The Vet Reset

Dr. Maggie Brown-Bury is an emergency veterinarian in Newfoundland in the midst of a big career transition - and she made the final decision to make that transition while on a long run. 

Maggie and I chatted about her big plans, the challenges she's leaving and the ones she's facing, and how she fits training runs in around her ER schedule. We worked together this fall in preparation for a 10 mile race, which she totally crushed - thanks to being smart about resting when she needed rest, being flexible when life got nuts (she got married!), and not being all-or-nothing about training.  

Maggie also loves food, books, puffins, semi-anonymous cheering, and the sea. She says she can't figure out how to be anyone but exactly who she is, and that seems like a pretty great deal to me. 

I'll be taking a break over the holidays as I've got big changes on deck myself! Please reach out to me anytime:

Email: thevetreset@gmail.com

Facebook/Instagram/Twitter: @thevetreset

Kelsey Beth Carpenter, also known as Vet Tech Kelsey, is known in veterinary circles for her original songs that showcase the humor, humanity, and sometimes horror (health certificates! NOOOO!) of vet med. In this conversation, you'll meet Kelsey in a new way. She talks candidly about the chronic illness and chronic pain she's been living with since last year, why she's learning to give herself the same grace she gives frightened pets, and how what we assume about other people, often unintentionally, can cause harm.

Find Kelsey on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube!

Find me, as always, on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter @thevetreset or email me at thevetreset@gmail.com - I'd love to hear from you!

Rose Alaimo is a musician, a veterinarian, and one of those people who makes you feel like magic is possible. If you've ever felt like you were trying to fit in a space that wasn't made for you, trapped in a job you didn't think you were allowed to leave, or out of touch with the inner voice that used to know what it was you wanted out of life, Rose's story will find a foothold in your heart. She's listening to her inner voice these days, and it's led her to a place she always wanted to be but maybe never would have predicted she'd find.

The amazing song in the intro and outro of this episode is Elevate, the first track on Rose's album Grow. Find it and all of Rose's music at https://linktr.ee/rosealaimomusic

Follow her and send her a DM on Facebook and Twitter: @RoseAlaimoMusic

The book we discuss: Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear, by Elizabeth Gilbert

Reach me at:

Email: thevetreset@gmail.com

Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter: @thevetreset

Our guest from Episode 29, Dr. Amy Porto, straight-talker, dog mom, registered dietitian, professor, and intuitive eating counselor, is back - and this time we're tackling the complex phenomenon called "functional medicine." Katie's got her own story to tell, and Amy weighs in on some heavy issues surrounding this controversial, yet increasingly popular, piece of wellness culture.

Please let us know what you think about this discussion - it's a hot topic and we know there will be strong opinions! 

Reach Amy at her website, www.amyporto.com, where you'll find information on her courses coming up this winter, including her wildly popular Empowered Eater Essentials - sign up for the waitlist at www.amyporto.com/eat - and on social media:

Facebook: Dr. Amy Porto, Registered Dietitian

Instagram: @dr.amyporto

Twitter: @DrAmyPorto

As always, reach me at:

Email: thevetreset@gmail.com

Facebook/Instagram/and now Twitter (God help me) @thevetreset

Dr. Audrey Hoffmann is a practice owner and veterinarian who cares fiercely for her team and patients - and she is just as fierce in the gym. She is a recent Pan American medalist in Olympic weightlifting, which she works on in her basement gym when she's not working on running her busy practice. Audrey makes space for both of her passions by giving herself grace, knowing her boundaries, and working with a coach who understands that her work life won't ever be predictable. 

Audrey's realistic but serious approach to her business and her sport are inspiring, and it's easy to hear in her voice that she's confident in her body and grateful for what it can do. In a world full of messages telling us we need to be smaller, she is proud of her strength and isn't about to compromise it to fit in an arbitrary mold. 

Follow Audrey on Instagram @ajoyfulvet to see her amazing lifts (and other adventures). 

Don't forget to check out the Uncharted Veterinary Community and Conference at https://unchartedvet.com/ and @unchartedvet!

Reach out to me at:

Email: thevetreset@gmail.com

Facebook/Instagram: @thevetreset

I heard Dr. Ross Palmer tell a story in a webinar about a dog named Griz, complete with video montage, and I knew I needed to meet him. Luckily, he's the kind of guy who answers emails from complete strangers AND gets up early to record with them at 7 AM before a day of teaching. 

Ross and I fit a lot into this conversation, including his own health wake-up call and reset and why Griz and his owner continue to inspire him, not just in the exam room but in other areas of his life as well. Turns out we both have some compulsive tendencies, and he shares why sometimes life stressors that get in the way of achieving those big goals can actually be a gift. 

I think everyone can take something away from this episode. For a start, try this exercise: take a blank notebook and fill the front with things you love and the back with things you don't - find out what Ross does with his toward the end of the conversation. 

Some links to CE in REALLY cool places:

CSUVetCE - "Learn Well, Live Well"

International Veterinary Seminars

Find me at:

Email: thevetreset@gmail.com

Facebook/Instagram: @thevetreset

I coach runners! If you're looking for accountability, hoping to learn to love running (or get that love back), or training for a big goal, send me a message! 

April Tabor, CPT, CES (certified personal trainer and corrective exercise specialist), is a kick-ass personal trainer, a small business owner, and, most importantly, a loyal and passionate friend. She gave me a place to try my hand at group fitness instruction and a push to get that first certification, and I'll always be grateful she gave BollyX a chance in an area where no one even knew what it was. 

April and I talk about her "reset" when she left accounting to open Omni Fitness, her studio here in central PA, and how it feels to leave the field you've done your formal schooling in and do what's in your heart. We also talk about how even though many women still shy away from strength training, especially heavy weights, there's no reason to - and every reason to dive in with the right training. 

Enjoy this chat with April - sorry about the echo - and then, in the words of April's phone, "Go work out and meditate." 

Reach April at www.omnifitness.club - if you're interested in joining her virtual workout group, send her a message there! It's still going strong even though the studio at Omni is open for business.

Reach me: 

Email: thevetreset@gmail.com

Facebook/Instagram @thevetreset

Think you might be interested in a running coach? Send me a message!

This episode's guest is NOT a veterinary professional, but there are more than a few parallels between our lives in vet med and Dr. Amy Porto's work as a registered dietitian, professor, and certified intuitive eating counselor. Amy is also a dog mom, cycling instructor, bookworm, and otherwise multi-dimensional human who, like many of us, has seen her relationship to food, health, and body image change significantly over the course of her life. 

I wanted to chat with Amy for two main reasons. When I first started this podcast, I had a list of guests I had in mind to invite, and she was one of them. I think it's important to know where to look for reliable, grounded information on nutrition, health, and wellness for humans, because even though we hate it when our clients slip into the clutches of pseudoscience and misinformation, I've noticed that we often (myself included) do it ourselves in these areas. The other reason is that my own relationship with food and body has evolved over my adult life, but this past year has forced me to take a hard, honest look at how I was seeing my own body and health and it's led me to people like Amy. 

We talk about things like intuitive eating ("In a world without diet culture, intuitive eating would just be eating"), health at every size (HAES), and the war on obesity ("You're really talking about eradicating a group of people from the earth"). We mention quite a few resources, listed below. Please reach out if you have questions or would like to know more. 

Amy's website: www.amyporto.com (Note her purpose statement: "Disrupting the mainstream diet, health, and fitness market with real science, a dash of humor, and a little bit of common sense.")

Amy also teaches a live course called Empowered Eater Essentials. You can get on the wait list at amyporto.com/eat 

Books we mention or that are great places to go for more of this content: 

The Joy of Movement by Kelly McGonigal

Anti-Diet by Christy Harrison 

What We Don't Talk About When We Talk About Fat by Aubrey Gordon

Health at Every Size by Linda Bacon

Intuitive Eating by Evelyn Tribole and Elyse Resch

A great podcast to check out: 

Maintenance Phase

Find me, as always, at:

Email: thevetreset@gmail.com

Facebook/Instagram: @thevetreset

And let me know if you'd like to chat about run coaching! Never try, never know!

This mini is a shout out to coaches everywhere and a reminder that we don't need to do hard things alone. We've talked about the value of coaching on the show before - Josh Vaisman is a big fan and discussed it in Episode 9 - and the more I learn, the more I think coaching is a life-changing tool that can't be overvalued. Coaches don't just tell you WHAT to do (a lot of times, we already know what to do or can look it up) - they help you through bumpy patches, provide accountability and experience to help you keep small setbacks and self-doubt from turning into big time bummers, and see things from an outside perspective that can sometimes change everything. 

Running coaches do this for ALL levels of runners, from couch to 5K first-timers to people who are running at the highest level. I'm a certified RRCA running coach and certified personal trainer and would love to help you learn to run, improve your running, or find joy in it where you aren't seeing that right now. Hit me up via email or on social if you're interested in a consultation or if you've got questions for me. I'd love to hear what your goals are!

Email: thevetreset@gmail.com

Facebook/Instagram: @thevetreset

You probably already know Dr. Lauren Smith - through her brand The Vetitude, she talks about communication, empathy, and the intersection of the client and vet team experience, and she also does a whole lot of keeping it real. She's not afraid to voice an unpopular opinion, and when she does, it's always worth a listen, because it's undoubtedly going to teach you something important about yourself or about other people. 

In this conversation, Lauren drops serious wisdom about some of the more difficult aspects of client communication - and of being an extroverted introvert in a profession where you talk to people all day. We talk about loneliness, which is a big part of life for many of us in vet med in general, but which looms large for much of the planet during this COVID era. (Did you know the UK AND Japan both have appointed "Ministers of Loneliness" in the past few years? It's a real job.)

But I am most grateful that Lauren, a lifelong runner, took this opportunity to open up and talk with me about some subjects we don't discuss enough in vet med: weight stigma, body image, and diet culture.  There's actually a lot that traditional vet med culture and diet culture have in common, and we both think it's worth working hard to shift those cultures to a place where toxicity is the exception, not the accepted norm, and where inclusion and empathy are the basis for everything that comes next. 

Find Lauren:

Email: Lauren@thevetitude.com

Facebook/Instagram: @thevetitude

Find me: 

Email: thevetreset@gmail.com

Facebook/Instagram: @thevetreset

Dr. Alissa Edoff and I connected on so many levels - she's an acupuncturist, rehab vet, teacher, and business owner who wasn't finding the "standard" route in vet med to be a good fit, so she made her own way. She is also, I would imagine, never bored, as she has a love for life and the outdoors that keeps her as busy as her work life does. 

We talk about a LOT in this conversation, from beekeeping to bodybuilding; fair warning, we do also discuss food, body image, and Alissa's journey to sobriety. 

Please reach out! I'd love to hear from you about anything - your thoughts, what you're liking or not liking, and guests you'd like to see in your feed. 

Email: thevetreset@gmail.com

Facebook and Instagram: @thevetreset 

It's hard to name an area of veterinary medicine that Dr. Quincy Hawley hasn't been involved in - from organized vet med to corporate practice to a full time focus on wellness, coaching, and diversity and inclusion, he's definitely a mover and shaker. It's a longer conversation but it's well worth the listen, as I'm not sure anyone could come away from hearing Quincy talk and not feel motivated - or MotiVETed, as the case may be. 

My biggest takeaway from this conversation? Change on a systemic level takes time - sometimes LOTS of time - and while it's worth fighting for, as Quincy says, you can decide to change yourself TODAY. So... what will you decide?

Find Quincy, along with CE courses, blogs and videos, coaching, and lots more at GetMotiVETed.com - you can also catch him on video at Vet Candy.

Send me a message! I'd love to hear from you. And I'm grateful for your shares, ratings, and reviews as we try to grow and evolve. 

Email: thevetreset@gmail.com

Facebook and Instagram: @thevetreset

Dr. Marci Kirk is Assistant Director for Recent Graduate Initiatives at the AVMA, co-host of the podcast My Veterinary Life, and an avid runner who is missing her race-vacations to Disney while everything is still shut down due to COVID-19. In this episode, we bond over the ways vet med can lift you up or break your heart - just like running. But just like running, vet med doesn't have to look the same for everyone (in fact, that's impossible) and setbacks can just be the grounds for a great comeback that lets us use our skills in ways that make us happy and help us do good. 

Marci and I talk about so much stuff in this conversation, from board complaints to the reality of working from home, and the fine line between habit and obsession - we could have talked all day.  

You can find information on the early career development committee here.

And the nomination form can be found on this page.

Our favorite running clothes company, Oiselle, that we are usually wearing even when we aren't running - look for sales! 

Reach out!

Email: thevetreset@gmail.com

Facebook/Instagram: @thevetreset

I'm taking a short break for the next couple of weeks, but have some more episodes coming to you soon! In this mini, I talk about how what I had in mind for this podcast isn't exactly what it's turned into - and that's amazing. 

Reach out!

Email: thevetreset@gmail.com

Facebook/Instagram: @thevetreset

Please subscribe, rate and review!

In this episode, I tell Alec Failor my first impression of him was, "This guy is special." It's the truth, and I hope you think so too after listening to our conversation. 

Alec is a fellow podcaster (with Dr. Tracy Sands) at Vet Med After Hours, and he's the practice manager, client care specialist lead, and team wellness coach at Healing Paws Veterinary Care in Carlisle, PA. 

I am a big Alec Failor fan and am so grateful he found time to have this conversation with me - about everything from plant-based eating and disc golf to Red Dragon days and the low point in his life that led to his amazing outlook and leadership philosophy. 

Vet Med After Hours podcast

Healing Paws Veterinary Care - they're hiring!

Reach out! 

Email: thevetreset@gmail.com

Facebook/Instagram: @thevetreset

I loved getting to know Dr. Jennifer Quammen during this conversation - she experiences vet med from a lot of different angles, which gives her a unique ability to relate to others in the field. Along with being a practicing vet, she and her partner run Veterinarian Coaching to help vets thrive and grow both in practice and beyond. Jen is also involved in organized veterinary medicine through the KVMA and is Chief Veterinary Officer at TeleVet.

It's hard to believe she has any free time, but she is also an athlete (kettlebells are her jam) and makes time to relax and allow herself to be. In this hour, we talk about boundaries (just because you can doesn't mean you should!), similarities between ultrarunners and veterinarians (high performers abound), and how intellectual diversity can benefit vet med. 

If you haven't met Jen yet, take some time to listen. She's engaging and funny and relatable - and wise. 

Learn more about Jen and Ryan at veterinariancoaching.com and check out what Jen is working on with the folks at TeleVet at https://televet.com/

Reach out!

Email: thevetreset@gmail.com

Facebook/IG: @thevetreset

This week I'm raving about a book I just read, Bravey by Alexi Pappas, and saved a quote to talk about. If, like me, you're sometimes overwhelmed by mixed messages (like "you are enough" next to "winners don't make excuses"), remember that encouragement can look different on different days... and that two forms of encouragement can coexist without contradicting each other. 

Check out this incredible book (also available on Amazon of course) and let me know what you take away. 

Reach out!

Email: thevetreset@gmail.com

Facebook/Instagram: @thevetreset

TikTok: NOPE - I DO NOT GET IT

If you've spent any time online in the veterinary space, you've probably already "met" Dr. Cherie Buisson; you may know her as A Happy Vet. She's a writer, speaker, and practicing veterinarian, the owner of Helping Hands Pet Hospice in Largo, FL. Her articles are featured on DrAndyRoark.com and other sites. She's certified in Hospice and Palliative Care, Low Stress Handling (TM) Silver, and QPR Suicide Prevention.

In her own words, Cherie is "a recovering perfectionist, bookworm, cyclist, and living proof that being a nerd isn’t all that bad." She is a pretty cool nerd, if you ask me, and one with a LOT of great insights to share - she knows what it's like to have to look your own limitations and potential right in the face and decide for yourself which path to follow.  

Find Cherie at A Happy Vet, Instagram and Facebook @ahappyvet, and on Twitter @imahappyvet.

Don't forget - if you need help, empathy, or just a group of people who understand, visit the Not One More Vet website or join the NOMV or NOMV-SS (support staff) Facebook groups. You can also get a free month of online counseling at BetterHelp by going to https://www.betterhelp.com/nomv/

Find me:

Email: thevetreset@gmail.com

Facebook/Instagram @thevetreset

The desire to lose weight has become kind of a taboo subject. We apologize for it constantly and immediately name other reasons we want to try to eat differently/work out more/change our habits. 

It's OK to want to lose weight, and it's OK to say it out loud. What's NOT OK is being fed the message, almost from birth, that weight = worth - and that you don't deserve to be treated well whether or not you are objectively "thin enough." 

Email: thevetreset@gmail.com

Facebook/Instagram: @thevetreset

I met Bruce Francke, DVM, at the first Uncharted Veterinary Conference, and since then we've shared a lot of amazing conversations about life, love, and running. Bruce is a self-described jovial person who just wants to make sure everyone around him is happy, sometimes to the detriment of his own comfort. He shares a dark reset moment and how he copes now with the stress of running a practice, taking care of his family and team, and keeping his own brain running on "jovial." 

*Warning: We discuss suicide on this episode. 

Find out more about the Uncharted Veterinary Community at unchartedvet.com

Reach me at:

Email: thevetreset@gmail.com

Facebook/Instagram: @thevetreset