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The Vet Vault: Fall In Love With Veterinary Science

The Vet Vault: Fall In Love With Veterinary Science

Written by: Dr. Hubert Hiemstra
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 Vet life can be tough—but it’s also good. So, how do we make it even better? Join inspiring conversations with veterinary trailblazers who share real stories, fresh ideas, and strategies to help the talented, passionate humans (like you!) who make up the veterinary profession thrive—in work and in life. Hosted by Dr. Hubert Hiemstra, a veterinarian with over 20 years of experience and a passion for helping vets build happier, more fulfilling careers. Hubert brings warmth, curiosity, and a knack for asking the right questions, creating a space where the best ideas in vet med come to life.Dr. Hubert Hiemstra Careers Economics Personal Success
Episodes
  • 158: Psychological Safety For Vets: Why The Job Might Need Fixing, Not The People. With Dr Rebecca Faris

    158: Psychological Safety For Vets: Why The Job Might Need Fixing, Not The People. With Dr Rebecca Faris
    Apr 22 2026
    "Maybe we're just picking the wrong people to be vets."You've probably heard some version of that line. Maybe you've even said it. 'The new grads can't cope. The younger generation is too soft. If this profession isn't working for you, maybe the profession isn't the problem - maybe you are.'But what if that's the wrong conversation entirely? Maybe it's not the people who need to change - but the job itself.That's the question at the heart of this conversation with Dr Rebecca Faris, the lead of the Australian Veterinary Association's Thrive programme - an industry attempt to figure out how we make veterinary medicine a profession people can actually stay in and enjoy.You'll learn:Why a full-time working week in veterinary medicine probably shouldn't be 40 hours - and the official position from Safe Work Australia that will surprise youThe difference between psychological safety and psychosocial safety (one is a vibe, the other is the law - and if you own a practice in Australia, you need to know which is which)What the new psychosocial safety legislation actually requires of practice owners Why "playing to your strengths" isn't the same as avoiding the hard stuff - and how to have that conversation with your employer without sounding like you're asking for special treatmentThe invisible emotional labour tax you're paying on every consult - and why recognising it changes everythingWhat genuinely great veterinary workplaces are doing differently, and why the "squeaky wheel" narrative is drowning out stories of practices that are getting it rightWhy "I can't hack full-time" might not mean there's something wrong with you - and the self-compassion case for rethinking what a sustainable vet career actually looks likeHow to get involved in shaping the future of this profession instead of quietly checking outIf you've ever felt wrecked at the end of a perfectly normal day and wondered whether it was you or the job - this one's for you.Resources mentioned:The Thrive Programme and 2025 Wellbeing Survey: ava.com.au/thriveCultivating Safe Teams training (AVA)2026 Thrive Wellness Symposium at the AVA Conference, Brisbane, 19 May 2026Safe Work Australia - psychosocial hazards guidanceThis episode is not an ad. We're not paid to feature Thrive or the AVA - we just think this is a conversation the profession needs to be having. If you've got thoughts, pushback, or your own story about thriving (or not) in practice, drop us a line at info@thevetvault.com.For our clinical content, show notes, and our full back catalogue, head to thevetvault.com. While you're there, check out our subscriber-only clinical podcast, our newsletter, and come and hang out with us in real life at Vets On Tour.00:52 Rethinking the 40-Hour Workweek03:03 Flexibility and Job Crafting04:57 Are We Picking the Wrong People?06:05 Playing to Strengths vs Business Needs12:39 Psychological vs Psychosocial Safety15:55 The New Laws: Employer Obligations17:51 Identifying Psychosocial Hazards20:40 Cultivating Safe Teams Training24:45 Workload and Emotional Labor32:34 Vets on Tour Break34:27 Should Full-Time Be 30 Hours?36:12 Inside the Thrive Initiative39:31 Mental Health First Aid41:35 Empathy for Difficult Clients44:13 Wins and Optimism46:27 How to Access Thrive51:27 Closing Advice: Get Engaged
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    54 mins
  • 157: Tech Tools for Vets 2: AI-Powered Learning with StudyAnything. With Hasitha Jayatilake

    157: Tech Tools for Vets 2: AI-Powered Learning with StudyAnything. With Hasitha Jayatilake
    Apr 8 2026

    You know that feeling: exam time is looming. You've spent three days making flashcards and highlighting your notes, but you haven't even started actually studying yet...

    Whether you're a vet student drowning in slide decks, a membership candidate juggling articles and notes, or a resident trying to jam an impossible volume of clinical knowledge into your skull - the way most of us study is, frankly, not backed by the science. Which is why you might need a little help from technology:

    In part two of our Tech Tools for Vets series, software engineer Hasitha Jayatilake joins me to walk you through StudyAnything - an AI-powered study tool that generates quizzes from your notes, tracks your weak spots over time, and builds guided learning pathways based on Bloom's hierarchy of learning. (By the way - he built this tool because he couldn’t bare watching his vet student partner making Anki cards at 2am!)

    What you'll learn:

    • How active recall and spaced repetition actually work - and why highlighting your notes is basically doing nothing
    • What Bloom's hierarchy means for your study plan - and how Study Anything uses it to move you from rote recall to clinical application
    • StudyAnything’s guided learning pathway feature (just gone live) - that turns your uploaded notes into a structured lesson plan with concept maps, assumed knowledge, and motivational context
    • How the community feature works - study groups, shared question banks, and what this means for educators (or podcast hosts!) who want to create resources
    • How to generate harder questions on demand - using learning outcomes and difficulty levels to get yourself on the honours roll
    • What makes this different from Notebook LM or other AI tools

    This episode includes screen sharing, so if you want to follow along, watch the video on Spotify. If you prefer audio only, you'll still get 99% of the value.

    The team at StudyAnything are giving Vet Vault listeners the opportunity to try out their top tier subscription (LOTS of quizzes!) with code VETVAULT at studyanything.academy for 50% off your first month on the paid plan. That's about $3.50 to give it a proper test run.

    Note: This episode isn't a promotion, endorsement or an ad - it's part of our ongoing series exploring the tools you might be considering. If you have a software you'd like us to look at, let me know at info@thevetvault.com

    Go to ⁠⁠⁠thevetvault.com⁠⁠ for show notes, access to our clinical continuing education content and to sign up for our weekly 'best of the Vet Vault' ⁠newsletter,⁠ or join us in person at one of our phenomenal ⁠Vets On Tour conferences. ⁠ (Look out for our upcoming New Zealand, Italy and Africa conferences.)


    Topics and Timestamps

    3:26 Active Recall & The Science of Studying

    4:06 How StudyAnything Works - Uploading & Courses

    7:57 Bloom's Hierarchy & Learning Outcomes

    9:53 Ad Break - Vets on Tour

    11:24 Quiz Demo

    19:28 Guided Learning Pathway

    20:15 File Summary, Concept Maps & Key Terms

    29:10 Study Groups & Communities

    31:02 Comparison with Notebook LM & Competitors

    32:32 Spaced Repetition & Future Features

    37:29 Pricing

    39:48 Deep Dive: Navigating the Dashboard

    41:00 Deep Dive: Creating & Customising Quizzes
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    58 mins
  • A New Direction for the Vet Vault? Help Shape What Comes Next

    A New Direction for the Vet Vault? Help Shape What Comes Next
    Mar 25 2026

    Is our podcast getting… repetitive?


    Honest question.

    Lately, we’ve felt a growing tension behind the mic: are we just saying the same things… just with a new guest and in slightly different ways?

    Are we actually helping you? (With is after all the point of this podcast)

    In this short solo episode, I ask a few questions that I’d love your input on.

    We want to rebuild this with you. This is your invite.


    Feedback to info@thevetvault.com, or at our contact form on the website, or hit me up in the comments on Spotify.
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    5 mins
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