month for us. We dedicate all of our May episodes each year to mental health in veterinary medicine, and often to a particular theme. This year, that theme is bullying. We'll have episodes with two guests and discuss bullying in our field in great depth. For this episode, we welcomed back Heather Carter. We spoke with her last summer about organizational turnover, and for this episode we had her back to talk about bullying and how that affects the workplace, the individuals, and the culture of our workplaces. It's hard to envision how this happens and just how common this is in veterinary medicine, but if you haven't been directly affected, you probably know somebody who has or is battling with this right now. There is a lot to unpack and a lot to learn in these episodes.

Our Links:

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

Dog Days Consulting Social Media Management - https://dogdaysconsulting.com/

Show Links:

Heather's Article in Today's Veterinary Nurse:

https://todaysveterinarynurse.com/practice-management/veterinary-nurse-technician-turnover-causes-and-solutions/

LinkedIn page for our women owned and led company:

Stafford Brooks Consulting, LLC : Overview | LinkedIn

Practice’s page:

Partner Veterinary Emergency & Specialty Center: Company Page Admin | LinkedIn

https://partnerveturgentcare.com/

Caffeinators, let's get weird. Let's talk money. We all want it. We all need it. What do we do with it? We can all attest to the fact that this is low-earning profession. That makes many of us work additional jobs, leave the field altogether, etc. Considering all of that, what do you think of your financial well-being? We ask because that's the discussion for this episode. This is one of our few, non-veterinary technician guest episodes, but with a discussion we hope you'll benefit from. Tom Seeko joined us recently, and he is a financial consultant with a focus in veterinary medicine. Yes, most of his clients are practice owners and DVM's, but our focus was veterinary technicians. As an employee benefit do you receive retirement benefits? Do you know what they are or what to do with them, especially if you leave the practice? If your practice owner uses a financial advisory, have you discussed asking if they could offer that persons services to the staff as an employee benefit? This episode, and his website and podcast, are chock full of ideas and resources. Take your money back. Take control of your financial well-being. You can start here.

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

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

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

Dog Days Consulting - https://dogdaysconsulting.com/

Show Links:

Caffeinators, welcome back to the Vet Tech Taproom! This episode we're doing something special! You may have heard us say that we're inviting our Patreons to participate in our Taproom episodes, and this is the FIRST such episode of that! Liza Rudolph came by to hang out with us and offer her insight on some of the topics we discussed! It's a unique opportunity to have less scripted and more off the cuff, organic discussion! We cover a lot of ground in this one-come join us!

Caffeinators, if your morning cup of coffee doesn't open your eyes, this episode surely will! Alyssa Mages, BS, CVT, recently came by the Vet Tech Cafe and knocked our socks off. We covered so much ground in this episode, but at the same time, every little thing we discussed could've been its own hour of discussion. She's a founder of Empowering Veterinary Teams, and that was where the bulk of the discussion lies-what that looks like, what they do, how it started... you know we love to talk about veterinary technician entrepreneurs! We covered training, utilization, and a whole host of other topics. She's also a Board member of Pawsibilities, and we cover that as well. Just listen, we promise you'll dig this one!

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

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

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

Dog Days Consulting - https://dogdaysconsulting.com/

Show Links:

Pawsibilities: https://pawsibilitiesvetmed.com

Nurtur (new communications org): https://nurtur.co

BlendVet: https://blend.vet

Caffeinators, it's not often we have a guest that is not a credentialed veterinary technician. But when those opportunities present themselves, we make sure it's a discussion we think you'll benefit from, and this is certainly one of those. Anthony Pierlioni is a manager of a multi-specialty hospital in Connecticut. His background isn't in veterinary medicine-it's in social work. We've have a couple episodes in the past where we've discussed the benefits of having a social worker on staff in vet med, and this is a step in continuing that discussion. He talks about his unique experience and viewpoints as someone who is not a career vet med head, and how different personalities in management and staff, as well as differences in skills and many other things could, and should, be leveraged to get the very best out of the team. Finally, he's a TURTLE guy. Like, big time. He does some amazing education and work with sensitive species of turtles, has TWO of his own podcasts about turtles, and so much more, and we spend a lot of time talking about all that too! Really fun episode here that you don't want to miss!

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

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

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

Dog Days Consulting - https://dogdaysconsulting.com/

Show Links:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/anthony-pierlioni-aa5a75173/

https://www.vcacareers.com/global/en

Caffeinators, hello from Arizona! Well, we're actually back home now, but we recorded this during our "business trip" to Arizona this past week. We recap some of the fun stuff we did, some of the really cool stuff we're working on, and preview some of our upcoming episodes. As always, the Taproom episodes are raw and uncut, like you're right there with us! We hope you enjoy!

Links:

https://www.patreon.com/vettechcafe

https://www.vettechcafe.com/

Caffeinators, have we got a discussion for you! You may remember when we interviewed Dr. Andy Roark, his suggestion for a future guest was Melissa Entrekin, and she was gracious enough to join us at the Vet Tech Cafe for some wonderful discussion about our profession. This is a wide-ranging episode, from state association work to vet tech education to life in this field overall. There's a lot to unpack in this one, and we could've easily continued this discussion for hours-which only means we'll have to have her back on the show at some point. Oh! And, she was the 2021 NAVTA Vet Tech of the Year, which means we've had both recipients of the award on our podcast already in 2023!

Melissa's LinkedIn:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/melissa-entrekin-49ba2918b/

Our Links:

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

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

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 want 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

Dog Days Social Media Management Consulting - https://dogdaysconsulting.com/

Show Links:

SCAVT:  https://www.scavt.org/ 

Piedmont Technical College Veterinary Technology Program:  https://www.ptc.edu/academics/schools-programs/health-care/veterinary-technology?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=veterinary-technology&gclid=CjwKCAiAu5agBhBzEiwAdiR5tCwmcILEpLv7dGEGIXj4RXO1_1a39M70jmymAz1mJILI5MUQZzTp-BoCYtAQAvD_BwE

Upstate Vet Emergency + Specialty Care:  https://upstatevet.com/ 

A non-profit foundation that I did not mention during the interview, but that I volunteer time to help with training when I'm available is Kilo-9:  https://kilo9.org/