Aug. 25, 2023

#99: Betterinary. With Dr Heidi Hulon.

#99: Betterinary. With Dr Heidi Hulon.
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Season 1

Confession: sometimes I get tired of wellness discussions, with the constant barrage of advice on resilience and burnout prevention. Not because it's not important, but because it often feels like these conversations boil down to "here are ways how you should be better so that you can better cope with this challenging career." Which is why I loved this conversation with Dr Heidi Hulon, which isn't so much about adapting to challenging circumstances, but rather about revolutionising the whole veterinary experience.

Dr Heidi Hulon has been involved in multiple roles across the profession, from practising clinician, practice owner and industry roles, vet boards leadership roles and even a board member at the Louisville Zoo. She currently serves as a Wellbeing Consulting Veterinarian at Elanco Animal Health. We were introduced to Dr Heidi by our friends at Elanco Australia, who are hosting a series of live, in-person sessions with Dr Heidi called "The Betterinary Series", and in this episode we unpack some of the topics from this series with Heidi, like why culture is key to resilience and how you can use neuroplasticity to reduce negativity bias and experience the positives.

Register here to secure your free spot at the one of the Australian sessions of the Betterinary Series. September 4 in Sydney, 5th in Melbourne, Adelaide on the 6th, Perth on the 7th and Brisbane on the 8th of September.

 

Topic List:

09:30 Taking care of your wellness before it's obvious that you need to.

14:30 Rekindling your why.

22:17 The stumbling blocks to creating a thrive instead of survive environment.

31:00 The connection between culture and spotting more yellow cars.

35:44 Positivity and it's impact on neuroplasticity.

43:38 Practical ways to put neuroplasticity into practice.

52:27 Details about the Betterinary Series.

53:42 What is right with veterinary medicine?

54:56 What is one change Dr Heidi would make to veterinary medicine?

57:31 Dr Heidi's favourite books.

60:58 Dr Heidi's advice to new grads.

 

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, ⁠visit ⁠thevetvault.com⁠ for the show notes and resources for this episode, and connect with us through our online ⁠Vet Vault Network.⁠ for episode highlights, discussions, questions and support.

Come help us create some live clinical content at ⁠⁠IVECSS '23⁠⁠ in Denver, Colorado from 7-11 September.

Get up and running (or working!) with a 10% discount for ⁠Tarkine⁠ shoes, the official shoe of the Vet Vault. (discount automatically applied at checkout using this link).

The Betterinary Series.

Podcast: ⁠Revisionist History⁠ by Malcolm Gladwell.

Book: Lessons In Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus.

Book: West With Giraffes by Lynda Rutledge.

I have a confession to make.Sometimes I get a bit tired of talking about Wellness or resilience or burnout or whatever other phrase people are using for being a functioning, non burnt out human within this profession.Let me rephrase that.I worry that people get sick of listening to everyone, including me, talking about it.
But I think that's because a lot of it comes across as Here are ways that you should be better so that you can better cope with this job that you chose.Which sucks.By the way, maybe that's what we're tired of.Which is why I love this conversation with Doctor Hailey Hulen, which is not about becoming better at adapting to a shitty situation, but rather about making the whole veteran experience better.
Veterinary In fact, I was introduced to Doctor Heidi by my friends at Ilanco, Australia, who you would know by now as regular.Supporters of the vet one now they're also supporting you in your career and personal growth, and in the next few weeks they're doing that for our Australian audience through a series of live, actual in person sessions with Doctor Heidi called the Veterinary series across the country.
They asked me if I could help them get the word out to you.And what better way than getting Heidi on here all to ourselves to dig into a few of the things she talks about, like why culture is absolutely key to things like resilience, how you can use your brain's incredible neuroplasticity ninja skills to move away from negative bias and towards seeing more yellow cars.
You'll see what I'm talking about once you listen to this.Plus I try out a few new fun questions on Heidi.If you like this session and you want more Heidi, then register at the link in the show description or search veterinary.If you can spell veterinary, you can spell veterinary, but it's better with two T's and Ilanko and you'll find it, but you better shake your leg because it is real soon.
It's starting on Monday the 4th of September in Sydney, Melbourne on Tuesday the 5th, Adelaide on the 6th of September and 7th of September in Perth because Perth always.Has to be the last to know, you know, I love you.Perth, wait, Brisbane, Brisbane on the eighth.
Oh, and I haven't mentioned that it's free.It's free and yes, there will be food and drinks, but for now, let's get into it with Dr. Heidi Hulon.Thank you so, so much for joining us on the Red Felt today.
Thank you so much for having me.I am so excited about this.We're just talking off air.You're on your way to Australia, you're gonna come and see Australia for the first time.Here hi I am.I leave a week from today and I will be there, I think about 12 days first visit.
And this is for the veterinary series that you're doing with your Lanco, right?Yes, correct.So I am the wellbeing consulting veterinarian for Elenko here in the United States and I guess you could say globally because I am the only one in this role.I created it three years ago so I could have a job.
I can keep my job at Elenko and it came out of seeing some need within the profession in timing is everything, right?So, right at December 2019, I said I think I'm going to create this role that's focused on wellbeing and then you know.
We know what happened after that and so it has just grown.How is that for timing?So I think we need some well-being stuff.Was there any when you suggested the role, was there any suggestion of, I don't know if it's a big deal and then three months later it's covered and they go, oh shit, we need somebody to do well-being.
A little bit.They're like we'll try and we'll see how it goes and then it's like boom, I mean it's blown up.I I get requests all the time for.This well-being stuff and just say, I think we've just touched the tip of this iceberg, if you will, that there's so much more that we can do with it.
It's so needed and it's not just something in the United States, it's a global issue.It's a professional issue everywhere.Okay.I wanna circle back to that conversation.I've got heaps of stuff to talk about that I do wanna start there with something a little bit lighter.
And it's a brand new question.You're my first victim for this particular question.OK.I've had the same starting question for a long time, and I thought maybe people are getting tired of that one.So the one I'm gonna try is if animals could talk and you could have a conversation with any species, which one would you choose and why?
I.Thought wow, so many species, so many questions and so little time, right?That would be the dream.Difficult, but I thought about this and I'm going to keep it kind of in in alignment with my topics and so I went with and.
It might sound simple, but a dog?And the reason I said a dog is because we are so bound to that we spend so much time with that.You know, as humans, they're our pets, they're our partners, they're helpers.They do so much for us.I've gone through and worked with so many service animal organizations and have gone through some of the training.
It's it's just remarkable.And having had pets, of course veterinarian.And so I would be very interested to see how they view us as humans, because I think they see the best in humanity.But they also see the worst in humans and I've done shelter medicine.
I did shelter medicine for about 20 years.So I saw bad stuff and it broke my heart and I just out out of that though those those dogs, they still want to be loved.So how do they do that?And I I would like to get their viewpoint because I think they probably, I would like to think they see us in a kindler and more forgiving way than we actually see ourselves.
And I'd be particularly interested in how they see the veterinary team.Right.We want to help them, but we know they don't always understand.But maybe they understand better than we think that they do.And if we saw ourselves through their eyes, would it help change how we see what we do and value what we do?
And again, view ourselves in a kindler, gentler way in that our goal is to keep them healthy, right?Help them live longer, healthier, happier lives.To help them when they're ill, they're in pain, and do they know that?Are they grateful for that?There's also it it it's tough that you know, when it's time to say goodbye, would they thank us for letting them go and for helping the person let them go?
Because that's significant.That adds to a lot of emotional anxiety.I mean that gets to us as a veterinary team.And so I'd like to think again that they could help us see the good and know that we mean to do good.We have good intent.And to focus on that, that they would impart some words of wisdom.
And I would also like to ask them right about just life in general, You know, how do you have fun?I mean you see dogs and they're, they're just happy.It doesn't take much to make them happy and how they just let things go, even with somebody yells at them, you know, for chewing up something they shouldn't have.
And I think most importantly is how just how do you love unconditionally.I think we as humans, we need to do that not just for others, but for self.And just I think that would be a very interesting conversation.What a great answer.There's a lot to think about there.
I'm gonna walk away from this interview and find out.I do think if dogs could, if all dogs could speak and communicate well, they'd probably take your job.I think they'd be excellent Wellness coaches.They are.I mean, they are so much better at Wellness.
They're so in tune to just.Little things, you know, they can sense when someone's about to have a seizure or hypoglycemic, but they just know when you just need an ear, when you had a bad day, they just sit there, put their head in your lap and they're, they listen, it's not, hey, let me tell you about my day.
It's tell me about your day and you just pet them and your blood pressure goes down and it's just right.It's it's the best thing ever.It really is.Yeah, and they're so in the moment.They're so good at being in the moment.Absolutely happy for them.Right now I do have two dogs.
And the and the one.I don't know if I want to listen to her.She's very self scented.Anyway, OK, it'll just be a list of orders.Please go get my blanket.Not please, You'll just go, go get my blanket.More food, please give it.Yeah.And she had a beautiful dog, because that's what I had.And I have a feeling that's what my Frenchie I lost her a couple years ago.
I'm pretty sure that's what Hermione would have said.She's like human feed me.Yeah, human that day.All right, let's get back to the Veterinary Series.First of all, what a great name.Did you come up with it?I did.I had a moment of, yeah, let's say everyone.
So I have a moment of brilliance.But yeah, I came up with that again when trying to think of, you know, what my new job was going to be Wellness.And I just my boss like, well, what do you mean?I said, well, I want to make veterinary medicine better.And I was like, wait a minute, that goes together.
Yep, veterinary.You know, the Veterinary Series.Putting better back in veterinary medicine.I wish I could steal it because I always get stuck on the terms that are used around Wellness.I feel like there's new popular terms come up and then they get used and then they get overused.And then it's almost like, wow, I wanna hear about Wellness and more Wellness.
That veterinary is cool.I like it a lot.Thank you.Except it's hard enough to spell veterinary for most of it.So now we're going.To I know, I know.Like, yeah.I want to start Heidi on.Because you said that there's this massive need, you started this role.
It's a new role and there's this big need for Wellness.But then I do sometimes wonder about engaging people in it, and especially people who need it who don't need it yet.I'm fine.I don't need the shit.I'm fine until I'm not.
And it's a little bit like like your physical health saying I don't need to take care of my heart.My heart's fine until it's not.And then you're in trouble and then it's often too late and it's interesting.I had an e-mail conversation with somebody from an Australian university who teaches this sort of stuff, the non clinical side of stuff to vet students and she said I've got a quote somewhere but it's basically the students said they're sick of learning about Wellness.
All there is a bunch of burnt out people ramming stuff.I can't remember the exact quote but really quite negative.Do you find resistance at all, or have you got a very receptive audience?There's always going to be some right.I don't need that.I'm fine.
And you find out those are probably the ones that need it the most.They're in denial.And and I think you you mentioned it, you said it earlier.Right.Wellness.It's a talk that's it's a topic that's maybe overused and what it actually means is not what it means or should mean anymore.
And so Wellness and well-being and I I think it just goes into I prefer maybe this idea of of of just self-care right.Of taking care.Of ourselves, this preventative side of veterinary medicine for the caregiver, you know, we we are caregivers.
We go into this either as our purpose, as a why as a calling or we're interested in the medicine.But we are caregivers.We are trained to give care right to others and we're very, very good at that.You learn about that throughout your whole career.But that's only half of the story.
The other half, and what nobody talks about, and what we're not training, is that we have to care about the giver.Because if we don't care about the giver, eventually something gives.That cycle is broken.We are unable to give the care that we want or that's expected.And so it's this ethical imperative of self-care, treating ourselves right, preventative care, giving ourselves grace and compassion that we give to everybody else.
And it's counterintuitive because they're almost as like this hidden curriculum within veterinary medicine.You know we're we're selected for our technical knowledge, our expertise, grades and all that.But really why we go into this is because again meaning and purpose, it aligns with who we are and what we want to do bigger picture.
But that's left out of training of scenario, you know in veterinary medicine.So when we bring that back into the picture and we put safe boundaries on it, we celebrate that.It's better.I mean, we really get to do not only what we want to do, but we're good at it.
We're better at it, we're fulfilled at it.But we are trained to be perfectionist.We have this overdeveloped sense of responsibility.Don't ask for help.Suck it up, Buttercup.Right.Go on, go on, go on.And that's not a healthy way to do this.
And we see the result.I mean, we have been seeing this forever.So it's time to do things in a different way.I like how you pitched that.I found that quote.I'll read it to you.
It says that they're sick of hearing about well-being stuff in inverted commas.They feel they aren't hearing good things about being a vet, just the need to do a lot of add on Wellness stuff presented to them by burnt out people.Which isn't an indictment, isn't it?That is talking about the hidden curriculum.
And I think that the problem with that is that is the focus on, yeah, it's going to be really tough.You're going into this really tough career.It's kind of going to suck.And here are tools for you to survive this horrible career that you're going into.It's almost the spin that's put on it.But I like that you put it on to say no, it's fantastic if we do it the right way.
Just make sure that you have the tools to keep it great and fulfilling and and not.A drain or a taxing or something that's going to lead to to burnout eventually.Because it is the difficult, that's where we can shine.I mean, when you make that sick dog better, you take that injured cat, you know, and it goes home with its owner and even euthanasia when you allow that animal not to endure needless suffering.
That's our goal.That's what we wanted.That's what we're trained for.That's where we not just survive, but we thrive in that.That's who we are and what we're supposed to do, and we should find satisfaction.In that, you know, we should derive pleasure from doing our job well, but we just focused more on the negative, right, what didn't go well and that comes to our forefront.
We focus on that and we forget about all the other things that went well during the day, all the good that we did.So you I had a look at the website for the talks that you're doing, so there's topic list that as it stands on the website and let me know if it's not right.
But I've got rekindling your Why for veterinary medicine?Discovering your character strengths.Yes.Empathetic exhaustion, burnout, neuroplasticity and resiliency and flourishing.
Correct.Those are big topics.How did you, how did you pick them?I know the right.It's like, where's veterinary medicine in this, right.You're like what's going on?So those are again out of a number of other certifications that I've got.
I think that those I joke that.In order to say veterinary mess, we kind of have to pull from outside our profession and bring some things in.So it starts with why, and I love that we do it.We talk a lot about this at Adelanco about start with your why people align with your why you know your values, your core beliefs.
And so I'm going to have everybody write their own why statement.You know, we have a little exercise, a template.Why, Why are you in veterinary medicine and.I know I've wanted to be a vet since I was three.So from three on I've been able to answer that question.
Now, I'm not going to say there happened.Some days I'm like, why am I doing this?And I'm sure there are a lot of other people in the profession.They go, why am I doing this?But that's at the that's at the heart of who we are, right?That's what we need.And so to rekindle that, to to write that down and to know that, to memorize that helps us because out of that.
That comes out of our strengths and our values, our core values and beliefs, who we are.And so discovering that right what you are naturally good at your talents.What do you develop your skills?Is it surgery?Is it dermatology?What are your interests?
What outside?Or it could be veterinary medicine do you have that sparks interest or passion?And then another strength is.Resources or connections.Who are the people in your life that support you?So going to go through all of that because we we we struggle again.
We feel so overwhelmed and tired and exhausted.We don't think we have anything to lift us up when we are struggling with veterinary medicine, you know, and the day-to-day and again you can have difficult days, you can have great days, but even in the good days you need.
Those there to celebrate why was this a good day?What did I do in this day?What were my skills, my strengths that came through because that helps us on the bad day to say all right, what can I learn from that to make it better to help me.So we'll go through that and then newer plasticity and resiliency again that is how and and it's not coping but that's how we move forward out of adversity.
So even if you know and and, it will be being realistic.We have a difficult day in veterinary medicine, which there will be.How do we rise out of that?How do we grow?How do we get better?And my favorite definition of resiliency is moving forward.
It's about being elevated, energized and equipped for what's next.So that's kind of what the talk is about.It's about how to elevate, which is your meaning and your purpose, how to equip yourself with the skills, the knowledge that you have.And then energizing yourself, which goes a little bit back to self-care, but again finding that passion that you have for veterinary medicine.
Who are you hoping shows up for this?Who?I don't know.Everyone is the answer.That's the answer.But if there was a particular group in my Who's your avatar when you create this course?Who are you writing this for?The new grand vet, or for the old burnt out vet?
Or who's your ideal?Anyone I I say anyone in veterinary medicine, so new veterinarian students would be great.I've been practicing 30 years, so I'm one of those old vets.So whether you've been out, you know, three days or 30 years, this is still a good message for you because you can continue to, but it also it's great for the technicians or or nurses to go because they experience a lot of this.
As much as the veterinarians do and they tend to have a little bit more of the burnout because that's the environment, because the finances and that goes along with it.And they have just as much I must say compassion and empathy for the clients and the patients.
Sometimes more their relationship is better than the veterinarian.So they're all.In as well.And they are exposed and feel these issues just as much as a veterinarian does.So the whole idea behind this empathetic exhaustion, and that is not specific to veterinarians, it's in the profession itself.
And so that helps build a healthy culture, right?If you have your veterinarians who understand that, appreciate that they set up the culture, the desired behaviors, this is what it looks like.And then you have your team that says, all right, here's what we're going to follow.They believe in that.
They support us.We feel safe, They've got our back.We've got good boundaries.This is a good place.This allows me to thrive.So really, it's open to anyone, I would like to say, within the profession.And you've done this, you've taught this course for a while now, a couple of years.
Has it changed at all your topics?Like have there been things that have shifted in the profession or things that you see?Don't resonate or resonate more that you thought.Well, I've gotta bring more of this in.Yeah, it's a great question.So when I started, I had just the main talk on like empathetic exhaustion.
And then out of that I started developing more like how we react to things.Our own.I call it brain biology, not one like our reactivity, why do we react to things?And then there's one perma, so permanent well-being the five building blocks for.
Wellness, like, what are the five things that everybody needs to build well-being on which resiliency is built.So then there's resiliency.I had during COVID another talk and it was from providing to coviding care like during COVID because it changed so much how we did things and clinics were really struggling with that.
So it was a whole different change in perception of just the care and why clients were being, I'm going to say, more reactive.Less tolerance than they usually are.I don't really do that one anymore because you know, clients are back in the hospitals and a lot of that has has gone away.
I did create one on grief processing, especially during COVID because there was a lot of having to manage grief and that with so many people getting animals and being at home with them.So that one is still there, but the new ones that I'm working on have been on culture.
Developing a healthy culture and really flourishing.So to your point, not and it never was kind of doom and gloom, but more, here's how to flourish, right.Here's how to take this and really blossom to bloom within the profession.
And that seems to be resonating pretty well with clinics that they want to.Come together because, and this probably is the same over there, is that we're very understaffed here.Most veterinary hospitals here do not have full teams.
So there's a lot of say extra work going on under resourced which can create a lot of burnouts and everybody's tired.But even with that, if you are aligned, you can make it work.Yeah.
And that's sort of what we said earlier, right?It's moving away from the, from the crisis, moving away from the sick patient that's trying to make better to preventative healthcare.Yes, they're saying, well, what can we do to create a thriving environment rather than just learning how to tolerate a really shitty environment?
Yeah, it's it's thrive instead of surviving and we have control over that.I mean, it is possible.It really is.Doctor Heidi is talking about creating the right culture in the workplace to create somewhere where you want to work.Something that I'm learning that makes a big positive impact on the culture of a vet clinic is continued improvement of clinical knowledge.
Not perfect practice, just ongoing growth.It's really fun being part of a team where everyone is learning and sharing what they're learning, and shameless plug for my own product, but I think that it seems subscription to our clinical podcast is a great way to nurture this culture.Everyone has access to the same information you spend somewhere between 20 minutes and an hour a week listening to a conversation with someone at the top of the game while you do some other mundane task and you become a veterinarian.
Sign up for our clinical podcasts at vvn.supercast.com or e-mail us at info@thevetfile.com to ask about practice subscriptions.Not an easy task though, to to create that, yeah, culture.I know everybody wants to have that.
I know I speak to a lot of business owners and we all want that.We're only created, but not that easy.Are there any obvious stumbling blocks to creating that that you've come across in your research or in speaking to people or teaching?Yeah, it's that veterinarians.
We didn't go to Business School.So we go in trying to create a business and we have no idea what we're doing.So that's, you know, we wanna we're trained to.Obviously practice veterinary medicine, care of animals and I always joke, I have people saying how many of you went into veterinary medicine because it's a people profession.
You know, you look around the room and people are like, what do you mean?I'm like we are a people profession, right?We work with people, we have clients that are people, but we don't get trained on the people interaction.And sometimes that's the most difficult part, especially when people come to see us predominantly small animal, but this can be, you know, large animal as well that.
If given the choice, they'd rather not see you today or ever.Because when they come to see you as the veterinarian, something is usually wrong with their pets and that's high anxiety that is stressful, has nothing to do with us.But we take it as I haven't done anything right.
It's not your fault, but you can make it better.You have a part to play in the solution of this.You can make things better, but we just take it so to heart that you know, oh, they're mad at us.We did.It's like no, it's you have.Yes, difficult people and there are difficult people and you know some of them own pets, but the majority of what you see out there are people in difficult situations and that's where you can help.
So having that training or at least having somebody in your hospital that's trained in human management is key.The other part of that two things is saying, well this is the way we've always done it.Well, again, we've talked about that, but because.
Hospitals are so short staffed, they're hiring anyone and quite often you get one toxic individual right and it permeates, spreads negative emotions, Emotions are contagious to everyone and it just wears everybody out.
And you know, I I've seen so many hospitals kind of go up in flames.You lose the good people because you brought in the wrong person because you needed somebody, so that somebody you brought in to replace.You know, the nobody turns out, runs away.
Everybody not not a great.That's because because I ran my own event business and at the time I was trying to learn this stuff.I was reading and listening to podcasts and leadership and the message was over and over.You pick the right people for your team and I I get so frustrated because I'm like, I can't be that fussy.
I just need somebody on the floor who can do stuff, and it is, it's kind of a trap.I don't know if there's a solution because I do know business owners who are very good at saying no, we will wait for the right person, but then you wait for a year and then it puts so much extra pressure on the current stuff that you want to keep there or the rest of the team.
So yeah, I didn't.What's the solution?It is tough, yeah, cuz you're hired for personality, right?The technical stuff you can train to, but it is tough.You know when you're.Pool is limited and I owned my own practice.So yeah, I I get it.It's not easy at all.
No, it's not.That's for sure.It's interesting that you say that about when people come and see us.It's never, most of them are not excited to come and see us.That was such a big issue for me from a long part of my career when for me, I think it was just working more than I say.
Too much, too much for me, for my personality type.And I often would say I wish I could have a job where people are happy to come and see me, to come and spend their money with me.I mean, people love going on a holiday.They'll spend 20,000 on a nice holiday because it's something they want to do and it makes them happy.And I just, I get so jealous, you know, when I go buy a bottle of wine, something I want to spend my money on, but do I want?
Especially working in emergency?Nobody wants to see me.Nobody wants to be there.We get the other kind of wine.Not the good kind of wine.Yeah, yeah.Exactly.Yeah, I agree.You know we go into this, you know this is our hopes and our dreams and we're like, ohh it's gonna be amazing.And you will.
You're like, why doesn't anybody love me?You know, I mean maybe the dog does.Maybe the cat.That's why I want to talk to the dog.It's like hey you're doing a great job.It's like thanks but it is that because and not that we do it for gratification but we we do want that again that reinforcement of we're doing a a good job.
You know, we are fulfilling.We're part of something bigger and since we can't talk to our patients, we have to rely upon and interpret that.It's kind of hard to to know.Did did we help anybody today?I don't know.So what's the shift?How do you make a shift?
And this is I'm asking for personal advice.Yeah.So I've started doing this again.We talked about, you know, how many animals have you helped versus how many you know you've done nothing for but.Again, I think it's our perspective what we focus on.
So and I I don't want to give this away, but I'll give it away a little bit.I'll still do it.So I have people in the audience.I say, all right, close your eyes.And have if closed, I do close your eyes too and say all right, so how many yellow things are in the room?Count them without opening your eyes, you know, count them.
And then I have them open.I said, all right, how many?Everybody's like, I don't know.When they start looking around the room.I said that's it, right?We don't.Think about or seek out.I would say the yellow things, the good things in life, the negative things are always what we focus on and that's natural biology.
But when I've told you now look for the yellow things, you're going to make it a habit to seek out the yellow things.So we call this hunt the good, seek the positive.So remind yourself focus on in the moment.Pay attention to what did go right, that client that did say thank you, right, That dog that did wag its tail right.
The cat that wasn't hissing at you.I mean, whatever it was, you know, I got that diagnosis right the first time, you know, made the right diagnosis, whatever it is.And it could be something very small.But just focus on that.And what you'll do is you'll start to retrain that you can focus on more things, savor them, embrace them, and notice that there are more positive things out there than negative things.
Because.In our brains, negative things tend to scream at us to get our attention.It's like that 2 year old child.Whereas the positive things they whisper and we almost miss them and so we need to make them brighter, shinier, more attention getting than the negative.
And that's that whole shift.Because what's in our minds then affects our bodies and how we feel emotionally, mentally, you know, even physically how we appear ourselves.So I feel like I'm not doing any good.Nobody said thank you today.I'm kind of, you know, but if I'm like, no, I'm doing good, you know, I say I have that hero pose.
I'm very confident, you know, I give that off and clients love that.My team loves that.And I'm better able to do my job because I just feel that way and my body responds rather than it's interesting you, that thing you discuss about, you see the things that you're looking for and you pick yellow of all the colors, which is great.
And there's such a practical example in our lives.I've got three young boys and on long drives actually everywhere these days it gets really annoying.We play this game called Spotto.I don't know if you know it at all.I think it's an odd you think Spotto is if when you spot a yellow car, you get to punch the other person.
If you see it first, of course, Three boys, that's a.Different person.I have two boys, yeah.So yeah, they don't need the yellow car to punch each other.But yeah, I get it.So now you're suddenly looking for yellow cars on the road and you become attuned to yellow cars?Yes.
And then suddenly you realize how many bloody yellow cars there are.They come up fast.Or it sounds like such a random thing, and it's exactly the same spot.The yellow cars, if you look for them, if you look for it, you start seeing it.So how do we make that shift in terms of spotting the positive things?How do we spot more yellow cars in our veterinary careers?
And so I I just say well create a like a gratitude board, have a place where you can write these things down at the end of the day or during the day, take a little sticky note and stick it on a board.And I go into so many hospitals and I can tell the ones that again have a good culture that do this, that love.
What they do.Not because it's easy.Not because they avoid all the negative and their clients are the only ones that, you know, love to see them and pay their bills or whatever, but because they make it fun.And they'll either have, you know, on a window, they'll write with big fluorescent pens, gratitude things, you know, Bunny tails, good cup of coffee.
Or they'll have sticky notes stuck everywhere, you know, thank you for this gratitude.And so it makes it easier when you're having to right spot the yellow car when the yellow car is right in front of you.And everybody's involved and that just resonates with that.
And it could be something just as simple as thanks for staying late and help me clean up, you know, Thanks for talking to Mrs. Smith on the phone because nobody wants to talk to Mrs. Smith on the phone.Thanks for letting me get 10 minutes to just handle that euthanasia because that was my favorite patient.Whatever it is, you know, is just to make it at the forefront to not just wait till you're alone or do that, but as a team because we all go through that.
Everybody experiences something like that on a different level.So it it just has to become, I would say, kind of a standard of care.And one of the other things we do in the workshop is I have everybody write a mission statement in regards to the care for each other, not the care for your pet, for the patients or your clients.
But how do you care for each other?What are the standards?What are the requirements right in regards to?How you attend to and take care of each other.And so when you have that and you know that, wow, this is how we're going to treat each other, these are the desired behaviors.
This is what we're going to live by.That's pretty amazing.You know, that lifts you up.Even when things are difficult, you can look to that and say all right, it's OK.It reduces that stigma that still goes around with selfcare and compassion towards self, allowing yourself to say it's OK not to be OK.
It really is.But you don't have to go through it alone.So that that's one thing I really want to promote is it's not something to be done as an individual.It's something we have to do as a practice, but also as a profession to emphasize and and make this a requirement.
Yeah, it's culture.And I think the essential thing that that people tend to miss, it's, again, it's lack of engagement is I do find I've seen it in so many teams where people want it to be given to them, but they also, but they don't they're not happy to step forward and contribute to it.
So your example of the gratitude board or something like that, that's great, but I've seen it fail because it's something that comes from the top.So management says, all right, here's the gratitude board.And then the team goes, I roll, this is so lame trying to make us and trying to hide the fact that work sucks and it has to.
They have buy in and it's better if it comes from the team.Absolutely.Do you want to work in a nice practice?Would you like to work in a great practice that's fun to be in?Then make one be the first one out there in that extra mile to say, well, I'm going to do this, I'm going to focus on this and not wait for the boss to do it because then it doesn't work.
It falls down.Yeah, grassroots grow up, right?Starts at the roots and it works its way up.If you want it to work, you have to be a piece of that puzzle.Because the puzzle unfinished, Really.I mean, you're like, OK, you can definitely see this isn't gonna work.It doesn't look the same than when all the pieces fit in together.
So it's culture and and does this feed into when we talk about spotting more of the positive, does it feed into your topic of neuroplasticity?Yes.So I love neuroplasticity.It's kind of this whole new science.
Lots of different, I would say.Trainings I've taken, the one I'm working on now is kind of positive newer plasticity.So it's just what we said.It's focusing on the positive and retraining our brains to use that information as our references and our resources than the negative.
So our negativity bias which controls us and our amygdala, our security system is a pessimist.So it's always looking for the, the, the negative things, the wrong things and focusing on that and.I just recently finished a class and it was talking about we have 5 * 5 five times more neurons in our brains that are dedicated to threats than we do to anything positive.
So overwhelmingly we view the threats, real or perceived out there.I mean, we get that, we focus on that and then we react to that fight or flight, whatever it is.So the neuroplasticity is like our brains.Have the opportunity to grow throughout our lifetime and it's called experience dependent neuroplasticity.
So contrary to popular belief, right, old dogs can be taught new tricks if you are willing to learn.We just have to shift from being Velcro for the negative and now we're, you know, we're Teflon for the positive to reverse that, right?The positive now becomes more of what we focus on and that's really what goes into this, because when we only focus on the negative, it's that fixed mindset.
Right.You're only as good as you're ever going to be right now.You're never going to get better.If you have to ask for help, it's well, it's because you're stupid, which means nobody wants to admit and mistake.So bad things happen.You don't trust anyone.You're very unfulfilled versus a growth mindset that says, yeah, even if I screw up right, I still have learned something.
I can get better.I can always learn something new and that's a great thing.Work towards something.It's not just to prove something, but it's to improve who I am.So that's where that neuroplasticity can really change.
Again, in a culture where you have that freedom to ask for help without being condemned or made fun of or feel like there's retribution, But you're like, I want to learn.Teach me.Help me be better at doing this.
And then they're more likely to contribute to your exact point.I don't want to hold back right or say anything, but now I'm I'm confident enough for myself that I can.I can do this, such cool concepts.I just don't want to underline again that that five time more neurons focused on the negativity.
It does kind of make you think that maybe we should stop being upset when we feel anxious or have a lack of Peace of Mind and go, yeah, that's actually normal, stop fighting biology.It's just biology.But the newer plus there's anything that's the topic I'm fascinated about.
I've I've heard a few things in the last year or so about it.That's just, I was going to say mind bending, Excuse the pun.It is mind bending.I listened to a conversation the other day with David Eagleman, who I forget what his official qualification is, but it's a company that does make very fancy gadgets around the the brain, and they've made this thing.
It's a bracelet that you can wear that receives audio input so it can, it can hear, and then it turns the sound into vibrations on your wrist.And it is for hearing impaired people, because what happens is the brain will start picking up that vibration and over time it will start interpreting it as sound.
So basically, make yourself a new eardrum on your wrist with this thing.And it's purely neuroplasticity.It's near new neural pathways.That to me was such a shift to go because I've heard about neuroplasticity.But you kind of think maybe it's subtle, maybe the small changes, but it's not as massive what your brain can do with these things.
I had somebody else on recently on the podcast who talked about it, and it's interesting to me that you talk about it empathetic exhaustion and compassion and that.She was part of a study where they did it functional Mri's of people when they are experiencing empathy or compassion.
And that and I won't dig into all the details but the the thing that struck me was how people's initial responses to watching suffering to interesting suffering, it's in different parts of the brain on F MRI, how we respond but how that can change with training.
They do compassion training or if you're training specific types of meditation, how that you can see it on a scan that yes, based on that training it will change and it doesn't change in years.It's not like years of meditation.It's days, yes, days of training, different neurological response, neuroplasticity.
Yeah, it's so cool.So they say neurons that fire together wire together.So you know when they fire so we can get the good, they'll start new pathways, good or bad.And it is.It is fascinating when we talk about.Empathy and the and the brain.So they've done studies like this.
This was fascinated in a class I just took a couple weeks ago online and of several emotions but the primary one, happiness.They looked at full body scans of of energy and happiness is the only emotion where there is head to toe.
The body is lit up with high energy and we think of it as positive.I mean it's like glowing.It is totally yellow.No other emotion, not even love, does that.Love will go from head to about thighs, high energy, but happiness truly does go from your head to your toes.
So it's a complete body sensation.Now, anger will light up, strong emotions too, but it's usually just from the heart up, you know you get that that rage, but depression, anxiety, everything else there, there's no energy.I mean the body is basically empty.
It's it's black on these scans and when we talk about.Empathy and compassion.And This is why I don't think we really have compassion.Fatigue is empathy is what you get from another person, right?What you give me emotion wise, I feel what you feel and that can if it goes down one pathway, it can go, it can trigger the pain center in the brain.
Literally we feel pain, but if it goes down the other pathway, we go towards compassion.Right.And compassion is the deep awareness of the suffering of another coupled with the desire to relieve it.And I say that is the job description of a veterinarian or anybody in the veterinary field.
But compassion actually triggers the reward center in our brain.So with that we get and again, compassion.Whether it's others or self, we get this daily.Dose, if you will, DOSE dopamine, oxytocin, serotonin and endogenous opioids, all those things really.
So antiinflammatory painkillers, anti anxiety, antidepressants, all these miraculous things get released in our own minds that make us feel better when we actually allow ourselves to be compassionate.So that's the really cool thing is empathy starts that, but then where do we go?
Do we take it to the extreme?Where?Yeah, now I'm feeling your pain.And really and truly it becomes my pain.We fail to differentiate or do I set appropriate boundaries?And I'm like, I can fix that, right?I can help you feel better and that not only helps you, but it helps me as well.
Have you come across practical ways to move towards that?Again, we talk about neuroplasticity and the concepts are cool, but how do we implement it?It self-awareness.So we talk about resiliency skills and so I typically go through a list and so one is self-awareness and you mentioned it earlier, right when I'm being anxious talk to myself and say hey that's a natural reaction which it is.
So that first step is just self-awareness.What am I feeling?Don't judge it, but just recognize that and then once we acknowledge that again no judgment then I can start to regulate it.I can have emotional intelligence or self efficacy.Practice self-care.
I can have mental agility.I can gain access to my higher brain.There's usually like 5 resiliency steps that I talk about.So one is reduce that negative thinking right?Get rid of the voices in your head.I joke since the amygdala takes over.Mine is named Amy because it's short for amygdala.
So when my negative voice starts talking, I don't listen to her because why would I listen to a negative person?Talking me down.So reduce that negative thinking, right?Try to find the positive of that.Acknowledge right.Maybe I did do something wrong, maybe I can learn from it.But go into that growth mindset and then learn good problem solving skills.
Don't be afraid to ask for help, right?Seek out ways to learn.Savor that.Try something new.And then we have connections.Reach out to other people.Have people that lift you up.Express.
Or cultivate gratitude.And then the last resiliency skill is self-care.Right?When we feel bad, when we're not telling everybody we can't do anything, I mean, we just can't.We don't have the mentality.We don't have the physical ability to do any of that.So that self-awareness first is key, is to catch yourself in the moment and to say, all right, what do I need to do to make this better?
Because we recognize these fight or flight, these reactions that are patients all the time.And we kind of get that we know how to handle it, but we don't pay any attention to ourselves.So what can I do in the moment to talk myself off That Is it a deep breath?Is it that I need a drink of water?
I need to go get something to eat because we all tend to go through the day.I don't have time for lunch, right?I don't have time for a biobreak.Step outside, take some fresh air.Look at what's around you, even if it's listen to your favorite music that turns your brain right towards the positive.
So each of us have our own little things that we can practice what's called microresiliency.So quick little boost of energy that refocus our brain, reenergize us from when we're feeling low and negative, that can recharge us.So it doesn't have to be anything crazy at all, you know?
We can laugh at a joke.We can just simply take a 5 minute little cat nap, go and eat your favorite piece of chocolate or whatever.Listen to your favorite song.Watch something again.Positive things on your phone, cat video, but those little things, everybody thinks it has to be something wild and crazy, but it doesn't.
Those little just changes, those shifts can add up to where at the end of the day we're not overwhelmed and already in a severe, you know, energy crisis from every aspect of it.So it's kind of keeping that battery going up throughout the day.
And again, having the culture that allows you to do that to say no, we're not going to work through lunch.Yes.If you need to go to the restroom, you can go to the restroom.Right.I know that was a difficult euthanasia.Why don't you go take some time and process that?Because we want you to be able to come back.
And the the joke I always make is like, do you plug in your otoscope when you leave?Like, well, yeah, like, of course it if it doesn't work the next morning if we don't, I said.Exactly.So why don't you recharge yourself so that you're functional as well?
Because you're the most important resource that a veterinary clinic has, right?The people protect the asset, forget which book that is in, but rule #1 is protect the asset and you are the asset.Yes, you are the number one asset.That's really cool stuff.
My, the thing that I get stuck on personally, because not a lot of this stuff is, it's kind of common sense.Like it's not.I know I need to do these things, and yet I don't do it.Like if I if I did everything that I've learned in the last 10 years from books and Packers, I'd be.
There's no way there's doing I'd be amazing and and yet we don't always do it.It's interesting that you mentioned culture.Again, back to stuff.I've learned about your plasticity, how much culture influences your brain.So we can influence culture for sure by doing these things.
You can influence culture, but it's much harder.It's much more likely that the culture around you and they talk about nationalities.The reason that we can make stereotypes about different nationalities and cultures is because they are.Your brain is programmed by your culture around you to be a certain way.
We the habits that, you know all the jokes about.I'm not going to make any of those jokes because I'll offend somebody.It's going to make a comment about Americans or something.It may be true, yeah, but it's it's justified to some degree because we are neurologically different because of the influence of our culture on us.
And and then imagine workplace culture where you spend most of your life and it's very hard to do all these good habit things, all these things that we know we should do if it's not supported by value surroundings.Absolutely.And resiliency is this dynamic between ourselves and our environment.
Because there are things that I can handle, right, this piece of cake, I've got this and then there are bigger issues that it's not going to be something I alone can resolve.So what is my environment?My other people?My workplace?What am I going to get from them right to work through this and.
That depends a lot on it.Sometimes you can, sometimes you can't.And that also contributes to burnout, which is also related to the work environment, right?I'm overworked, underpaid, under appreciated.I hate my job.This place sucks.But people stay there because the fear of what else, right?
Well, could that be better?Could that be worse?I'll just sit here and suffer rather than chance going somewhere else, even though that could be the fix.So yeah, there's a lot that goes on with.Environment and having it sort of a champion, you know to just say we can't keep doing things the same way.
I mean we know where we are now, we want better, we deserve better and that that's a big thing About veterinary medicine.I said it's not that we need a new idea, you know what is veterinary medicine, but it's we deserve a better experience of what veterinary medicine is.And so it starts with US1 little step at a time and it's not something that'll happen overnight.
But I think if we keep having these discussions and we are again aware.And we acknowledge it.That's the first step, right?We know there's this issue.What are we going to do about it?It's a one little thing at a time. 1 little exercise I heard is trying to set up and develop.
Habit is to just have like a tada moment is where something you don't really want to do.But at least start 5 minutes, give yourself 5 minutes.I'm going to do whatever this is so clean it.I don't really want to clean my house.I want to give myself 5 minutes if you get past that little bit.
Right.Then you start getting into it.So even if we start with self-care, right?Give yourself 5 minutes, you deserve 5 minutes of your own self-care.A TADA moment.Make that in the clinic, right.Everybody together has a little tada moment.You know, we're going to go into the break room.We're all going to talk about our day.
You can't make this stuff up.We're going to generate some laughter.We're going to have a, you know, a little snack, whatever it is, just start somewhere, somehow, and then just see.How things progress.I like that you say doing a team thing because it's also much easier when there's some degree of support and accountability.
So we're gonna do this together, and I know this from personal experience.I try and get new habits.I try and learn how to meditate or whatever the things.And if it's just me, then it's much easier to go.If you like it's a day having a tough day or whatever this is, If somebody's waiting or somebody's saying, hey, it's time for the Today moment, okay, let's do it.
Let's jump in on it.Because you may have a bad, they may be having a bad day and you're saying, hey, help me may actually be helping them as well.So knowing that you're not the only one that's going through this at all, you know that accountability, but that common humanity that especially within veterinary medicine, you're not alone.
And what we go through, it's knowing that there are, you know, the people that you work with that get that, understand what you're going through because they're going through it as well.Ohh.We could talk about this all day and I am.I wish I could come to your sessions, but I'm, I am actually in America.
When you're in Australia we take a country swap.So I'm missing out.But for people who are still in Australia, when you are here, do you have dates?Yes.So we start on September 4th, we'll be in Sydney, it's from 3:50, and then we'll be in Melbourne on the 5th, same thing, 3:50.
Same session.We're going to Adelaide on the 6th, we'll be in Perth on the 7th and then we'll go from Perth all the way over to Brisbane and we'll finish up at Brisbane on Friday the 8th.Wow, whistle stuff to it.
I was.You're not gonna see much of the cut.They have told you that and they told you that These places are quite far apart, right?It's.I was looking at that.The Perth to Brisbane, I was like, that's gonna be an interesting one.That and the time changes too, so.I'm gonna come in a little bit early and have a couple of extra days in Sydney on the beginning and then OK, great.I'm gonna have an extra day or so in Melbourne cuz I'm a huge tennis fan and I know that opens not going on, but I gotta go by Rod Laver Arena just to take up the the ambiance.
Yeah yeah, if because I'm missing it, I'm gonna cheat.Is it a fake question to say that if I had to take just one action away from the program that will most impact my well-being?Could you pick one?What would you pick?1st, I'm gonna, I would say I want you to answer the question, what is right with veterinary medicine?
What is right with veterinary medicine and what part do you play in that?Because again, we tend to focus on the negative, but it's like, Nope, there's some, there's some, there's some good things there and we all have a part to play.And why it is good because even though those clients don't want to see us, they trust us.
We are the solution.We are.I say we are.We're life savers er, but we're also should be life savers ORSAVOR that we savor the lives that we have the privilege of taking care of.So that's a big part of, again, looking at this in a different way.
That's really cool.All right, I did warn you about this one.Let's start wrapping up.Also, a new question.I'm stealing this of Malcolm Gladwell's, But he had an episode.Have you come across Malcolm Gladwell's podcast?And not his podcast, but I think I have all of his books.
Oh, so you should listen to revisionist history.It's all Malcolm, if you're a Malcolm fan.I am and he had a an episode the magic wand episode where he talks about if you had a magic wand.So basically gives you an excuse to say if you if you had a magic wand you can ignore all the practical considerations and you can ignore reality and you could make one change to the vet profession, what change would you make I?
Do ooh, I love this question because I actually have several magic wands.I probably have about eight of them because I'm.I said I'm a huge Harry Potter fan, so I probably are.I've already tried this, like, you know, waving the Expecto Patronum, waving my wand.
But if I had a magic wand, the one change that I would make would be to empower us, a kind of maybe Protego, right?Empower us all with appropriate boundaries.To kind of set us up for success because we dive in without thinking about how we're going to be effective.
Because we just don't do that.We're so engaged and you know trained and we have the desire to help others that we just forget about ourselves.To create those boundaries, meaning emotional boundaries, mental boundaries, time not have to ruminate physical that would allow us to truly practice.
With the purpose and the passion that led us into this profession.So we can truly enjoy that without getting battered and bruised, because everything's coming at us.But just, I would say, boundaries.Yeah, give us a little bit of buffer comes back to what you said right at the start.
You mentioned the word the hidden curriculum.And because the hidden curriculum teaches the opposite of that to some degree, and I think it's changing.I like to believe that it's changing.It sounds like it's changing.But slowly.Maybe you don't need a magic wand for this.Maybe we just need a bit of time and a bit of insight and better modeling of what it should look like.
Yeah, and a magic.Wand make other animals talk, Right.So yeah, what's it again?Expected Petroleum.Expected petroleum?Yeah, you create your Patronus charm.Okay.So what's your Patronus?Mine.Ohh.
I knew you would have thought about this, because if you said you're a big Harry Potter fan.I am.I know mine actually would probably be an eagle.Just you know if you can read this, it says War Eagle.So that's my colleges kind of mascot is an eagle and we also have a tiger, but I just think that would be cool.
I like that.OK, standard questions I've mentioned they podcast that I like.Do you listen to podcasts?I don't.I've tried to get into.I'm more.I love, I love a book.I'm, I'm a reader.I I love books.I'm in a book club.So that's my that's my big thing.
OK, so recent book that you've read that you think we should all read that's made an impact on how you see the world or or if it's just for fun?There's been several ooh.The one that I read recently that I just absolutely loved was called Lessons in Chemistry and.
So Lessons in chemistry it it kind of covered three of my favorite things.One never give up on your passion.If it's not there, find a way.Science is all that matters and animals know everything.Listen to the animals.So it's kind of in in a very unique way that it kind of comes together in this story called Lessons and Chemistry.
So it's a it's kind of a fun breed fiction which was really good.And then another book again Animals is called W with giraffes.And it was.It's actually a true story.It's about the first two giraffes that ended up at the San Diego Zoo, that they crashed in a hurricane in New York, and how they managed to get them back in the 30s from New York all the way over to California.
And it is an amazing story.Wow, that does sound cool.Sounds like a cool movie.Lot of history again, you know we've got got the animal part in there but W with giraffes and then the other one that's newish to the podcast is the the pass along question where I ask the previous guest for a question for the next guest.
So the one that is coming to you, I've asked this if somebody else and they they kind of copped out.They didn't give me an answer so I was gonna, I'm gonna recycle it.What is something that you believe to be true that nearly everyone else would disagree with you?Oh, magic is real.
I believe in magic.I do.Don't tell me if it's not true, but it is.Let's go.I have to have that one.Yeah.I have to think that the positive it makes me happy.Well, you have 5 magic ones.I would.Expect I do.So I'll, I'll learn, yeah.
Although some of my girlfriends are like, I'm not sure that you don't know how to use them.I'm like, well, you know, with great power comes great responsibility.So I try to be alright.So what's your question for my next guest?So my younger son was just here for a visit and he's an actor.
So we were talking about some stuff and I read this and I was like, OK, I have one.So what would be the title of the movie about your life?Ooh, that's hard.Because you know what?The hardest part of this podcast for me is to come up with a title trying to summarize just a one hour conversation in a nifty I know SEO positive.
Yeah, title.So that's a massive, yeah, maybe there are sequels.Yeah, it's a trilogy.But yeah, what would the title?Wow.And it's also this could be a really good exercise to do is to go well what is the looking back what would the title be of my life?
But then also projecting forward, what would you like the title to be of your life?Yeah, that's true.Whoever gets this one, I can't wait for this.Sorry.Don't tell him it was me.And then our last one and you may have really answered this in some of the other lead up questions, but you have an opportunity to speak to all of the new grads, of the veterinary new grads of the world of 2023.
And you've got a couple of minutes to give them one little bit of advice or one little bit of wisdom.What is your wisdom?I must say, be proud of yourself.Celebrate your accomplishment.This truly is a gift to be in this profession.And I'm going to tell him no, that you have and you will make tremendous positive impacts on the lives of so many animals, but also so many people.
And one thing, and I try to remind myself of this, is that it's not that negative things won't ever happen, but it's about not letting the negative persist.That's the true I would say that's the secret sauce, if you will, of of optimism, of being resilient.
So I I would say learn to grieve, learn to let go, acknowledge the negative, understand it, let it go, learn to give to others and to self.And then learn to practice gratitude and never ever forget to savor veterinary medicine, right, this wonderful experience.
And then I'd, I'd wrap up and I'd say, you know, our vision is to make life better for animals and for the people that care for them.And that's also your life's goal, right, is to make life better for the animals that you have the honor of caring for, but also for the people that entrust you with that care.
So it is remarkable what you get to do every single day.And it's hard to to recognize that sometimes, right.You talk about the you will have you started with.You will have immense positive impacts on people and animals around you.But I found personally, and I do see it in a specifically younger vets is that they failed to recognize what those positive impacts are.
So there's it's a degree of expectation of when I save a life.So, so many young vets go out there going oh we save lives.The reality is you don't save lives.Every day.Most days you don't.Most days it's much more mundane than that.
And then often I feel like that's where the disillusionment steps in going well.I'm not saving lives, I'm just doing boring old stuff over and over.But again, the skill then to recognize that those mundane, everyday things, how much impact and value there can be in that, you just need to spot the yellow cars.
We reset our reference points to where what used to make us excited and happy doesn't anymore.It takes more to make us happy, less to make us unhappy.So what we do over and over again becomes less fulfilling.But if we remember the why behind that, even if it's just as simple as, yeah, it was a Wellness check, yeah, that's great.
You're keeping that animal.Well, that's what we want, that preventative part, right?That animal came in sick and you were able to send it home.That's tremendous.It doesn't always have to be the great.You know, I saved this dog that was hit by a car and we didn't.It was gonna make it.And that's the only time I can be proud of myself.It's every single day there's something positive you can find.
Fantastic.Thank you so, so much for your time and for the work that you do.I'm glad you decided to create yourself a new job because I think it's a really useful job, but really valuable talking about making an impact for the privilege.And thank you for doing it.And thanks for spending some time with us.
Thank you so much.This has been Absolutely Fabulous.I appreciate your talking to me and sharing this, and yeah, enjoy your visit to the state.Before you disappear, I wanted to tell you about our new weekly newsletter.
I speak to so many interesting people and learn so many new things while making the podcast.So I thought I'd create a little summary each week of the stuff that stood out for me.We call it the vet vault 3:00 to 1:00 and it consists of firstly 3 clinical pearls.These are three things that I've taken away from.
The clinical podcast episode, My light bulb moments, the penny dropping, any new facts, and the stuff that we need to know to make all the other pieces fit.Then two other things this could be quotes, links, movies, books, a podcast, highlight, anything that I've come across outside of clinical Wedding that I think you might find interesting, and then one thing to think about.
And share something that I'm pondering, usually based on something that I've read or heard, but sometimes it'll be just my own musings or rants.The goal of this format is that you can spend just two to three minutes on the clinical stuff and move right along if that's all that you're after.But if you're looking for content that is more nourishing than cat videos or doom scrolling, then our two other things should send you in the right direction.
And then something extra for when you feel like a slightly longer read.If you'd like to get these in your inbox each week, then subscribe by following the newsletter link in the show description wherever you're listening to this.It's free, I think it's useful, it's fun, and it's easy to unsubscribe.If it's not for you, okay.
We'll see you next time.

Dr Heidi Hulon