Episodes

Think about the last thing you did at work and forgot to charge for. A nail clip. A blood test. A “quick” ultrasound that never made it onto the invoice. One missed charge feels insignificant. Across an entire clinic, it isn’t. (It’s estimated that the average veterinary clinic misses between 5% and 10% of its charges!) In this episode of our Tech for Vets series, Dr Patrik Holmboe from Nova Vet Family demonstrates SmartCapture, an AI tool that compares clinical notes with billed items to ...

Twelve years ago, Dr Janey Lowes went to Sri Lanka on a holiday, and never really came home. Today she runs WECare Worldwide, a hospital that treats the island’s three million street dogs to a standard that you’d like your pet treated - from the worst trauma cases you can image do a highly efficient desexing service. And then, a few times a year, she flies back to locum in clinics that look a lot like yours. This one's about what it's like to live on both sides of that line that separates the...

You've been using your veterinary AI note taker for a couple of years now - it’s great - saves you heaps of time. But are you using it to its full potential? I’ll take a bet that you’re not. These things move fast, and it’s hard to keep up. Which is why, in our Tech for Vets Series, we pull apart the veterinary tools that are changing how we work, and this time we put Heidi up on our screens for a detailed walk through. Our guide is Dr Kieran McLeod, head of medical knowledge at Heidi Health...

A surgeon hurls a scalpel across theatre. It clatters off the wall. Nobody looks up. Twenty minutes later he's in the tearoom offering everyone a biscuit, and someone shrugs: "That's just him when he's stressed." If you've worked in veterinary practice for any length of time, you've got your own version of that story - maybe a bit less dramatic, but still things that completely destroy psychological safety. This episode is about that stuff, and the new psychosocial safety laws now rolling ...

The long-term vision is that you walk into a clinic, hit record at the beginning of the day - you walk out at the end of the day, and you never put your hands in a computer. You just did medicine, and everything went into the right place.’ Sound too good to be true? Maybe. But it's closer than you think. If you've already adopted a veterinary AI scribe, you'll know it's transformed your day. But scribes are just the gateway drug. The really interesting question is what your scribe connects to ...

"Maybe we're just picking the wrong people to be vets." You've probably heard some version of that line. Maybe you've even said it. 'The new grads can't cope. The younger generation is too soft. If this profession isn't working for you, maybe the profession isn't the problem - maybe you are.' But what if that's the wrong conversation entirely? Maybe it's not the people who need to change - but the job itself. That's the question at the heart of this conversation with Dr Rebecca Faris, the ...

You know that feeling: exam time is looming. You've spent three days making flashcards and highlighting your notes, but you haven't even started actually studying yet... Whether you're a vet student drowning in slide decks, a membership candidate juggling articles and notes, or a resident trying to jam an impossible volume of clinical knowledge into your skull - the way most of us study is, frankly, not backed by the science. Which is why you might need a little help from technology: In part t...

Is our podcast getting… repetitive? Honest question. Lately, we’ve felt a growing tension behind the mic: are we just saying the same things… just with a new guest and in slightly different ways? Are we actually helping you? (With is after all the point of this podcast) In this short solo episode, I ask a few questions that I’d love your input on. We want to rebuild this with you. This is your invite. Feedback to info@thevetvault.com, or at our contact form on the website, or hit me up in ...

Ever check your payslip… your student debt… your mortgage… and wonder if you’re just treading water? You’re not alone, and you’re not stuck. In this episode we revisit one of the most neglected topics in the profession: money. Hubert sits down with US-based financial adviser Eric Miller to break down the decisions that can actually move the money-needle for employed vets: from budgeting and debt to investing, insurance, and increasing your income. (We do global principles with US specifics...

Four years after our original antibiotic myth-busting episode (Ep 60), we’re back with Dr Riati Scarborough to talk antibiotic prescribing habits. This time we’re joined by fellow stewardship expert Dr Laura Hardefeldt, and this time we’re asking the harder question: Have we actually changed? The good news? Some prescribing habits are shifting. We’re seeing shorter courses and less ‘just in case antibiotic usage. But let’s not pat ourselves on the back too quickly. Because some of our most...

Veterinary life can feel like a treadmill with no off-switch: 15-minute consults that always run over. Emotional labour no one trains you for. A schedule that swings from slow to chaos - in minutes. Sound familiar? You’re not alone. In this raw and refreshingly real episode, productivity coach Demir Bentley (Life Hack Method) live-coaches GP vet Dr Ray Gates, tackling the uncomfortable truth of veterinary medicine:You’re expected to be clinically excellent… while running on empty. This isn...

Ever feel like your anxiety or fear of failure is just... who you are? The perfectionism. The overthinking. The constant pressure to “get it right.” It can feel like it’s wired into your DNA. But what if it isn’t? Dr Rod Irwin, vet, former clinic owner and author tells us how who went from panic attacks in an empty vet clinic to a completely rewired life - thanks to neuroscience. After hitting breaking point, a chance encounter with neuroscience set him on a 15-year journey into neur...

Welcome to episode one of our new Tech Tools series, where we cut through the noise to bring you real insights into the latest veterinary tech that could genuinely make your day‑to‑day vet life easier. In part one VetRec founder Kevin Cohen helps me put this AI scribe through its paces to show us why veterinary AI software is rapidly moving WAY beyond just note taking. Highlights : What an AI scribe really is and how it saves vets hours of documentation time Beyond scribing - new to...

Am I a useless vet? Sounds like a silly question that a new grad might ask, right? But imposter syndrome doesn't care about your credentials. It whispers that you're a fraud, that you got lucky, that one day everyone will realise you don’t belong. Or maybe you don’t feel like an imposter - but you beat yourself up after a case goes wrong. You replay every missed diagnosis. You hold yourself to an impossible standard, and when you fall short (even slightly), the inner critic shows no mercy....

Stop scrolling - I know what you’re thinking: “I don’t want to listen to someone preaching to me about antimicrobial resistance - it’s boring, and it just makes me feel guilty!” Here's a promise: you'll find nothing boring or preachy here. What you will get is interesting science, practical tips, and zero guilt trips. Dr Kate Worthing is a senior lecturer in veterinary microbiology, practising clinician and passionate antibiotic resistance researcher, and she’s about to change how you p...

We scrutinise one of the most practical yet under‑examined advances in veterinary practice: AI‑based radiology interpretation tools. I sit down with veterinary radiologist and Vedi entrepreneur Dr  Steve Joslyn to unpack the rise of AI-powered radiology tools in general practice. But this isn’t just opinion: Steve reveals the findings from his team’s recent study that put 6 commercially available AI radiology softwares in the spotlight - or up on the light box - to assess whether they deli...

Did you know that a brachycephalic dog with BOAS has a 433% higher anaesthetic risk than a dog with a normal nose? Let me rephrase that: that Frenchie you’re spaying later this week is more than four times more likely to die on her surgery day than any of your other patients. 😳 Do we have your attention?! Thanks mainly to the rising popularity of the French Bulldog, you’re probably anaesthetising these kinds of patients all the time. So how do we reduce that risk? How do improve p...

“If you can’t afford a pet, you shouldn’t own one.” Ever said this line? Once you’ve been on the receiving of someone’s anger about the cost of their vet bill, it’s an easy thought to have. But it’s not the whole story, is it? In this episode, I sit down with Dr. Paul Manktelow - a veterinary surgeon with 20+ years in UK animal charities and current Director of Veterinary Services at Blue Cross. Dr Paul shares lessons learned in not-for-profit vet care to help us untangle that tension b...

In episode 141, I shared my take on where AI fits into veterinary medicine - and where it might take us next. But I’m no expert. So I brought one in. In this episode, I sit down with Rohan Relan , Silicon Valley software engineer and founder of ScribbleVet ,an AI tool built for vets. We unpack the promise and pitfalls of AI in clinical practice and try to figure out how you can use it without losing sleep (or your license). What we cover: Why AI is not just a "smarter Google”- an...

Today’s bonus IVECCS live session wasn’t your average ‘clinical 101’. I had the absolute privilege of getting two brilliant minds on the yellow couch, and … wow. Apparently 1 + 1 = 🤯 !! Clinical pathogist Dr Cynthia Lucidi joined me to unpack her talk on Diagnosing Ineffective Hematopoiesis. If you’re a bit lost with that title - don’t worry, so was I! So I brought backup: ECC legend Dr Claire Sharp joined me to ask the smart questions, and together, they cracked open a topic every GP and ...

Ever had a case where you just knew what was wrong before you even touched the patient - but if someone asked you HOW you know, you couldn’t explain it? That almost mystical “sixth sense” we develop in practice - that’s exactly what this episode is about. Our guest is Dr Annie Wayne - a criticalist, educator, and learning strategist—who’s been exploring naturalistic decision making: the cognitive model that explains how experts think in real-time, and how to pass that intuition on. We t...

Thinking of trading grey skies for the Australian sun – stethoscope in hand? Moving to Australia as a vet can change your life, but here’s the truth: it’s not a straight road. Between visa hurdles, the dreaded AVE exams, and adjusting to a new culture (gotta love the Aussie slang!), the journey demands grit, strategy, and support. In this episode, we talk to Dr. Natalia Gomez , Colombian-born vet and co-founder of Brainy Bilby, a platform dedicated to helping foreign-trained vets prepare for ...

In this episode of the Vet Vault, Hubert Hiemstra chats with Dr Caleb Frankel—emergency veterinarian and founder of the practice management software Instinct—about the chronic frustrations with veterinary software, and how these tech problems mirror deeper issues in veterinary practice. The conversation kicks off with the idea that small changes in infrastructure can make a significant difference to culture and performance in veterinary teams. Caleb shares his journey from aspiring internal medicine specialist to reluctant but passionate software entrepreneur, driven by his early frustration with inefficient, outdated PIMS (Practice Information Management Systems). Hugh asks why good veterinary software is so uniquely difficult to build, and we get pro tips on how to make decisions when you're shopping for new software and how to effectively integrate new tech in your practice. Beyond PIMS, they dive into the role of tech—especially AI—in addressing bigger challenges like mental heal…

I’m never excited when I diagnose a cat with anaemia: vague signs, confusing diagnostics, and what feels like a not-so-great prognoses. But are they really that hopeless? In this episode, feline medicine specialist Dr Rachel Korman joins us demystify the anaemic cat and offer a clear, practical diagnostic framework that will give you more confidence and better outcomes the next time you see a cat with a low PCV. Some highlights from this conversation: A step-by-step approach to categor...