Most vets believe it’s inevitable—on average, they leave Emergency and Critical Care (ECC) after just 3-5 years. The obvious culprit? Shift work, right?

But what if that’s just scratching the surface?

In this episode, I sit down with Dr. Matt Booth, ER Practice Development Lead at Ethos Veterinary Health, to break down surprising findings from his survey of 3,500 emergency veterinarians. Together, we explore the Five Buckets of Retention—the REAL factors that determine whether your career in emergency medicine thrives or fizzles out. Spoiler: It’s not all about night shifts and burnout.

We dig into leadership challenges, the keys to professional growth, and how these insights apply beyond ECC to every role in veterinary medicine.

You’ll also catch highlights from my previous chat with Dr. Matt at IVECCS 2023, where we shared actionable strategies for improving recruitment and building sustainable veterinary careers.

Whether you’re an ER vet looking for longevity or a practice leader aiming to attract and retain top talent, this episode is your guide to rethinking retention and career sustainability in veterinary medicine.

Topics and Timestamps:

00:40 Meet Dr. Matt Booth and the Five Buckets03:47 Recruitment Insights from 202307:36 Survey Findings and Retention Strategies12:07 The Five Buckets of Retention27:07 The Burden of Being a Giver28:23 Creative Solutions for Employee Retention29:04 Leadership and Gender Representation39:59 The Role of paid time off in Retention43:40 Creating a Positive Work Environment46:37 Professional Educational Growth

Join me at JAVECCS Tokyo on 15 and 16 March, and at IVECCS 2025 in San Diego on 4-8 Septembet.

Join our community of Vet Vault Nerds to lift your clinical game and get your groove back with our up-to-date, easy-to-consume clinical episodes, library of show notes and access to our veterinary practice AI Toolbox at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠vvn.supercast.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

Get help with your tricky cases in our ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Specialist Support Space.⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

V⁠⁠isit ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠thevetvault.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠for show notes and resources related to this episode.

⁠Subscribe to our weekly newsletter⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠for Hubert's favourite clinical and non-clinical learnings from the week.

Try our AI Blood Gas Assistant here

Are you wasting hours on outdated study methods like cramming and re-reading—only to forget everything by exam day? You might be studying wrong—and Dr. Matt Hollindale is here to help you fix that so you can learn smarter, not harder.

When preparing for his ECC Membership exams, Dr. Matt became obsessed with the science of study. The result? He achieved the top marks of the 2023 cohort. Now, he’s applying the same methods to his residency training and sharing them with you.

In this episode, we dive into science-backed strategies that transform how you study. Say goodbye to endless highlighting, reading and re-reading, and hello to techniques that actually makes things stick. 

Whether you’re a veterinary student building good habits early or preparing for specialist exams, this episode will save you many hours. (And possibly even some tears!)

Here’s what we cover:

Links & Resources
Lift your clinical game with our RACE-approved clinical podcasts at ⁠⁠vvn.supercast.com⁠⁠ for more clinical confidence and better patient outcomes, or check out our Advanced Surgery Podcast at ⁠⁠cutabove.supercast.com⁠⁠.

Get case support from our team of specialists in our ⁠⁠Specialist Support Space⁠⁠.

⁠⁠Subscribe to our weekly newsletter⁠⁠ for Hubert's favourite clinical and non-clinical learnings from the week.

Topics and Time Stamps

04:33 Common Study Mistakes
08:58 Study Techniques That Actually Work
18:11 Making It Practical
20:56 Using Spaced Repetition for Better Long-Term Memory
29:08 Tech and AI Study Tools
31:39 Google Notebook LMS
34:38 Advanced Strategies
38:54 The Importance of Self-Care in Studying

We’d love to hear from you! Email us at ⁠⁠⁠[email protected]⁠⁠⁠ or reach out via our ⁠⁠⁠contact form⁠⁠⁠.

If you enjoyed this episode, share it with someone who you think could benefit from these game-changing study strategies!

Lift your clinical game with our RACE-approved clinical podcasts at vvn.supercast.com for more clinical confidence and better patient outcomes, or check out our Advanced Surgery Podcast at cutabove.supercast.com.

Get case support from our team of specialists in our Specialist Support Space.

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter for Hubert's favourite clinical and non-clinical learnings from the week.

Do you ever feel just... flat? Not inspired, not excited, and certainly not energised. It might feel like burnout. Or is it compassion fatigue? Maybe it's neither.

You know those moments in veterinary medicine when you know the right thing to do, but external circumstances prevent you from doing it? That dissonance, that discomfort deep in your core: that’s moral injury.

In this episode, we unravel the complexities of moral injury with Dr. Shannon Bass, a leader in veterinary medicine and a passionate advocate for supporting veterinarians through the psychological challenges they face. Moral injury, often confused with burnout or compassion fatigue, is an under-discussed but critical issue in our profession. Together with Dr. Bass, we explore the distinctions between these terms, their impact on veterinary professionals, and how to address them effectively.

Dr. Bass brings over 20 years of experience in general practice, emergency veterinary medicine, and leadership to this conversation, where you’ll learn

Topics and Time Stamps

Get in Touch

Email us at [email protected] if you want to find out more about Vet Vault/Vets on Tour 2025 in Wanaka, NZ, or about the Essential Consequence Management series for practice leaders with Rhonda Andrews.

We love to hear from you! If you have a question for us or you’d like to give us some feedback, please get in touch via our contact form, or catch up with us on Instagram.

If you like what you hear, please share the love by clicking on the share button wherever you’re listening and sending a link to someone who you think should hear this.

Hands up if you feel truly valued and respected at work. 

In this episode, we dig deep into what truly makes employees feel valued and how leaders can create workplaces that people never want to leave. Spoiler: It’s not just about pay, pizza parties, or avoiding toxic behaviour. We’re aiming much higher! 

Why You Should Listen

Workplaces that crack the code of real team respect and value don’t just retain their talent — they thrive. Whether you’re a team leader or an employed vet, this episode is packed with actionable insights on creating meaningful change, improving communication, and unlocking your unique “zone of genius.”

What Team Leaders Will Learn

• How to spot and fix the subtle cues that make employees feel unheard and replaceable. 

•.The counter-intuitive financial upside of investing in team development.

“I think that organisations are sometimes coming in backwards, where it’s like: ‘Let’s just focus on the numbers and the metrics.’ If you develop amazing talent and build a strong team, you will make so much money. It is not the other way around.”

•.Practical tips to tackle team disengagement and avoid the high cost of turnover.

• Strategies for better communication and feedback without burning out as a leader.

“Because our brains are pre-programmed to attune to the negative, it’s going to be a negative story. So when people don’t understand what’s happening, they’re going to jump to the worst-case scenario, spread rumours, and act accordingly.”

What Employed Vets Will Learn

• How to advocate for yourself without feeling ‘pushy’ or ‘needy’.

• Why you might be feeling stuck in your role, and what to do about it. 

• How to discover and step into your ‘zone of genius.’

“If I can maximise my time and attention there, I will be of most use to my company, my team, myself, my patients — everybody.”

Our guests are:

• Dr. Natalie Fayman: A veterinarian with 30+ years of clinical experience turned certified Positive Intelligence coach, and champion for less workplace dread and more veterinary dream teams

• Crystal Stokes: A former ER vet tech turned licensed psychotherapist and leadership coach. As the founder of Full Circle Lab, she’s on a mission to bridge the gap between veterinary leadership and teams.

Say not to settling for a ‘meh’ workplace by hitting play on this episode  in to learn how to create (or find!) a role where you’re truly respected, valued, and thriving. Your veterinary dream team starts here!

Topics and Time Stamps:

06:23: Recognising the subtle things that make people feel undervalued

08:50: The counter-intuitive truth about investing time and money in team development

12:36: The repercussions of getting this wrong

18:13: Leveraging the team to get this right

21:25: Why it’s important to know the limits of your skills

25:23: Upcoming events and conferences

28:41: Pushing for change as someone who is not in a leadership role

35:05: Better systems for better feedback

37:32: Discovering your ‘zone of genius’

45:59: Addressing team disengagement

52:21: Effective communication and feedback

58:12: Podcast recommendations

58:52: The pass-along question

Lift your clinical game with our RACE approved clinical podcasts at ⁠⁠⁠⁠vvn.supercast.com⁠⁠⁠⁠  for more clinical confidence and better patient outcomes, or check out our Advanced Surgery Podcast at ⁠⁠⁠cutabove.supercast.com⁠⁠⁠. 

Get case support from our team of specialists in our ⁠⁠⁠Specialist Support Space⁠⁠⁠.

⁠Subscribe to our weekly newsletter⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠for Hubert's favourite clinical and non-clinical learnings from the week.

Join me at the JAVECCS ECC conference in Tokyo on 15 and 16 March.

Get the show notes for this episode, plus a very neat treatment guide for hyperkalaemia, ⁠here.⁠

Join our community of Vet Vault Nerds to lift your clinical game and get your groove back with our up-to-date, easy-to-consume clinical episodes at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠vvn.supercast.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

Get help with your tricky cases in our ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Specialist Support Space.⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠Subscribe to our weekly newsletter⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠for Hubert's favourite clinical and non-clinical learnings from the week.

You may have heard about a condition where greyhounds can become dangerously hyperkalaemic under anaesthesia, but did you know that this isn’t something that happens exclusively in greyhounds? And do you know what the risk factors are for this happening, what you can do to try and prevent it, or how to preempt it? If the answer to any of these is no, and you ever anaesthetise non-human species, then this is one of those “will probably save a patient’s life one day” episodes.

Our guest is Dr Stacey Jones, who was involved in publishing the first ⁠paper on anaesthesia-associated hyperkalaemia⁠ in greyhounds that brought this condition to the veterinary world’s attention. She joins the podcast to share what she learnt while conducting the research for this paper, as well as to provide an update on the work that has been done since that first publication. This update fleshes out our understanding of the condition, focusing on what you need to know about it in practice.

Episode Topics and Timestamps

04:06 Symptoms and Detection

07:27 The Greyhound Project: A Case Study

19:15 Hyperkalemia Beyond Greyhounds

22:05 Practical Takeaways

27:53 Conclusion and Additional Resources

Lift your clinical game with our RACE approved clinical podcasts at ⁠⁠vvn.supercast.com⁠⁠  for more clinical confidence and better patient outcomes, or check out our Advanced Surgery Podcast at ⁠cutabove.supercast.com⁠. 

Get case support from our team of specialists in our ⁠Specialist Support Space⁠.

⁠Subscribe to our weekly newsletter⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠for Hubert's favourite clinical and non-clinical learnings from the week.

“This is not a women's issue: this is a societal issue. We all have women in our lives that we love, that we work with, that we care for, and we MUST be putting these conversations on the table.”

If you’re listening to THIS podcast, chances are you’re a veterinarian. That means that statistically, there’s about a 70% chance you’re a woman. That makes an honest, in-depth conversation about menopause not just relevant, but essential. This is that conversation. 

And even if you’re not a woman, or menopause is still decades away for you, you almost certainly work with or live with someone for whom this topic is, or will be, very significant. You should absolutely care about it- and know about it.

In this question-and-answer conversation, recorded live at the Greencross Symposium 2024, we unpack the science, symptoms, and solutions with Dr. Nicole Avard, menopause specialist, and Georgie Drury, founder of Metluma, a digital health initiative that supports women through menopause.

From understanding the biology of menopause to tackling its impact on mental health, career, and workplace culture, this is the conversation you didn’t know you needed—but one that will make a difference in your life and practice. 

Topics and Timestamps

[00:04:00] Menopause 101

[00:06:00] Biological Changes During Menopause

[00:08:00] Symptoms of Menopause

[00:12:00] Mental Health and Menopause

[00:15:00] Challenges in Diagnosis and Treatment

[00:17:00] HRT Safety and Benefits

[00:22:00] Myths and Misinformation

[00:32:00] Organisational Responses to Menopause

[00:40:00] Menopause Q&A

[00:45:00] Advanced Questions on Treatment

Speaker bios:

Nicole Avard

Dr Nicole Avard is a dedicated Menopause Specialist GP with 18 years of experience as an Integrative GP. As the Medical Director and Co-founder of Metluma, she is passionate about guiding women through the complexities of menopause. Dr Nic has supported thousands of women on their menopausal journey, offering compassionate and individualized care. 

Georgia Drury

Georgie is an experienced entrepreneur and CEO, with a passion for health and technology. As founder and CEO of Springday, she built the business into a multi-million-dollar global organisation, operating across 13 countries in ASPAC before exiting and moving onto her next venture. With Hummingbird Innovations, Georgie advises, invests, and collaborates with boards and organisations. She is currently Co-founder and CEO of Metluma, an exciting and innovative digital health initiative aiming to support women by taking a proactive approach to menopause.

We love to hear from you. Leave a review here, or get in touch with questions or feedback at [email protected].

And if you like what you hear, please share the love by rating us on your podcast player and hitting that share button and sending a link to someone who you think should hear this. 

Lift your clinical game with our RACE approved clinical podcasts. Get your first two weeks free at ⁠⁠vvn.supercast.com⁠⁠  for more clinical confidence and better patient outcomes, or check out our Advanced Surgery Podcast at ⁠cutabove.supercast.com⁠.  Get case support from our team of specialists in our ⁠Specialist Support Space⁠.

What if you asked the head of a famous business school for some veterinary business advice, but instead of telling you about a new system to increase productivity or some new marketing hack, he tells you to ‘focus less on the business side of veterinary practice’? 

"You have to stop imposing a managerial mindset on these types of businesses - a 'business mindset.' Managerialism has seeped into everything - into industries where it shouldn't be. "

An interview that started with the goal of helping vets get better at having difficult finance conversations quickly detoured into a discussion about:

- The philosophy of veterinary business,

- Why the managerialism  that works in some industries doesn’t always translate well into ours, and

- What true success could look like. 

(Don’t worry - we do also get insights on how to make those money conversations less stressful!) 

Dr Paul Harrison is the Director of the MBA program and Co-Director of the Better Consumption Lab at Deakin University's School of Business, and Adjunct Professor at Sacred Heart University in Milan.The MBA program that Paul designed for Deakin ranks 1st in the world for class experience. Paul is a renowned  international speaker on issues related to consumer behaviour, public health and well-being, governance, and marketing.  

Topics and Timestamps

Money Conversations: Challenges and Strategies 04:50

Balancing Business and Values in Veterinary Practice 07:29

Rethinking Success: Beyond Financial Growth 12:17

Exciting News: Clinical Podcast Updates 17:24

Embracing Uncertainty and Value 19:32

Controlling the Customer Experience 24:08

Philosophical Approaches in Business 24:29

Understanding Customer Needs 25:45

Money Conversations in Veterinary Practice 27:15

Human Decision-Making in Emergencies 34:05

Emotional Management in Emergencies 40:30

We love to hear from you. If you have a question for us or you’d like to give us some feedback please get in touch via our contact form at ⁠thevetvault.com⁠, or catch up with us on ⁠Instagram⁠.

And if you like what you hear, please share the love by clicking on the share button wherever you’re listening and sending a link to someone who you think should hear this. 

Lift your clinical game with our RACE approved clinical podcasts. Get your first two weeks free at ⁠⁠⁠vvn.supercast.com⁠⁠⁠  for more clinical confidence and better patient outcomes, or check out our Advanced Surgery Podcast at ⁠⁠cutabove.supercast.com⁠⁠. 

Get case support from our team of specialists in our ⁠⁠Specialist Support Space⁠⁠.

If you scroll through any veterinary chat group you won’t have to scroll for long before you see a conversation along the lines of:  “My career as it is now isn’t really working for me, but I don’t know what my other options are.  I feel… stuck.”

So how do you become unstuck?

Dr Jess Moore Jones is a bit obsessed with what keeps vets engaged and fulfilled, and she helps individuals and teams figure out how to create resilient and thriving cultures and careers through  her business, ⁠Unleashed Coaching and Consulting⁠, and in this episode we unpack a few of the talks she presented at WVAC 2024: 

Jess shares her thoughts on where the line is between being a good team member and having healthy boundaries, why being selfish in the short term can be generous in the long run, and we talk about the ‘four doors’ available to you with every challenging situation. We discuss Jess' first steps to becoming ‘unstuck’ from your career rut, and we ask the big question: are the new generations of vets ‘soft’, or just wise?!

Join Dr Jess on 28 November 2024 for her online ⁠Women in Veterinary Leadership Summit. ⁠

Topics and Time Stamps

02:21 The Generational Debate: Are Younger Vets Soft?

03:43 Resilience in Veterinary Medicine: Good vs. Toxic

10:30 Balancing Boundaries: Soft vs. Hard

15:15 Long-term Resilience vs Short-Term People-Pleasing

20:02 Career Coaching: Moving from Stuck to Fulfilled

22:55 Challenging Traditional Work Structures

23:34 Discovering Your True Self

25:06 Overcoming Fear and Taking Action

26:22 Exploring New Opportunities

29:05 The Power of Choice in Your Career

34:27 Mindfulness and Self-Awareness

36:01 Choosing Your Perspective

40:31 Embracing Negative Emotions

We love to hear from you. If you have a question for us or you’d like to give us some feedback please get in touch via our contact form at ⁠⁠thevetvault.com⁠⁠, or catch up with us on ⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠.

And if you like what you hear, please share the love by clicking on the share button wherever you’re listening and sending a link to someone who you think should hear this. 

If you work in emergency practice, or you're considering it, then this episode is for you. ⁠Dr Brooke Schampers ⁠and ⁠Dr Taleta Hompas ⁠are ECC veterinarians with more than two decades experience between them who create resources and coach others on how to thrive as an ECC shift worker through there ⁠EMV4Life⁠ program. In this episode they will tell you:

We discuss what there is to love about emergency vetting, what to consider if you are thinking of a career as an ECC vet, and what other challenges there are beyond sleep and shift work.

Contact us⁠ to find out about our Vet Vault/EMV4Life resource bundles to help you up skill and navigate life as an emergency vet.

Lift your clinical game with our RACE approved clinical podcasts. Get your first two weeks free at ⁠⁠vvn.supercast.com⁠⁠  for more clinical confidence and better patient outcomes, or check out our Advanced Surgery Podcast at ⁠cutabove.supercast.com⁠. 

Get case support from our team at specialists in our ⁠Specialist Support Space⁠.

Topics, Time Stamps and Chapters

00:00 Intro

03:22 Why ECC? What’s to love about it? 

06:38 Are Certain Personalities Better Suited for ECC

15:39 The Impact of Shift Work on Health

22:21 Brooke’s Routine for Sustainable Night Shifts

32:51 Balancing ECC Work with Family Life

46:18 Setting Yourself Up for Long-Term ECC Careers

50:32 Rostering

54:17 Increased Productivity On Shift

01:06:17 Finding Your Joy in Veterinary Work

We love to hear from you. If you have a question for us or you’d like to give us some feedback please get in touch via our contact from at ⁠thevetvault.com⁠, or catch up with us on ⁠Instagram⁠.

And if you like what you hear, please share the love by clicking on the share button wherever you’re listening and sending a link to someone who you think should hear this. 

Lift your clinical game with our RACE approved clinical podcasts. Get your first two weeks free at ⁠⁠vvn.supercast.com⁠⁠  for more clinical confidence and better patient outcomes, or check out our Advanced Surgery Podcast at ⁠cutabove.supercast.com⁠. 

Get case support from our team at specialists in our ⁠Specialist Support Space⁠.

Topics and Time Stamps

We love to hear from you. If you have a question for us or you’d like to give us some feedback please get in touch via our contact from at ⁠thevetvault.com⁠, or catch up with us on ⁠Instagram⁠.

And if you like what you hear, please share the love by clicking on the share button wherever you’re listening and sending a link to someone who you think should hear this. 

07:35 The Role of Compassion and Innovation12:08 Leadership and Management in Veterinary Practices17:55 Addressing Risks and Governance24:51 The Importance of Communication and Training43:23 Implementing Change in Veterinary Practices44:04 The Role of Coaching and Mentoring44:56 Different Models of External Support46:27 Cross-Industry Learning and Its Benefits56:06 Delegation and Managing Multiple Roles01:00:31 The Importance of Trusted Networks01:09:15 Balancing Client Relationships and Clinical Work01:17:13 Innovative Solutions for Veterinary Practices01:23:55 Conclusion and Final Thoughts