Episodes

Send us a text Vet Clinic Sustainability - three vet panel discussion on what vet clinics can do to start or further their sustainability journey GUESTS: Dr Francesca Brown: Head of Programmes and Principal Lecturer, Vet, Nursing Education and Chair, Educational Standards committee at Otago Polytech Previous guest episodes: Episode 28 Episode 29 Dr Rose Unsworth - Companion Animal Veterinarian Complementary Veterinary Medicine Branch of the NZVA. Rose has also featured twice as a gu...

Send us a text Guest: Dr Lucy Scott - New Zealand Registered Veterinarian from the Massey Veterinary Science class of 2015 recently branched out into veterinary behavioural work and starting her own behaviour business. Lucy started off in a rural mixed animal practice – where she spent six years before pursuing her dream of making a difference in animals’ lives through behaviour modification and training. Lucy uses positive reinforcement training with her own animals and introduce...

Send us a text Vets and Vet Clinics: how to incorporate an attitude of gratitude in your life for well health I’ve noticed the light of positivity in my mind dim over the last couple of weeks, and if I’m feeling it, then I know that others must certainly be a little shaky too. Since that episode I’ve had a few people ask me how can they have an attitude of gratitude – what does that look like – as part of their lives? The conversation usually goes something like this: I journal....

Send us a text Vet clinics: how secure is your website or internet system? Do you have a recovery or contingency plan if you're the victim of a cyber attack? What aspects of your vet clinic practice are vulnerable? Today Julie South looks at: how to protect your vet clinic against a DDoS attack, internet failure contingency plan(s) how to recognise phishing scams & emailslatest password management recommendationsidentity theftfree wifi dangers VetStaffleading veterinary...

Send us a text Vet Science Student Q&A - part 2 of 2 Although today’s episode specifically answers Massey students’ questions, as you’ll hear, the information Janet shares is relevant to just about most people. Because her profession requires full disclosure – which you can read in its entirety at smartmoneyadvice.co.nz I’ll just go over the top level stuff. Qualifications Bachelor of Business Studies - Massey University Diploma in Business endorsed in Personal Financ...

Send us a text Mindset – how to stay sane when your world appears to be spinning out of control crazy through Covid Lockdown Language of Appreciation at Work - Questionnaire During Lockdown last year, I uploaded a questionnaire onto VetStaff’s website to help employers / employees discover how people like to be appreciated at work. It’s a free questionnaire – you don’t have to provide your email or anything like that, takes about 5 minutes to complete, and helps you discover how you l...

Send us a text Julie South interviews Jocelyn Birch Baker of Smooth Operating Vets + High Street Veterinary Clinic in Rockhampton, Queensland, Australia Jocelyn’s vision at Smooth Operating Vets is to ensure all veterinary women have the opportunity to work in a team where everyone knows their talents and calmly does their very best in an encouraging and supporting place…. That women can return to veterinary practice after the birth of their babies with the skills, knowledge and confidence t...

Send us a text Julie South interviews Jocelyn Birch Baker of Smooth Operating Vets + High Street Veterinary Clinic in Rockhampton, Queensland, Australia Jocelyn’s vision at Smooth Operating Vets is to ensure all veterinary women have the opportunity to work in a team where everyone knows their talents and calmly does their very best in an encouraging and supporting place…. That women can return to veterinary practice after the birth of their babies with the skills, knowledge and confidence t...

Send us a text This week Massey University Veterinary Science students asked Julie South questions relating to their first job interview & recruitment. The questions asked were: Why should we go through a recruitment agency when we can get a job ourselves – doesn’t it just cost the clinic more to use an agency and won’t they then hold that against us? Is it money they could have paid us instead? Is it okay to ask about salary at the job interview? I've heard from several ve...

Send us a text EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE - EQ - part 2 (of 2) Strategies to become more emotionally intelligent 6 ways emotionally intelligent people lead #1 – Learn more about the inner workings of YOU #2 – Get an honest & objective assessment of YOU – from people you trust who’ll tell you how you are, not how you want to be #3 – Journal & Track – discover cause & effect # 4 – Listen #5 – Putting yourself in the other person’s shoes #6 – open yourself up NB: in the podcast I talk ...

Send us a text Today we’re looking at emotional intelligence (EQ) and how essential having a high EQ score is to your professional and personal success and development. In today’s workplace - workplace performance and career success, and even employee health, which were once thought to be a function of someone’s IQ – or intelligence quotient - are, in fact, tied in with EQ – or someone’s emotional intelligence. If you’re unfamiliar with EQ - it’s each person’s ability to recognise, understand...

Send us a text Has the idea of volunteering your amazing veterinary skills - either as a veterinarian or veterinary nurse - kinda got you a little bit excited? If so, then Dr Yvonne Clark's experiences - on beautiful holiday-resort islands - Sardinia in the Mediterranean and Rarotonga in the South Pacific - will give you a bit of an insight into what volunteering is like. Dr Yvonne Clark is a companion animal veterinarian who originally qualified in Australia. She's worked in the UK, Austr...

Send us a text 15 signs it’s time to change jobs + 4 next steps 1. By the time Sunday night comes around, you’re in “dread mode” – you dread going to work on Mondays 2. Time drags – you struggle to immerse yourself and be in the zone like you used to 3. Little things start getting you down and you no longer believe in the clinic like you used to … favouritism, perhaps things don’t get fixed fast – it’s always been l...

Send us a text The WHAT, WHY, WHEN & HOW to conduct EXIT INTERVIEWS at your Veterinary Clinic Questions to ask at Exit Interviews What is their reason for leaving?Do you feel you had opportunities for growth or promotion within this clinic?How well do you believe your work was recognised and appreciated?Do you feel you were given adequate training and assistance?How fairly were the rosters / after hours / on call requirements distributed among you and other veterinarians / peers?Working ...

Send us a text Asking good quality questions gets you good quality answers In this episode you'll discover 15 questions veterinary clinics can ask job applicants to help them determine whether the new-hire will mess or mesh with your veterinary clinic team. Determining and hopefully, matching clinic values, is imperative if you want your next new hire to mesh with your existing team. The alternative is to hire someone who messes with your team - usually because of a total mis-match in valu...

Send us a text Gen Z are those grads who started entering the workforce a few years ago. They’re also called the i-Gen – as in iPad and iPhone and Zoomers. Generational “personalities” Generational personalities don’t come so much from the actual year someone was born – or the span of years – but from events that a generation of people – a cohort – experience as they grow up at a certain time in society’s history. It’s these significant events that shape the values of a coh...

Send us a text This is part 2 of my catch up with (retired) veterinarian Dr Bryan Gregor. If you’ve been listening to my podcasts for the last 7 episodes or so, you’ll have heard me talk about the fan girl moment I had when Dr Bryan Gregor – show host of the VetPodcast called me out of the blue to talk ‘podcasting’. The Vetpodcast and Paws Claws & Wet Noses have complementary audiences - plus we're both a bit geeky when it comes to things podcast-y. As I’ve said a few times, The VetPodca...

Send us a text If you’ve been listening to my podcasts for the last 6 episodes or so, you’ll have heard me talk about the fan girl moment I had when Dr Bryan Gregor – show host of the VetPodcast called me out of the blue to talk ‘podcasting’. This is part 1 of 2 of my catch up with Dr Bryan. The Vetpodcast and Paws Claws & Wet Noses have complementary audiences - plus we're both a bit geeky when it comes to things podcast-y. As I’ve said a few times, The VetPodcast is where Paws Cla...

Send us a text This is a bonus episode because Immigration New Zealand recently announced that, effective 1 November 2021, employers who have migrant workers (visa holders) on their staff will now require to be accredited under the new Immigration New Zealand requirements. In this episode Richard Howard - Licensed Immigration Consultant - of Pathways New Zealand (based in Hamilton and Wellington) answers questions and helps allay fears some clinics may have. Richard recommends making sure y...

Send us a text Dr Megan Alderson of The Strand Veterinarian in Parnell, Auckland, New Zealand, talks about implementing various wellness progs into her veterinary clinic - her trials and tribulations. Dr Megan is very open and forthcoming with the information she shares: what's worked and didn't workher clinic's budgets and how much she budgets for staff wellness and wellbeingShe also shares how her personality style worked against her, until she realised she needed to change her approa...

Send us a text Part 2 (of 2) with Dr Francesa Brown on how to have a healthy vet clinic and a healthy bottom line. Dr Brown covers: What KPIs to measureWhere to start in supporting your team to be / get / stay healthyWhat questions to askHow to implement and how not to implementJohari WindowsThe real and true cost of staff turnoverShe also asks for input / support / information as she gets ready to start her next research project. VetStaffleading veterinary sector recruitment in New Zealan...

Send us a text This week is part 1 of a two-part series with Dr Francesca Brown of Otago Polytechnic. If you don’t know Dr Francesca, she’s a veterinarian who graduated from Massey University’s class of ’98. After graduating and gaining experience in clinical practice Francesca moved to education and then into leadership in Allied Veterinary professional education, at both Otago Polytechnic, as the Head of the School of Veterinary Nursing and nationally as the Chair of the Educational ...

Send us a text The veterinary practice management software company ezyVet launched MindfulMay as a way to give back to the global veterinary sector. Starting in May 2021 with two webinars, ezyVet wants to create a worthwhile resources (veterinarian to veterinarian) that helps make a positive difference. In this episode Julie South catches up with Pip and Lance from the marketing department of ezyVet in Auckland, New Zealand. Mentioned in this episode: ezyVet Mindful May's resource page: &...

Send us a text Did you know there are questions you just can’t ask your coworkers … your colleagues... at work …? I’m not talking being PC-on-steroids type subjects, I’m talking Privacy Act breaches – and that’s what this episode of PCWN is all about. If you’re tasked with hiring OR you’re a job-seeker who’s considering your next career move OR you’re someone, like me, who often has to open their mouth to change feet, then this episode is definitely for you. Check out episode ...