Stop the Burnout Podcast

Dr. Amber Parks, DVM, DABVP
  • 5.0 (1)
  • Mental Health
  • Updated Weekly

Stop the Burnout is hosted by Dr. Amber Parks, a veterinarian turned Stress & Burnout Coach, Clinical Support Consultant, and speaker. This podcast is for veterinary professionals and high-achievers who love their work but are exhausted by the people, pressure, expectations, and constant mental load that come with it. After 16+ years in clinical practice and her own experience with severe burnout, Dr. Parks shares real-world insights and neuroscience-backed tools to help you break the stress and burnout patterns that keep you overworking, overthinking, and running on empty without having to leave the career you worked so hard to build. This is honest, real-life talk about the things no one taught us and the challenges we all experience but rarely say out loud, from emotional exhaustion and guilt to perfectionism, boundaries, and the pressure to always do more. You won’t find generic self-care fluff or toxic positivity here, only practical, grounded strategies that actually work in the real world of veterinary medicine, including how to navigate tough conversations with more confidence and clarity.

  1. 17h ago

    Epi 80: Vet Med Is Hard Enough: Why Are We Making It Harder on Each Other? (& What You Can Do About It)

    We all know vet med is hard enough on a good day, but why does it seem like there are members of the profession who are making it harder for each other? It can be tough to toe the line between wanting to stand up for yourself if you're being disrespected and then wondering if it will put a target on your back with others or your employer. We're jumping into the reality of coworker and colleague conflict, including some stories from my own experiences, from rude comments and criticism to being undermined, misunderstood, or feeling like you're walking on eggshells around certain people. Not only am I sharing how to tell the difference between something that is just irritating and something that needs to be addressed, but I’m also looking at how stress and burnout can shape the way we interpret those interactions. You’ll have clear steps on how to decide when to speak up, when to step back, and when to stop giving someone else’s behavior so much of your energy.   Follow, friend request, & find me: Instagram Facebook ⭐ If this episode helped you, take a second to leave a 5-star rating on your favorite streaming platform. It helps the podcast reach more people. 🔗 Download Your FREE Burnout Survival Guide HERE

  2. Sep 24

    Epi 79: When Vet Med Becomes Your Whole Identity, How Do You Know If It’s Time to Leave?

    You’ve spent years, hundreds of thousands of dollars, and a ridiculous amount of blood, sweat, and tears getting here, so of course vet med can start to feel like your entire identity. And when you don’t know who you are without it, leaving can feel less like changing jobs or careers and more like an existential crisis. This episode gets into the juicy details of how to tell if you’re truly done with vet med or if other factors are make leaving seem like the only viable option. We’re getting into the specific and thought provoking questions you need to ask yourself before you make any changes, because “I need to get the hell out” and “I’m genuinely ready for something new” are not always the same thing.   Follow, friend request, & find me: Instagram Facebook ⭐ If this episode helped you, take a second to leave a 5-star rating on your favorite streaming platform. It helps the podcast reach more people. 🔗 Download Your FREE Burnout Survival Guide HERE

  3. Sep 17

    Epi 78: Making Vet Med Less Stressful (Part 4): Your Permission Slip to Stop Doing Work That Isn’t Yours (A Client Success Story)

    Being the dependable one at work can quietly turn into doing everyone else’s job. This client success story shows what changed when one veterinarian stopped automatically picking up work that wasn’t hers and started protecting her time, energy, and capacity instead. You’ll hear how she learned to recognize what she was no longer willing to carry, communicate it clearly, and build the confidence to stop making other people’s responsibilities her problem. This real-world example truly shows what possible when we stop letting fear keep us stuck in the burnout cycle.   Click here to learn more about the LIVE workshop: Say No Without the Guilt Masterclass:  A proven, step-by-step approach for veterinarians to protect your time, energy, and sanity (even when saying no doesn’t feel like an option). (Sept. 23rd @12pm EST) Follow, friend request, & find me: Instagram Facebook ⭐ If this episode helped you, take a second to leave a 5-star rating on your favorite streaming platform. It helps the podcast reach more people. 🔗 Download Your FREE Burnout Survival Guide HERE

  4. Sep 10

    Epi 77: Making Vet Med LESS Stressful (Part 3): When Your Schedule Is Overbooked and You Feel Powerless

    A typical day in vet med often means an overbooked, chaotic schedule and, worse, feeling like it’s completely out of your control. I’m sharing the story of one of my coaching clients, a veterinarian who was exhausted by constant walk-ins being added to an already overbooked schedule, plus the never-ending records and call-backs waiting for her at the end of the day. It got to the point that she started looking for another job.Even her attempts to talk to leadership went nowhere, so I’m sharing how our coaching together helped her find a solution that didn’t involve leaving a job she otherwise liked, and how you can use this same process to start taking back control of your own workday.   Click here to learn more about the LIVE workshop: Say No Without the Guilt Masterclass:  A proven, step-by-step approach for veterinarians to protect your time, energy, and sanity (even when saying no doesn’t feel like an option). (Sept. 23rd @12pm EST) Follow, friend request, & find me: Instagram Facebook ⭐ If this episode helped you, take a second to leave a 5-star rating on your favorite streaming platform. It helps the podcast reach more people. 🔗 Download Your FREE Burnout Survival Guide HERE

  5. Sep 3

    Epi 76: Making Vet Med LESS Stressful (Part 2): Hear Me Out! Letting Sh*t Hit the Fan Can Actually Reduce Your Stress

    If you feel like you have to keep tabs on everyone and everything at work just to make sure things go smoothly, you don’t want to miss this episode. I’m sharing the real-life challenges one of my coaching clients experienced that left her exhausted, overfunctioning, and constantly checking up on everyone to make sure things got done. Through our coaching, she learned simple communication shifts that created more accountability without requiring her to do more. In fact, she started doing less, stopped carrying everyone else’s responsibilities, and got hours back in her day as a result. This episode also digs into why letting things fall apart can sometimes be exactly what reveals the real problem and thus solution. If you’re tired of micromanaging the chaos and want a less stressful way to work, this episode will give you a practical place to start.     Click here to learn more about the LIVE workshop: Say No Without the Guilt Masterclass:  A proven, step-by-step approach for veterinarians to protect your time, energy, and sanity (even when saying no doesn’t feel like an option). (Sept. 23rd @12pm EST) Follow, friend request, & find me: Instagram Facebook ⭐ If this episode helped you, take a second to leave a 5-star rating on your favorite streaming platform. It helps the podcast reach more people. 🔗 Download Your FREE Burnout Survival Guide HERE

  6. Aug 27

    Epi 75: Making Vet Med LESS Stressful (Part 1): Too Busy Being Interrupted to Get Anything Done

    You finally walk out of the exam room, and before you can finish your next thought, three people need something from you. Sound familiar?! What we don’t truly appreciate is how constant task switching, “quick questions,” callbacks, and requests can quietly drain your mental bandwidth, make everything feel urgent, and slowly contribute to chronic stress and burnout. I’m sharing how a real coaching client of mine navigated this exact challenge, and we’ll get into the practical changes she made so she could stop feeling like the default person for every single thing. The goal isn’t to ignore people or just start telling everyone no. It’s to make your day more manageable so you can actually get your work done without feeling pulled in 47 directions.   Click here to learn more about the LIVE workshop: Say No Without the Guilt Masterclass:  A proven, step-by-step approach for veterinarians to protect your time, energy, and sanity (even when saying no doesn’t feel like an option). (Sept. 23rd @12pm EST) Follow, friend request, & find me: Instagram Facebook ⭐ If this episode helped you, take a second to leave a 5-star rating on your favorite streaming platform. It helps the podcast reach more people. 🔗 Download Your FREE Burnout Survival Guide HERE

  7. Aug 20

    Epi 74: Burnout Got You Questioning Your Vet Med Career? 4 Things to Know Before You Jump Ship

    Burnout has a funny way of convincing you that your only two options are to stay miserable in vet med or change careers entirely, which might mean more school, more student loans, and more time and energy you definitely do not have. 🫠 If you find yourself stuck in that trap, don’t worry, you’re definitely not alone. In this episode of Stop the Burnout, we’re talking about what to consider when veterinary burnout has you questioning your vet med career and wondering whether it’s time to stay, leave, or make a change. You’ll learn 4 important things to consider that can help you look at your options more clearly before making any big career moves. We’ll also talk about the sunk-cost trap, transferable skills, and why burnout can make your choices feel way more limited than they actually are. Because sometimes the answer is a veterinary career pivot. And sometimes the fix is a hell of a lot simpler than that.   Click HERE to apply for your complimentary Burnout Breakthrough Session! Follow, friend request, & find me: Instagram Facebook ⭐ If this episode helped you, take a second to leave a 5-star rating on your favorite streaming platform. It helps the podcast reach more people. 🔗 Download Your FREE Burnout Survival Guide HERE

  8. Aug 13

    Epi 73: The #1 Burnout Trap My Coaching Clients Are Stuck in When They Find Me (and You Might Be Stuck in It Too)

    This episode gets into one of the biggest traps I see in veterinary professionals who are burned out, especially when it feels like so much of what’s draining you is outside of your control. We’ll look at what’s happening beneath the surface, including the neuroscience that makes this cycle challenging to break if you’re not aware of it. We're also talking about practical ways to start getting out of the trap without overhauling your entire life, leaving your job, or walking away from your career. And yes, there’s even research in this episode you may want to send straight to your boss or manager to help show why changing the way you work isn’t just better for burnout, it’s better for the practice too.  Click HERE to apply for your complimentary Burnout Breakthrough Session! Follow, friend request, & find me: Instagram Facebook ⭐ If this episode helped you, take a second to leave a 5-star rating on your favorite streaming platform. It helps the podcast reach more people. 🔗 Download Your FREE Burnout Survival Guide HERE

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About

Stop the Burnout is hosted by Dr. Amber Parks, a veterinarian turned Stress & Burnout Coach, Clinical Support Consultant, and speaker. This podcast is for veterinary professionals and high-achievers who love their work but are exhausted by the people, pressure, expectations, and constant mental load that come with it. After 16+ years in clinical practice and her own experience with severe burnout, Dr. Parks shares real-world insights and neuroscience-backed tools to help you break the stress and burnout patterns that keep you overworking, overthinking, and running on empty without having to leave the career you worked so hard to build. This is honest, real-life talk about the things no one taught us and the challenges we all experience but rarely say out loud, from emotional exhaustion and guilt to perfectionism, boundaries, and the pressure to always do more. You won’t find generic self-care fluff or toxic positivity here, only practical, grounded strategies that actually work in the real world of veterinary medicine, including how to navigate tough conversations with more confidence and clarity.

Information

  • Creator
    Dr. Amber Parks, DVM, DABVP
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    85
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Copyright 2024 All rights reserved.
  • Show Website
    Stop the Burnout Podcast