Episodes

Sunday Feb 23, 2020
Vet Tech Cafe - Kelsey Beth Carpenter Episode
Sunday Feb 23, 2020
Sunday Feb 23, 2020
We spoke with Kelsey Beth Carpenter for this episode of the Vet Tech Cafe. We learned about her amazing career path and how she ended up in a "unicorn practice" She told us about all the ups and downs of being a social media manager for her own pages and for drandyroark.com. Kelsey works in an "open practice" and opened our eyes to how it can be effective, rewarding, and most importantly, not scary. Finally, we discussed Uncharted Vet which is an amazing veterinary community that offers education, conferences, and collaborative support system. We had a lot of fun recording this episode and we hope you enjoy it!
Links
https://www.facebook.com/VetTechKelsey/

Sunday Feb 09, 2020
Vet Tech Cafe - Stephen Cital Episode
Sunday Feb 09, 2020
Sunday Feb 09, 2020
In this episode, we interview Stephen Cital RVT, SRA, RLAT, VCC, CVPP, VTS Lab Animal (Research Anesthetist). He has an amazing career path that has allowed him the opportunity to work with some amazing animals. Stephen is an expert in the field of veterinary cannabinoid usage and he educated us both on a lot of topics and issues we did not understand previously. We also talked about the lack of diversity in our field and what can be done to improve upon it. We had a great time recording this interview with him and we hope you enjoy it as much as we did.
Links:
https://www.veterinaryanesthesianerds.com/
https://www.ellevetsciences.com/
https://www.facebook.com/groups/MCVMA/
https://www.facebook.com/groups/VetCannAcad/

Sunday Jan 26, 2020
Vet Tech Cafe - Amanda Hedman episode
Sunday Jan 26, 2020
Sunday Jan 26, 2020
In this episode of the Vet Tech Cafe, we interviewed Amanda Hedman BS, RVT, MPh. Amanda works with World Vets, an organization that brings veterinary care to countries all over the globe. She told us all the great things she's been able to do with World Vets as well as her experiences with her training and consulting business "Black Sheep Teaching"
Links:
World Vets: https://worldvets.org/
RAVS: https://www.ruralareavet.org/
Vet Bloom: https://vetbloom.com/
If you'd like to get in touch with Amanda about Black Sheep Teaching, email us at vettechcafe@gmail.com and we will get you in touch with her.

Saturday Jan 18, 2020
Vet Tech Taproom Episode 2
Saturday Jan 18, 2020
Saturday Jan 18, 2020
In this episode of the Vet Tech Taproom, we discuss a recent article published in the December issue of Today’s Veterinary Business titled “5 Things You Didn’t Learn In School” by Sandy Walsh, RVT, CVPM, link available below. We discussed each of these 5 points and why they are important to veterinary technicians and nurses.
We also spent a lot of time discussing the proposed fee increase of RVT licensing in California. We urge all California RVT’s to write a letter in opposition to this massive fee increase. Below is a link to the California RVT association’s facebook post about the fee increase. You DO NOT have to be a resident of California, nor hold an RVT license in that state to have your opinion heard. It’s important to note that any letter must be sent to BOTH the CA VMB and the OAL (email and street addresses below).
Links:
5 things article: https://todaysveterinarybusiness.com/5-things-technicians-didnt-learn-in-school/
California RVT Assosciation Post: https://www.facebook.com/CaRVTA/posts/2403839196388554?__tn__=K-R
California VMB: www.vmb.ca.gov
California RVT Associations: www.carvta.com
Emails to send letters:
VMB - Moneel.Singh@dca.ca.gov
OAL - staff@oal.ca.gov

Sunday Jan 12, 2020
Vet Tech Cafe Liza Rudolph Episode
Sunday Jan 12, 2020
Sunday Jan 12, 2020
We interviewed Liza Rudolph BAS, RVT, VTS (C/P, SAIM) for this latest episode of the Vet Tech Cafe. We discussed an article proposing to create a veterinary nursing associate (VNA). She gave us a peek into the training that she does at various veterinary clinics on the east coast. We also talked about QPR training, which is a really helpful tool in suicide prevention.
Links:
East Coast Veterinary Education
https://eastcoastveterinaryeducation.com/
QPR Training
The largest commercially available Lego set

Sunday Jan 05, 2020
Vet Tech Taproom Episode 1
Sunday Jan 05, 2020
Sunday Jan 05, 2020
This is our very first installation of the Vet Tech Taproom where it will just be us chatting about topics we've come across that we want to discuss amongst ourselves. In our first episode, we introduce the series and discuss what it means to be "Veterinary Influencers".
The link to the article:
https://drandyroark.com/im-a-veterinary-influencer-and-guess-what-you-are-too/

Sunday Dec 29, 2019
Vet Tech Cafe - Ed Carlson Interview
Sunday Dec 29, 2019
Sunday Dec 29, 2019
In this episode, we interview Ed Carlson, CVT, VTS (Nutrition). Ed is the Director of Technician Learning and Development for Ethos Veterinary Health which spans over 25 hospitals throughout the nation. He is the President Elect for NAVTA and serves on multiple NAVTA committees including the Veterinary Nurse Initiative workgroup. He was also the NAVTA Veterinary Technician of the year in 2019
Along with getting a look into Ed's career path, we had a great discussion about the Veterinary Nurse Initiative that has lately been a very debated topic. We also discussed the AVMA's Veterinary Technician Utilization Task Force which Ed is a part of.
We hope you enjoy this final episode of 2019!
Links:
To learn more about the National Association of Veterinary Technicians in America, go to: https://www.navta.net/
To learn more about the Veterinary Nurse Initiative, go to: http://veterinarynurse.org/
To learn more about the AVMA Veterianry Technician Task force, go to: https://www.avma.org/blog/board-update-avma-establishes-veterinary-technician-task-force

Sunday Dec 15, 2019
Vet Tech Cafe - David Liss Interview
Sunday Dec 15, 2019
Sunday Dec 15, 2019
On this episode of the Vet Tech Cafe, Dave and Jeff interview David Liss. David has an incredibly rich and diverse background in the field of veterinary technology. David holds an Associate’s Degree in Veterinary Technology, a Bachelor’s in Sociology, and a Master’s in Biomedical Science. He is double boarded in emergency/critical care and small animal internal medicine. He has a diverse background in emergency and critical care nursing in addition to being a certified veterinary practice manager (CVPM) and professional in human resources (PHR). David currently is the director of operations for Amerivet in Los Angeles, and runs his own consulting business: Veterinary Training and Consulting, Inc.
We had a great discussion about the abstracts that were announced recently looking at burnout and medical errors. David now being on the management side had some great ideas and thoughts on how we can improve these things. His experience as both a technician and as a hospital manager gives him a unique perspective on how veterinary teams interact and grow together. We also talked about veterinary technician education and how we can advance our profession. Hope you enjoy this episode!
Link to Abstracts: https://rdcu.be/bXsWj The abstracts we discussed are on pages 7 and 8
Link to Masters Program: https://online.missouri.edu/degreeprograms/veterinary-medicine/biomedical-sciences/masters/
Link to David's Website: https://www.davidlissrvt.com/

Sunday Dec 01, 2019
Vet Tech Cafe - Liz Hughston Interview
Sunday Dec 01, 2019
Sunday Dec 01, 2019
In this episode, we interviewed Liz Hughston MEd., RVT, CVT, LVT, VTS (SAIM, ECC), Certified Veterinary Cannabis Counselor. Liz is involved in many amazing projects in the veterinary field but we wanted to focus on her involvement in the Not One More Vet Support Staff movement. Crisis prevention and suicide prevention is something that fits into our podcast mission of discussing issues that greatly impact veterinary technicians. We felt it was important to have this discussion now to start tackling the tough issues. We’ve also included some contact information that Liz provided for getting in touch with these organizations that can help with these issues.
- 4 Eyes Save Lives: https://drandyroark.com/what-do-we-do-about-suicide/
- Not One More Vet, Inc.: https://www.nomv.org/
- Not One More Vet Support Staff: https://www.facebook.com/groups/NOMVSupportStaff
- *must message proof of employment in a veterinary clinic/hospital (or a copy of a current veterinary technician license) to https://www.facebook.com/NOMVSSMembership
- National Suicide Prevention Hotline: 1-800-273-TALK (8255)
- Crisis Lifeline: Text "HERE" or "HOME" to 741741

Sunday Nov 17, 2019
Vet Tech Cafe - Jeff Backus Interview
Sunday Nov 17, 2019
Sunday Nov 17, 2019
In this episode, Dave will interview Jeff. This will be our second and final "warm up" episode where we interview each other. We're getting better at editing, interviewing all while trying to give our listeners an idea of where we come from and why we're making this podcast for you. We'll hear about Jeff's path from Veterinary Assistant all the way up to being a VTS in Emergency and Critical Care. Jeff will talk about how he got into speaking at conferences, who inspires him as a technician, and his take on the direction our field is headed. Grab yourself a coffee, sit back, and enjoy your stay at the Vet Tech Cafe!