Vet Med Wellness + Leadership

#101: Compassion Satisfaction During Busy Season with Senani Ratnayake

Busy season in veterinary medicine can bring more than packed schedules and longer days. It can also heighten the negativity bias many veterinary professionals already carry into the workplace. In this episode, Senani Ratnayake joins me for a thoughtful conversation about how negativity, perfectionism, and emotional overwhelm quietly shape team culture and individual wellbeing, especially during high-stress seasons. Together, we explore the powerful relationship between negativity bias and confirmation bias and how quickly teams can spiral into patterns of dread, frustration, and emotional exhaustion when those patterns go unchecked. Senani shares why veterinary professionals are particularly vulnerable to focusing on what went wrong rather than recognizing the many moments of success, connection, and impact that happen throughout the day. The conversation introduces the concept of compassion satisfaction as a meaningful counterbalance to burnout, empathic distress, and compassion fatigue. Rather than dismissing the emotional weight of veterinary medicine, Senani explains how intentionally noticing moments of purpose, contribution, and teamwork can help restore emotional capacity and resilience. She outlines three practical ways veterinary teams can begin strengthening compassion satisfaction: sharing positive stories, resisting the urge to take meaningful moments for granted, and reframing daily responsibilities through the lens of what we “get” to do rather than what we “have” to do. We also discuss the deeper emotional realities of working in a helping profession, including perfectionism, self-criticism, and the challenge of carrying veterinary medicine home with us. Senani offers a refreshing perspective on work-life balance, encouraging listeners to think instead about creating a sustainable working balance that honors both professional passion and personal wellbeing. This episode is an invitation to pause, reframe, and reconnect with the meaning behind the work. Even during the busiest seasons, there are opportunities to cultivate more joy, gratitude, and emotional sustainability within veterinary medicine. What’s Inside: * How negativity bias and confirmation bias shape veterinary team culture * Why compassion satisfaction is a critical protective factor against burnout * Three practical ways to cultivate more positivity and emotional resilience at work * A healthier perspective on work-life balance within veterinary medicine  Mentioned in this Episode: Senani Ratnayake on LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/senani-ratnayake-bsc-rvt-49939110/] Motivatum Consulting Website [http://www.imotivatum.com/] Motivatum Consulting Facebook Page [https://www.facebook.com/motivatumconsulting] Kristin Neff Tedx Talk – The Space Between Self-Esteem and Self-Compassion [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IvtZBUSplr4] Professional Quality of Life Tool [https://proqol.org/compassion-satisfaction] Vet Alliance [http://www.vetalliance.ca/] Vet Med Wellness and Leadership Podcast [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/vet-med-wellness-leadership/id1622113993] Full Circle Lab [https://fullcirclelab.com/] Crystal Stokes on LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/crystalstokes/]

#100: Fixing Clinical Recruiting in Vet Med with Savanna Tracy

Veterinary leaders are feeling the pressure when it comes to recruiting right now, and for many, it feels like no matter how much effort goes in, the right candidates just aren’t sticking. In this episode, Savanna Tracy joins me to explore what’s really happening in today’s hiring landscape and how practices can shift their approach to build stronger, more sustainable teams. Drawing on her experience in multi-site operations and leadership development, Savanna breaks down the current state of the industry and why the challenge hasn’t disappeared, it’s simply evolved. While staffing shortages may look different than they did a few years ago, the strain has moved upstream into how we recruit, engage, and retain our people. She explains why recruiting and retention are no longer separate conversations, but part of the same strategy that begins the moment a candidate first interacts with your practice. Savanna shares practical insights into what today’s candidates are actually looking for and how leaders can better meet those expectations. From speed and consistency in communication to transparency about the realities of the practice, she highlights the importance of building trust early. The conversation also explores how helping candidates envision their life within the practice, not just their role, can be a powerful differentiator in a competitive hiring market. We also dive into one of the most overlooked opportunities in leadership: onboarding. Savanna explains why the first 90 days are critical in shaping confidence, connection, and long-term retention. With thoughtful structure, clear expectations, and intentional support, onboarding can shift from a reactive process to a powerful retention strategy. She leaves listeners with a clear reminder that culture is not defined by intention, but by the experience a new hire has from day one. What’s Inside: * Why recruiting and retention must be approached as one unified strategy * How transparency and communication build trust with today’s candidates * The role of candidate experience in standing out in a competitive market * Why structured onboarding is key to long-term retention  Mentioned in this Episode: Veterinarians : Occupational Outlook Handbook: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics [https://www.bls.gov/ooh/healthcare/veterinarians.htm#tab-6] 2026 State of General Practice Veterinary Care Overview [https://instinct.vet/blog/2026-state-of-general-practice-veterinary-care-overview/] Instinct Report 2024 The State of Emergency & Specialty Veterinary Care [https://instinct.vet/news/instinct-report-2024-state-of-er-specialty-medicine/] Vet Med Wellness and Leadership Podcast [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/vet-med-wellness-leadership/id1622113993] Full Circle Lab [https://fullcirclelab.com/]  Crystal Stokes on LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/crystalstokes/]

#099: Profit With Purpose in Vet Med with Martin Traub-Werner

Financial conversations can feel loaded in veterinary medicine. Many of us entered this profession to care for animals, not to analyze income statements. But avoiding the numbers does not protect your mission. In fact, it often increases anxiety, fuels burnout, and limits your ability to grow. In this episode, I speak with entrepreneur Martin Traub-Werner, founder of VetBooks, about why financial control is foundational to sustainable leadership. Martin shares how his work in veterinary data analytics revealed a major gap for independent practices: clear, accurate, and timely financials that truly reflect profitability. We explore the emotional side of money in vet med, including the common fear of being perceived as greedy. I offer the perspective that money is energy. When used intentionally, it becomes fuel for reinvestment, team development, better equipment, and expanded patient care. Profit is not a betrayal of purpose. It is what allows your purpose to endure. Martin also breaks down practical steps for gaining financial clarity, from committing to curiosity instead of fear to using the AAHA VMG Chart of Accounts. He emphasizes focusing on your top revenue and expense categories, where most of the meaningful change happens. If you have ever woken up at 3 a.m. worrying about payroll, rising costs, or sustainability, this conversation will remind you that your financials are not something to fear. They are a diagnostic tool. And when you understand them, you gain back control. What’s Inside: * Why avoiding your numbers increases anxiety and uncertainty * How profit can fuel your mission instead of competing with it * Practical first steps to gaining financial control in your practice * Why focusing on your top revenue and expense categories drives sustainable grow Mentioned in this Episode: Vetbooks [https://vetbooks.com/] Martin Traub-Werner on LinkedIn [https://ca.linkedin.com/in/martintw] Vet Med Wellness and Leadership Podcast [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/vet-med-wellness-leadership/id1622113993] Full Circle Lab [https://fullcirclelab.com/]  Crystal Stokes on LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/crystalstokes/]

#098: Veterinary Medicine Is Not Lost with Dr. Kathryn Miller

In this episode, I’m sharing a conversation I had with Dr. Kathryn Miller, a rural mixed animal veterinarian in Kansas who believes wholeheartedly that veterinary medicine is not lost. Instead of accepting burnout and poor wellbeing as inevitable, Kathryn shares how coaching, culture, and mindset shifts can change the trajectory of an entire career. Kathryn opens up about her own turning point with burnout after becoming a mother. What once felt manageable quickly became overwhelming, and without support, she is clear she might have left the profession altogether. Through professional coaching, she experienced a powerful mindset shift that allowed her to see she did not have to choose between being a great veterinarian and a great mom. That realization changed everything. We explore the most common traps early career veterinarians fall into, from harsh inner critics and black and white thinking to identity loss after vet school. Kathryn shares how tools like the Enneagram and structured coaching conversations help young practitioners reframe mistakes, navigate team dynamics, and build resilience instead of self-doubt. She also offers practical guidance on evaluating job opportunities, identifying red and green flags in practice culture, and learning to feel safe asking questions in those critical first years. This conversation is both honest and hopeful. Yes, veterinary medicine is hard. Yes, burnout is real. But with the right tools, support, and mindset, it does not have to define your career. Kathryn reminds us that growth requires discomfort, culture requires tending, and coaching can be a powerful catalyst for long-term wellbeing and leadership. What’s Inside: * Kathryn’s personal burnout story and the mindset shift that kept her in veterinary medicine * Common early career traps including perfectionism, identity loss, and black and white thinking * How coaching and the Enneagram create self-awareness, compassion, and stronger team communication * Red and green flags to watch for when choosing a practice and building a sustainable career Mentioned in this Episode: RKM Clinic Website [https://rockingkmvet.com/] RKMM Website [https://rkm-management.com/] Dr. Kathryn Miller on Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/drkathrynmiller/] Rocking KM Vet on Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/rockingkmvet] Rocking KM Vet - Potwin on Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/rockingkmvetpotwin/] CanvasRebel Feature [https://canvasrebel.com/meet-kathryn-miller/] Vet Med Wellness and Leadership Podcast [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/vet-med-wellness-leadership/id1622113993] Full Circle Lab [https://fullcirclelab.com/]  Crystal Stokes on LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/crystalstokes/]

#097: Caring for the Caregivers: Leadership Development and Wellness in the Veterinary Hospital

This week, I’m stepping into the guest seat on the Pawsitive Leadership Podcast with Andrea Crabtree and David Liss, and we’re going deep into something that matters to me with my whole heart: caring for the people who care for everyone else. If you’ve ever felt the weight of veterinary medicine in your bones, the kind of exhaustion that comes from showing up day after day with your whole soul, this conversation is for you. I share my full circle story, from being the kid who only ever wanted to be a veterinarian to burning out hard as an overnight ER tech to leaving vet med entirely because I thought I “didn’t have what it takes.” That pivot led me into psychotherapy, where I became a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist and learned the tools that brought me back to life. And eventually, those same tools led me right back into veterinary medicine after I was invited into a hospital that had just lost a veterinarian to suicide. That moment changed everything, and it clarified why this work is so urgently needed. We talk about why wellness is not fluff. It’s operational. Healthy, happy people make healthy profits, and when hospitals ignore that, the cost shows up everywhere: turnover, productivity, and the emotional toll carried by the team. I explain why burnout isn’t random. It’s often the predictable result of leadership structures that don’t support humans, especially when people are promoted without training and then expected to carry impossible expectations.  We also get practical. I share one of the most powerful tools I use with teams and leaders: pause, notice, and choose. It sounds simple, but it is life-changing. That moment of awareness interrupts autopilot and brings you back into alignment, so you can lead from intention instead of survival mode. Because the truth is, you cannot build a thriving hospital culture from a depleted nervous system. What’s Inside: * How my full-circle journey took me from vet tech burnout to psychotherapy and back into veterinary medicine * Why wellness is a retention strategy and a profitability strategy, not an optional perk * Two leadership mistakes that quietly sabotage hospitals: promoting without training and misaligned expectations * A simple tool to reduce stress and regain control in real time: pause, notice, and choose Mentioned: Man’s Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl [https://www.amazon.com/Mans-Search-Meaning-Viktor-Frankl/dp/0807014273] Vet Med Wellness and Leadership Podcast [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/vet-med-wellness-leadership/id1622113993] Pawsitive Leadership Podcast [https://www.pawsitiveleaders.com/] Full Circle Lab [https://fullcirclelab.com/]  Crystal Stokes on LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/crystalstokes/]