Episodes

Send us a text I like to think that the state of my(Julie South) mental health is generally pretty good. I know how to recognise when I get too close to the edge. When I get to close to that endless downward negativity spiral where the vortex just sucks me in and it’s hard to move away into a more positive space. This week just gone, I noticed I was starting to edge towards “that” edge. In times of uncertainty and chaos, it's common to feel overwhelmed and out of con...

Send us a text Gaslighting, microaggressions, and passive aggressive behaviour create toxic relationships – at work and at home. If you – or someone you know – wonders whether you’re going a bit crazy or feel like you have to walk on eggshells around certain people, then this is for you. Today we look at some gaslighting, microaggression and passive aggressive warning signs and what to do about them, so you can protect yourself and others by recognising these toxic tactics for...

Send us a text Equality vs Equity for Cost-Effective Veterinary Recruitment Here are 10 distinct ways "equity" is different to "equality" in the veterinary clinic workplace. We look at how you can address those differences to make you a more attractive PEOPLE.FIRST employer. Being a PEOPLE.FIRST employer will make retention and recruitment of high calibre veterinary professionals much (much!) easier… and more cost effective! To make it easier for you to remember all the different co...

Send us a text There’s been a bit of a jargon bandied around the recruitment and HR worlds over the last few years of DEI – diversity, equity and inclusion. Let's look at some DEI language - and how that plays out in your clinic - to either encourage inclusion or create cultural divides. Here are seven different things you can look at inside your clinic to encourage diversity and growth – personal, professional and financial, as well as ways to get a better response from your job adve...

Send us a text 10 ways to help make your price rises more palatable for your clients so you can give your team a pay rise in these inflationary times Are staff motivation and clinic price increases connected – in this “life according to Julie episode”, I’m going to show you how they are. But first – some of the backstory so you can see how the dots are all connected 😊 We – VetStaff – have had a bit of a run of calls lately – starting just before Christmas and still going s...

Send us a text The last two episodes have covered unconscious bias when interviewing with the goal of not only shedding the light on unconscious bias at your clinic, but also to help you get a more diverse team… because, as we all know, the more diverse the opinions and experience you have in a team, the stronger that team is. If you’re a vet or nurse looking to make your next move, YOUR unconscious bias still exists and applies in exactly the same way as it does from the clinic’s hiring pers...

Send us a text Continuing on from last week's 1-5 of Unconscious Biases: 6. Overconfidence bias Plays out when the recruiter is soooo confident in their own abilities to either pick a good candidate, or to eliminate the supposed bad ones, that they allow confirmation bias to creep in. 7. Similarity attraction bias Sometimes, the similarity attraction bias plays out and replicas of people are hired – because of likeness / similarity – but they incompetent! 8. Illusory correlation The il...

Send us a text One of the “happening things” in the recruitment world in 2022 was the spotlight being shone on diversity. I've identified 16 different unconscious biases we all have when it comes to interviewing – and how these can play out during the recruitment process and what you can do to mitigate these. The end result of all of them is the same: you may end up discounting and/or overlooking the best person for your clinic’s vacancy. Diversity training Diversity training is one way...

Send us a text These 8 predictions are in no order of priority as they’re all important. #1 - vet clinic employer branding #2 - job sharing and genuine part time roles #3 – how remuneration is “packaged” #4 - veterinary nurse job satisfaction #5 – the really good employers will get better and the vet clinic employer brand divide will widen #6 – personalisation in recruitment will be crucial - AI – artificial intelligence and computerised recruitment bots will be used more and more, which ...

Send us a text How professional or collegial is the veterinary profession in New Zealand ? We pick up today where Dr Paul Unsworth gets on his self-professed soapbox about the requirement for veterinarians to work after hours. He parallels the after hours requirements and expectations of veterinary medicine versus human medicine. I’m interested to hear your thoughts and ideas on this – please feel free to comment wherever you’re listening to this episode. I’m sure ...

Send us a text What makes a "good" veterinarian and/or a "good" veterinary clinic. Today Dr Paul Unsworth challenges me - Julie South - with specificity. As he says, "good" and "bad" aren't easily classified. If getting fit is on your to-do list for 2023, then stay tuned to the end to find out how to save $500 on an ebike. Today, UK-qualified New Zealand locum veterinarian, Dr Paul Unsworth talks about and reflects on: · What determines a “good”...

Send us a text Crystal Ball Gazing Today we do a bit of crystal ball gazing with Dr Paul Unsworth – Companion Animal Locum Veterinarian. This is the first of a multi-part series. We’re talking about some of the changes Dr Paul has seen since he started his career. Gender Equality and Diversity We also talk about gender equality and professional representation which always a topic that results in passionate debate. Using my words, not his, the veterinary profession has evolved in...

Send us a text The old model of running a veterinary business no longer works - it's time for a fresh look and different approach. This is the final episode (of 3) is Dr Jade Hackney’s series about life after veterinary burnout and recovery. At the Christchurch wellness symposium I - Julie South - spent the first day sitting next to a part-time vet - she: worked 3x 10-hour days... was a fully engaged, high producing, veterinarian totally committed to her clinic... had...

Send us a text This is the second in the multi part series where Companion Animal Veterinarian Dr Jade Hackney shares her path to living life to the full as a healthy and loving, long-term life partner and fully engaged veterinarian. Dr Jade talks about: the moment she and her life partner realised they no longer wanted to work fulltime in jobs they didn't enjoy to pay someone else's mortgage;their journey to owning their own home in their 30s - mortgage-free;what 'living life to the f...

Send us a text You can take the person out of vetting but can you take vetting out of the person? This series of episodes with Dr Jade Hackney was recorded a few months’ ago but I thought the topic was very relevant – especially for veterinary professionals who may be reconsidering their careers in the veterinary space… especially the clinical veterinary space. For example, when you reconsider your career as a veterinarian – not once, but twice – what might that look like and wha...

Send us a text This is the second of the two part series with Dr Jane Ough – Companion Animal Veterinarian at South Wairarapa Vets – who’s wearing her very new New Zealand Veterinary Association Climate Change Ambassador’s hat. If you haven’t listened to the first part – 105 – I recommend you do that, to give you context for today’s continuation of our chat. We join the conversation where Jane expresses how worried she is that not enough people are taking steps to offset their own carbon foot...

Send us a text Today we’re with Dr Jane Ough – Companion Animal Veterinarian at South Wairarapa Vets – who’s wearing her very new New Zealand Veterinary Association Climate Change Ambassador’s hat. This is the second time Dr Jane has been on Paws Claws Wet Noses. You can listen to her previous episodes 87, 88 and 89 – where she introduced the climate change initiatives South Wairarapa Vets has implemented. Today, Jane talks about how the NZVA Climate Change Ambassador vol...

Send us a text The second in the two part series where Professor John Munday talks about his world-first RAS research to treat cancer in cats and dogs. After graduating, he worked for 2 years in a mixed animal practice in Whangarei. He then returned to Massey and completed a PhD. After completing his doctorate John then did a 2-year residency in veterinary pathology at Michigan State University before working as an assistant professor at the University of Georgia f...

Send us a text Professor John Munday is a Massey University graduate. After graduating, he worked for 2 years in a mixed animal practice in Whangarei. He then returned to Massey and completed a PhD. After completing his doctorate John then did a 2-year residency in veterinary pathology at Michigan State University before working as an assistant professor at the University of Georgia for 4 years. It was at this time he decided to return home and joined the veterin...

Send us a text Dr Megan Alderson, Companion Animal Veterinarian + principal and partner of the Strand Veterinarian in Parnell, Auckland, New Zealand, introduces her new initiative The Vet Thrive Collective. In this episode Dr Megan and Julie talk about the six shields (tenets) that form part of the Vet Thrive Collective wellbeing programme: BreatheRestNourishFlowForgiveCompassionDr Megan (and Dr Francesca from last week) will be presenting at the NZVA Wellbeing and Business Symposiums ...

Send us a text Continuing on from episode 100 is part 2 of Dr Francesca Brown's research about what vet clinic clients want. The importance of training front line staff. Regard staff training as an investment, not a cost. A valuable strategy vet clinics can copy from dental clinics to help improve their bottom line. How important (or not) is pet insurance? How the 20 / 80 Pareto Principal plays out in clinic and how you can implement strategies to get more clients like the 20% y...

Send us a text Dr Francesca Brown is a veterinarian who graduated from Massey University’s class of 1998. Since graduating and gaining experience in clinical practice she moved to education and then 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 Standards committee for Allied Veterinary Professionals. Over her career Dr Francesca’s seen first-hand, an...

Send us a text EVP – Employee Value Proposition – the tacit understanding about how an employer treats its employees What an employer promises its employees goes beyond the legal requirements of being paid for the work done (by the employee) and the health and safety obligations employers have. It’s about whether your clinic allows a blind eye to be turned when someone’s bullied … or a sexist, ageist or racist comment is made … it’s about whether you might experience an eye-roll because you’r...

Send us a text When you – or your team – show up for work at your vet clinic, what is it you want them to feel and think about working at your clinic? Do you – or they - feel excited or exhausted? Delighted or filled with dread? Full of optimism or cynicism? Culture exists whether you like it or not. Whether the culture at your clinic is positive or negative, you’ve still got a cultural vibe happening. Signposts indicating whether the culture at your clinic is positiv...