Caffeinators, this is a HEAVY episode. But it is one you ABSOLUTELY need to tune in to. You may remember our episode with Kelly Foltz from 2023 where she touched on the idea of futile care and has since been involved in researching this topic (link below). In this most recent discussion we try to define and label this idea, which proves to be very tricky and as yet is still undecided. But the fact remains, as evidenced by her research, we all have, or will, experience futile care in veterinary m...
Jun 30, 2025•1 hr 19 min•Ep. 211
Caffeinators, let's talk oncology. And let's have that conversation with Inge Breathnach! Inge (@oncologyrvn) came by the Vet Tech Cafe recently (TWICE due to technical issues!) to talk all things oncology. We discussed the importance of alignment, ethically speaking, between the oncology nurse and the oncology veterinarian, the importance of celebrating your wins no matter how small they may be, and flipping the script from the difficulty that comes with a cancer diagnosis to the impact we can ...
Jun 24, 2025•1 hr 9 min•Ep. 210
Taproom 51! Jeff has a new baby! We discuss Vet Tech title protection in Illinois and recap of our May episodes. We also discuss time off.. paternity, bereavement. What else do you get for time off? Our upcoming episodes are getting scheduled. Onco, futile care and shelter medicine coming up soon!
Jun 09, 2025•33 min•Ep. 209
Caffeinators, you may remember we recently spoke with Kelly Drescher Johnson and talked about end of life care and grief, and the company she started, Veterinary Chaplaincy Services. During that discussion she mentioned the idea of the "World's Worst Cocktail Party" and grief. We decided to make that a whole episode for Mental Health Awareness Month! This discussion was fascinating and made so much sense how we move through grief and how that applies not only to ourselves, but pet owners in our ...
May 26, 2025•1 hr 6 min•Ep. 207
Caffeinators, you may remember when we had Lynn Blake on in the Summer of 2024. There were a few points in that discussion that made us think she'd be a perfect fit for our May episodes where we focus on mental health in our field for Mental Health Awareness Month. Lynn cam back recently to tell us what she's doing now and we discussed mental health in our field from several different angles, including those that are a result of the current political landscape in the US. There are some difficult...
May 12, 2025•1 hr•Ep. 206
Taproom # 50! Lots to unpack here. Here's some links we discussed Minnesota: https://navta.net/industry-news/minnesota-association-of-veterinary-technicians-mavt-update-historic-veterinary-technician-licensure-bill-passed/?fbclid=IwY2xjawKEdsZleHRuA2FlbQIxMABicmlkETE5RkdkN1pOVjJNZFdva2pRAR6BEr4PhIBwEWu4Y8dwWRrIA6c0xlmY4yDXlH_Zw3cZIJYVwS0YooL4G_8gQg_aem_fGQxGLGSOUe9MNS7zcYIFQ Mid Level Practitioner: https://news.vin.com/default.aspx?pid=210&catId=6958&id=12620873 DEI: https://www.myvetcan...
May 05, 2025•47 min•Ep. 208
Caffeinators, you know we love to highlight veterinary technicians and nurses that are out here blazing a path that makes us all better for it. This is another one of those episodes. We recently came across Amelia Sherwood, (@tissueviabilityvetnurse) and looking at her content and what she was doing, we knew we had to talk to her. She was gracious enough to to chat with us, and what an inspiring conversation! We talked all things wound management, healing, and the role of the veterinary technici...
Apr 28, 2025•1 hr 11 min•Ep. 205
Caffeinators, it's time for another uplifting, inspiring episode. We've had a few people recommend Beth Stark to be a guest on the Vet Tech Cafe, and we finally got to meet her at HiVE Anaheim as the three of us are HiVE Champions. We recently sat down with her to talk about her unique path, her passion for helping veterinary technicians advance their careers, work to prevent burnout, and also her involvement in several organizations. We talked about the importance of being involved and engaged ...
Apr 14, 2025•1 hr•Ep. 197
Caffeinators, as you know, we don't have many DVM guests come by the Vet Tech Cafe, but when they do, it's because they have a unique viewpoint on a current issue. This is that episode! Dr. Sam Hollister reached out to us a while back wanting to talk about the "U" word - unionization in veterinary medicine. As a veterinarian, he presented some very unique viewpoints and compelling arguments in support of unionization in our field, and has done a ton of research surrounding the issue as it pertai...
Mar 31, 2025•1 hr 4 min•Ep. 201
We're back from Phoenix! Recap of our annual Phoenix trip and a discussion of the CVT changes in NJ that will be happening soon! Come in and have a beer with us! Follow us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/vettechcafe Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vettechcafepodcast Follow us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/vet-tech-cafe Like and Subscribe on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCMDTKdfOaqSW0Mv3Uoi33qg Our website: https://www.vettechcafe.com/ Vet Tech ...
Mar 25, 2025•25 min•Ep. 204
Caffeinators, are you ready to hear from Megan Brashear? We honestly don't know why it took us so long to have her stop by the Vet Tech Cafe, but we sure are glad she finally did! If you don't know, Megan is one of the OG veterinary technician speakers and educators. She was do a series called On The Floor AtDove long before a webinar format was popular, and it is still very highly utilized on YouTube all these years later. It was great to hear about her unique career path and all the incredible...
Mar 16, 2025•1 hr 1 min•Ep. 203
Caffeinators, by now you know we strive to bring you episodes with awesome guests that are out there doing amazing things as veterinary technicians and veterinary nurses. Sometimes, they're people we know; sometimes, they're people you recommend to us; and sometimes, we just get lucky and come across them. This is one of those episodes. Recently, Dave was working on a lecture and read something that was written by Laura Jones. He reached out to her, and this episode was born! We brought the Vet ...
Mar 03, 2025•55 min•Ep. 202
Caffeinators, you know we love to highlight people in our field that are blazing their own path and starting businesses, and this episode is just that! Becky Lacy and her partner Nikole Hludzik recently came by the Vet Tech Cafe to talk to us about their brand new venture, Animalance RVA! Animalance is an animal ambulance/transport service serving the greated Richmond, Virginia area. They provide inter-hospital transport and transport to and from owner's home. By all accounts this is a very need...
Feb 17, 2025•1 hr•Ep. 199
Caffeinators, we strive to talk to veterinary technicians from all corners of the profession. This episode is a nod to that. Kendra Dostaler, aka Kendra the Vet Tech on social, recently came by the Vet Tech Cafe! She recently added VTS(EVN) to her crednetials-Equine Veterinary Nursing. We talked about all things equine medicine, regulatory affairs, large animal representation on a national scale, and SO MUCH MORE. She has her own podcast, does instructional videos on youtube and more, and we tal...
Feb 03, 2025•1 hr 7 min•Ep. 200
Taproom #48. How is January almost over? We recap our January episodes with Kelly and Juliann. One thing that got brought up was CE for CSRs. Does your hospital provide CE for your CSRs? They should! Lots of great episodes in the works for the next couple months, tune in for a teaser!
Jan 27, 2025•26 min•Ep. 198
Caffeinators, it's been a goal of ours to have a guest from each VTS Academy on our podcast to talk about how amazing their Academy is, and this episode is another step in that walk. For this episode, Juliann London came by The Vet Tech Cafe to chat with us about all things Dermatology! ADVT may be be one of the newer and smaller Academies out there, but it is mighty. It was fascinating to hear about their unique application process, and some of the cool things a VTS (Dermatology) can do! You wo...
Jan 20, 2025•1 hr 3 min•Ep. 196
Caffeinators, have you ever found yourself in a situation at the hospital where you have an owner that is very upset about their loss of a beloved pet? And you feel like they may need help but you have no idea how to initiate that conversation or you don't know of any resources to offer, and you've also received no formal training on how to deal with this? Well, this is the episode for you! Kelly Drescher Johnson came by the Vet Tech Cafe during the holiday season to talk about her business, Vet...
Jan 06, 2025•1 hr 6 min•Ep. 195
Happy holidays Caffeinators! Last Taproom of the year. We talk about our favorite episodes of 2024 and talk about a couple juicy controversial things going on in vet med right now. Our Links: Check out our sponsor https://betterhelp.com/vettechcafe for 10% off your first month of therapy Follow us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/vettechcafe Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vettechcafepodcast Follow us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/vet-tech-cafe Like and Sub...
Dec 30, 2024•34 min•Ep. 194
Caffeinators, we hope you're having a wonderful holiday season! For our last episode of 2024, we have another incredible guest for you, from Scotland! Sam Fontaine, RVN, MSc, PGCAP, BSc, DipAVN(Med), FHEA, SFRET, recently came by the Vet Tech Cafe. She launched a Master's in Advanced Practice in Veterinary Nursing program in the UK, that is completely online and takes students from around the globe. It was fascinating to hear about the creation of the program and how adaptable it is to different...
Dec 23, 2024•1 hr 5 min•Ep. 190
Caffeinators, we've often said that while we want to be an autonomous profession, we are going to need the help of veterinarians to get us there. Colleen Gallagher, CVT, is going to be one of those veterinarians. This is a unique episode in that Colleen is a CVT in Massachusetts, but she's also a second year veterinary student at Tufts University. So we talked a lot about veterinary technician issues and the landscape of our profession with a future veterinarian! It was a fascinating discussion ...
Dec 09, 2024•1 hr 4 min•Ep. 189
Dave and Jeff wrap up their first HiVE event from Anaheim CA and discuss some past and future episodes. Lots of great contacts and future guests at this event!
Dec 02, 2024•49 min•Ep. 193
Caffeinators, by now you've heard or read more than you want to about Proposition 129 in Colorado. For this episode, we spoke with Erin Henninger, BA, RVT, VTS(ECC), who is the Executive Director for the Colorado Association of RVT's (CACVT). While we talked about 129 and how it came to be and the money trail, we tried to not make it the focus of this discussion. Rather, we talked at length about CACVT and the amazing work they're doing to support veterinary technicians and VTS's in Colorado. Er...
Nov 25, 2024•1 hr 12 min•Ep. 192
Caffeinators, we're going back to Canada for this one, so pack your bags! Or, you can stay remote like Leilani's employees and listen to her talk about Animal HealthLink! Leilani Mustillo has been an RVT for over 15 years, but as many of us have, experienced burnout and due to life circumstances needed to reimagine her career. She had a love of triage, and created Animal HealthLink in 2020, a tele triage company based in Canada. We talked about starting that type of business, logistics, and how ...
Nov 11, 2024•1 hr 5 min•Ep. 188
Caffeinators, you probably know Dave works at Action Vet Tech Services, a veterinary technician relief service company based in North Carolina. For this episode, we'd like to introduce you to Jacklyn Phillips, founder of AVTS! This is a great story many of us can relate to-being in this field for a long time, getting burned out, leaving, and trying to find your way back through a better way. She talks about the idea behind AVTS, how she got it started and then grew the business, all the way up t...
Oct 28, 2024•1 hr 3 min•Ep. 187
Happy National Veterinary Technician Week! We wanted to share this article we found on LinkedIn (via Liz Hughston) about Vet Tech Week. It's an interesting stance on the subject. Give it a read and let us know what you think! https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/i-stand-against-vet-tech-week-meagan-parks-sjcwe/?trackingId=AlLEd73mSeKS4O8Y1fSdQQ%3D%3D...
Oct 15, 2024•45 min•Ep. 186
Caffeinators, can you believe the Vet Tech Cafe has been open for FIVE years? As we embark on year 6, we're still going strong and we plan to bring you great episodes every other week. As always, we're starting year 6 with our good friend Liz Hughston. She's been a huge supporter of ours since we hatched this crazy scheme of a podcast, and we've been so fortunate to kick off each year with her on our show. It's always great to check in with her as she has pretty dang good pulse on what's happeni...
Oct 14, 2024•1 hr 13 min•Ep. 185
Caffeinators, do you remember a few years ago when we had Tabitha Kucera come by the Vet Tech Cafe? We had a very positive response to that episode, and SHE'S BACK! It had been 4 years since we first chatted and see all that she has accomplished since. She is doing amazing work in the behavior world and if you're not already familiar, be sure to follow her social outlets linked below and her AWESOME podcast, 'Tails from a Vet Tech'. This is an area that we think ALL of us can better incorporate ...
Sep 30, 2024•1 hr 10 min•Ep. 182
Coming to you "live" from the St Louis Grand Marriot Hotel for our post IVECCS Taproom. Were you there? Tell us what you loved about IVECCS this year. If you want to see this episode on YouTube, here is the link: https://www.youtube.com/live/YA6XJ558Xd4?si=jXBUaan_OYjG9SKv
Sep 17, 2024•23 min•Ep. 184
Caffeinators, we've talked A LOT about what good leadership and management looks like. And this episode with Lynn Blake is another peak into that world. There was some fascinating discussion in this episode, and some real life examples of what supporting your team looks like and what it can look like to actually be supported by management. This episode is a call to all veterinary practices to look inward and evaluate your processes and procedures and protocols and how those affect your team. We ...
Sep 16, 2024•1 hr 4 min•Ep. 183
Caffeinators, we're going International again! IVECCS is next week, so what better time to chat with Joanna Kaczmarczyk, a veterinary technician from Poland (and still credentialed as an RVN in the UK as well)! She talks about the veterinary technician profession in Poland and also compares and contrasts it to her time in the UK. She is active with PAVECC, the Polish Association of Veterinary Emergency and Critical Care, and a part of what will be the FIRST referral hospital in Poland, scheduled...
Sep 05, 2024•56 min•Ep. 180
