The Vet Vault: Veterinary Career, Clinical Skills & Wellbeing

Dr. Hubert Hiemstra

The Vet Vault is a veterinary podcast for vets and vet students covering career growth, clinical medicine, leadership, and mental health and wellbeing across the veterinary profession. Vet life can be tough, but it's also good - so how do we make it even better? Host Dr Hubert Hiemstra brings honest, curious, occasionally irreverent conversations with the people making vet med better. Clinical CPD, careers, wellbeing, and the tech changing how we practise. Come fall back in love with veterinary science. Find show notes, clinical CE and the newsletter at thevetvault.com.

  1. 161: Tech Tools for Vets 4: Heidi - AI Scribe, Voice Agents And Clinical Decision Support For Vets. With Dr Kieran McLeod

    18 June

    161: Tech Tools for Vets 4: Heidi - AI Scribe, Voice Agents And Clinical Decision Support For Vets. With Dr Kieran McLeod

    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. We start by putting the scribe through its paces to find the workflow tricks that you’re probably missing - I walked away with at least five tricks I'd never used. Then Kieran shows off all the shiny new AI magic coming your way: voice agents, built-in clinical support and a hardware solution that lets you leave your phone in your bag.  You'll learn: The scribe features you're almost certainly ignoring - linked patients, the context window, smart dictation, and the one-click voice edits that mean you never type a note correction againThe AI voice agent that makes the phone call you've been dreading What baked-in clinical decision support looks likeHow to safety-net the worry that keeps you up - that quiet "did I miss something?" feelingHow to incorporate hands-free hardware into your workflow This is a screen-share walkthrough, so head to Spotify if you want to watch the clicks rather than just hear us talk about them. Show notes and details live at thevetvault.com Get clinical support from human specialists at the Vet Vault Specialist Support Space Get rid of your mid-year 'meh' at our Vets On Tour New Zealand snow conference Topics and Timestamps 02:35 Intro: Beyond the scribe0 05:18 Human-first vs. vet-first: does it matter? 09:17 Note-taking basics 09:46 Context windows & linked patients 15:46 Multiple documents & the source of truth 18:49 Smart Dictation for quick edits 29:38 Sync changes across documents 33:10 Task lists 36:06 Collaboration & session sharing 40:07 Sharing & exporting documents 41:22 Heidi Comms: AI voice agents 53:46 Heidi Evidence: clinical decision support 01:04:50 Using Evidence for complex histories 01:09:11 Evidence sources & collections 01:14:01 Heidi Remote: the hardware mic 01:21:46 EMR integrations (ezyVet & Covetrus)

    1hr 26min
  2. 160: Toxic Workplaces Just Got Expensive: What The New Psychological Safety Laws Mean For Vet Practices. With Rhonda Andrews

    30 May

    160: Toxic Workplaces Just Got Expensive: What The New Psychological Safety Laws Mean For Vet Practices. With Rhonda Andrews

    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 out across Australia that say plainly: no, actually, that's not acceptable.  To make sense of what that looks like on a normal Tuesday in a normal practice, you'll hear from psychologist Rhonda Andrews, who works across high-pressure industries - emergency departments, the courts, and the veterinary profession - and who has spent years watching them all wrestle with the same problem: people breaking.  This conversation is not about “just be more resilient”, but about systems. Rhonda makes a genuinely good-news case that these laws aren't more bureaucracy to dread - they're the push our profession has needed all along. You'll hear Why the things you've always filed under "just  part the job" might now legally count as a psychological workplace injury - with consequences attachedThe myth spreading fastest right now - that bosses can no longer have an honest performance conversation - and why that's flatly wrong What the new psychosocial safety laws actually require of you as a practice ownerWhy this a team problem, not just something for management to sort outWhy "workload" is almost never the real problem - and the thing breaking your team underneath it that owners consistently missThe one shift available to everyone in the building - whatever their title - that changes culture without a single policy changeA note: this is the second in a small psych-safety miniseries. If you haven't heard Episode 158 with Dr Rebecca Faris on the AVA Thrive programme, start there for the bigger picture. Resources: Barrington Centre - Rhonda's psychosocial safety seminars (two online sessions, plus an in-person Melbourne day) and the Vet ECM training programmes for owners, leaders, and new supervisors: barringtoncentre.com For show notes, clinical content and the newsletter head to thevetvault.com, and come find your people at a Vets On Tour conference -  email me at info@thevetvault.com to find out about our new-grad 50% discount for Wānaka inAugust. Topics and time stamps 04:52 Rising Mental Health Claims 08:41 Mythbusting Owners Fears1 0:37 Defining Psychological Safety 12:37 Vets Staying in Bad Jobs 14:28 Sponsor Break Vets On Tour 16:03 Systems vs Individual Responsibility 19:35 Burnout Stats and Human Cost 21:17 Who Can Influence Culture? 22:46 Is Vet Work Uniquely Hard? 24:05 Human Sector Parallels 29:15 Business Model Reality Check 30:18 ROI of Retention 32:20 Psychosocial Safety Laws 37:34 Workload and Rostering Fixes4 2:44 Leadership and Being Heard 45:27 From Blame to Pathways 50:27 Training Programs and Teams 52:58 Myth Busting Performance Reviews 54:27 Final Takeaways

    56 min
  3. 159: Tech Tools for Vets 3: Instinct ❤️ Scribble - What Happens When Your PIMS And Your Scribe Get Married? With Dr Caleb Frankel and Rohan Relan

    12 May

    159: Tech Tools for Vets 3: Instinct ❤️ Scribble - What Happens When Your PIMS And Your Scribe Get Married? With Dr Caleb Frankel and Rohan Relan

    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 next - and the answer, for a growing number of vets, is the brain of the clinic itself: your practice management software. This conversation brings together Dr Caleb Frankel, ER vet and founder of Instinct - the PIMS used by many of the world's largest specialty and emergency hospitals, and now built out for general practice too, and Rohan Relan, founder of Scribble Vet. Earlier this year, Instinct acquired Scribble - and what they're building together is a glimpse of where veterinary software could be heading. You'll  hear: Why up to 80% of your veterinary work day is swallowed by a keyboard What "beyond scribing" looks like - from infographics, to embedded drug references that update in real time as you talk, to anaesthesia records that fill themselves in from across the room.The "easy to verify, hard to generate" principle - why the best AI tools in clinic don't try to replace you, they let you stay in the loop without doing the grunt work.What it means when your scribe and your PIMS talk to each other.Why an "open API" matters more than you think when individual vets can magically build for their own tools.The tech patient safety layer that can catch your mistakes before you make themWhere this all goes next - and why both guests believe we're still only seeing the beginning of what AI in clinical practice can do. We recorded this as a video with screen sharing, so if you want to follow along and see what these tools actually look like in action, watch it on Spotify. For our clinical content, show notes, and our full back catalogue, head to ⁠thevetvault.com⁠.  While you're there, check out our subscriber-only clinical podcast, our newsletter, and come and hang out with us in real life at ⁠Vets On Tour. Topics and Timestamps Why Instinct Acquired Scribble 2:08 Beyond Scribes: The Bigger Vision 7:48 Demo: Scribble + Instinct Integration 10:06 Plums Drug Reference Integration 11:30 Mid-Roll: Events & Announcements 14:49 Pushing Notes to Instinct 16:27 Scribble Features: Translations, Care Cards & More 19:29 Record Review & AI Verifiability 21:28 Instinct PIMS Overview 24:17 Instinct Expands to General Practice 24:51 Instinct Features: Estimates, Safety Warnings & Clinical Tools 32:03 Embedded Scribble: Voice-Controlled Anesthesia Records 38:07 AI Safety: Human in the Loop 38:46 APIs, MCP Servers & Vibe Coding for Vets 45:02 Open vs Closed PIMS Philosophy 50:39

    54 min
  4. 158: Psychological Safety For Vets: Why The Job Might Need Fixing, Not The People. With Dr Rebecca Faris

    22 Apr

    158: Psychological Safety For Vets: Why The Job Might Need Fixing, Not The People. With Dr Rebecca Faris

    "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 lead of the Australian Veterinary Association's Thrive programme - an industry attempt to figure out how we make veterinary medicine a profession people can actually stay in and enjoy. You'll learn: Why a full-time working week in veterinary medicine probably shouldn't be 40 hours - and the official position from Safe Work Australia that will surprise youThe difference between psychological safety and psychosocial safety (one is a vibe, the other is the law - and if you own a practice in Australia, you need to know which is which)What the new psychosocial safety legislation actually requires of practice owners Why "playing to your strengths" isn't the same as avoiding the hard stuff - and how to have that conversation with your employer without sounding like you're asking for special treatmentThe invisible emotional labour tax you're paying on every consult - and why recognising it changes everythingWhat genuinely great veterinary workplaces are doing differently, and why the "squeaky wheel" narrative is drowning out stories of practices that are getting it rightWhy "I can't hack full-time" might not mean there's something wrong with you - and the self-compassion case for rethinking what a sustainable vet career actually looks likeHow to get involved in shaping the future of this profession instead of quietly checking outIf you've ever felt wrecked at the end of a perfectly normal day and wondered whether it was you or the job - this one's for you. Resources mentioned: The Thrive Programme and 2025 Wellbeing Survey: ava.com.au/thriveCultivating Safe Teams training (AVA)2026 Thrive Wellness Symposium at the AVA Conference, Brisbane, 19 May 2026Safe Work Australia - psychosocial hazards guidance This episode is not an ad. We're not paid to feature Thrive or the AVA - we just think this is a conversation the profession needs to be having. If you've got thoughts, pushback, or your own story about thriving (or not) in practice, drop us a line at info@thevetvault.com. For our clinical content, show notes, and our full back catalogue, head to thevetvault.com. While you're there, check out our subscriber-only clinical podcast, our newsletter, and come and hang out with us in real life at Vets On Tour. 00:52 Rethinking the 40-Hour Workweek 03:03 Flexibility and Job Crafting 04:57 Are We Picking the Wrong People? 06:05 Playing to Strengths vs Business Needs 12:39 Psychological vs Psychosocial Safety 15:55 The New Laws: Employer Obligations 17:51 Identifying Psychosocial Hazards 20:40 Cultivating Safe Teams Training 24:45 Workload and Emotional Labor 32:34 Vets on Tour Break 34:27 Should Full-Time Be 30 Hours? 36:12 Inside the Thrive Initiative 39:31 Mental Health First Aid 41:35 Empathy for Difficult Clients 44:13 Wins and Optimism 46:27 How to Access Thrive 51:27 Closing Advice: Get Engaged

    54 min
  5. 157: Tech Tools for Vets 2: AI-Powered Learning with StudyAnything. With Hasitha Jayatilake

    8 Apr

    157: Tech Tools for Vets 2: AI-Powered Learning with StudyAnything. With Hasitha Jayatilake

    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 two of our Tech Tools for Vets series, software engineer Hasitha Jayatilake joins me to walk you through StudyAnything - an AI-powered study tool that generates quizzes from your notes, tracks your weak spots over time, and builds guided learning pathways based on Bloom's hierarchy of learning. (By the way - he built this tool because he couldn’t bare watching his vet student partner making Anki cards at 2am!) What you'll learn: How active recall and spaced repetition actually work - and why highlighting your notes is basically doing nothingWhat Bloom's hierarchy means for your study plan - and how Study Anything uses it to move you from rote recall to clinical applicationStudyAnything’s guided learning pathway feature (just gone live) - that turns your uploaded notes into a structured lesson plan with concept maps, assumed knowledge, and motivational contextHow the community feature works - study groups, shared question banks, and what this means for educators (or podcast hosts!)  who want to create resourcesHow to generate harder questions on demand - using learning outcomes and difficulty levels to get yourself on the honours rollWhat makes this different from Notebook LM or other AI tools This episode includes screen sharing, so if you want to follow along, watch the video on Spotify. If you prefer audio only, you'll still get 99% of the value. The team at StudyAnything are giving Vet Vault listeners the opportunity to try out their top tier subscription (LOTS of quizzes!) with code VETVAULT at studyanything.academy for 50% off your first month on the paid plan. That's about $3.50 to give it a proper test run. Note: This episode isn't a promotion, endorsement or an ad - it's part of our ongoing series exploring the tools you might be considering. If you have a software you'd like us to look at, let me know at info@thevetvault.com Go to ⁠⁠⁠thevetvault.com⁠⁠ for show notes, access to our clinical continuing education content and to sign up for our weekly 'best of the Vet Vault' ⁠newsletter,⁠ or join us in person at one of our phenomenal ⁠Vets On Tour conferences. ⁠ (Look out for our upcoming New Zealand, Italy and Africa conferences.) Topics and Timestamps 3:26 Active Recall & The Science of Studying 4:06 How StudyAnything Works - Uploading & Courses 7:57 Bloom's Hierarchy & Learning Outcomes 9:53 Ad Break - Vets on Tour 11:24 Quiz Demo 19:28 Guided Learning Pathway 20:15 File Summary, Concept Maps & Key Terms 29:10 Study Groups & Communities 31:02 Comparison with Notebook LM & Competitors 32:32 Spaced Repetition & Future Features 37:29 Pricing 39:48 Deep Dive: Navigating the Dashboard 41:00 Deep Dive: Creating & Customising Quizzes

    58 min
  6. A New Direction for the Vet Vault? Help Shape What Comes Next

    25 Mar ·  Bonus

    A New Direction for the Vet Vault? Help Shape What Comes Next

    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 the comments on Spotify.

    5 min
  7. 156: Is Practice Ownership The Only Way To Build Wealth? The Vet’s Guide To Student Debt, Saving, And Financial Sanity. With Eric Miller

    18 Mar

    156: Is Practice Ownership The Only Way To Build Wealth? The Vet’s Guide To Student Debt, Saving, And Financial Sanity. With Eric Miller

    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) No jargon. No guilt. Just a clear starting point for vets who know they should have a plan… but haven’t begun yet. Here’s what you’ll learn: Why practice ownership isn’t the only route to financial securityThe one habit that underpins every solid financial planA simple 70/20/10 framework for spending, investing, and enjoying your moneyHow to handle student debt without letting it control your lifeWhether to prioritise debt repayment, investing- or bothThe difference between good debt and bad debt (and why it matters)How automation quietly builds wealth in the backgroundWhat young vets need to know about insurance, income growth, and lifestyle creepAnd perhaps most importantly: A more grounded, reassuring view of the profession itself. Yes, financial pressure is real.But Eric will convince you that veterinary medicine is still a strong, high-potential career - IF you do it right.  ⁠⁠thevetvault.com⁠ for show notes, access to our clinical continuing education content and to sign up for our weekly 'best of the Vet Vault' newsletter, or join us in person at one of our phenomenal Vets On Tour conferences. Topics and Time Stamps 04:24 Biggest Financial Mistakes 05:42 Budgeting & The 70/20/10 Rule 14:41 Retirement Planning & 401k 24:09 Student Debt & How to Tackle It 26:22 Loan Forgiveness 28:58 Pay Off Debt vs. Invest 31:53 The Debt Snowball Method (it's a good thing!) 33:55 Increasing Your Income 37:44 Constructive vs. Destructive Debt 41:35 Insurance & Health Coverage 44:06 Looking Ahead: The Veterinary Industry 49:45 One Financial Habit for Ne w Grads We love to hear from you. If you have a question for us or you’d like to give us some feedback please get in touch via our contact or catch up with us on ⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠. And if you like what you hear, please share the love by clicking on the share button wherever you’re listening and sending a link to someone who you think should hear this.

    53 min
  8. 155: Antibiotic Prescribing Habits Vets Need To Ditch Now. With Dr Riati Scarborough and Dr Laura Hardefeldt 

    13 Feb

    155: Antibiotic Prescribing Habits Vets Need To Ditch Now. With Dr Riati Scarborough and Dr Laura Hardefeldt 

    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 entrenched habits are still alive and well, like how we treat skin disease, and our ongoing love affair with amoxiclav. This episode is a practical, clinically grounded update on what the evidence says in 2026 - and how to make realistic changes without compromising patient care. We cover: Why skin disease remains the single biggest driver of antimicrobial resistance in small animal practice, and what to do about itAmoxicillin vs amoxiclav: when de-escalation is not just safe, but smarterWhy convenience (you know the brand we’re talking about right…) is not a clinical indicationTrimethoprim-sulphonamide and the real story on KCS riskDentals, heart murmurs, and what prophylaxis actually looks like in 2026Simple in-clinic stewardship strategies that genuinely shift prescribing behaviourThis isn’t about perfection. It’s about progress. If you’d like effective antibiotics to still exist in five to ten years… This episode is essential listening. Find out how we can support you in your vet career at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠thevetvault.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. ⁠Subscribe to our weekly newsletter⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠for Hubert's favourite clinical and non-clinical learnings from the week. Grab one last handful of spots in the Maldives for our surf/dive vet conference with ⁠Vets On Tour⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Tips and Timestamps 3:03 Progress in prescribing habits including UTI durations and surgical prophylaxis4:55 Skin disease as the biggest problem area in small animal practice7:01 Topical therapy versus systemic antibiotics for skin conditions9:28 Deep pyoderma and the new consensus statement11:00 Gut bacteria as a source of resistant infections12:41 Rise of MRSP, methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus pseudintermedius14:00 Amoxicillin-clavulanate overuse16:47 Vets on Tour conferences advertisement18:08 Pharmacology refresher on amoxicillin, amoxicillin-clavulanate, and cefovecin19:45 Why cefovecin is classified as high importance, vs the convenience argument for cefovecin in cats22:56 Long-acting amoxicillin injections as an alternative24:00 Getting amoxicillin back on the shelf24:53 Communicating antibiotic choices to clients29:32 Dental antibiotics and debunking the heart murmur myth34:07 Subclinical bacteriuria and stopping cultures in asymptomatic patients38:30 Reassessing the dry eye risk of trimethoprim-sulfonamide41:43 Antimicrobial stewardship trial using colour-coded pharmacy shelves

    45 min
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4.7
out of 5
78 Ratings

About

The Vet Vault is a veterinary podcast for vets and vet students covering career growth, clinical medicine, leadership, and mental health and wellbeing across the veterinary profession. Vet life can be tough, but it's also good - so how do we make it even better? Host Dr Hubert Hiemstra brings honest, curious, occasionally irreverent conversations with the people making vet med better. Clinical CPD, careers, wellbeing, and the tech changing how we practise. Come fall back in love with veterinary science. Find show notes, clinical CE and the newsletter at thevetvault.com.

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