Liz Barton, founder of WellVet, has had the privilege of experiencing the full breadth of veterinary medicine throughout her career. This has not only enriched her professional journey but also given her a deep awareness of the challenges within the field.

She has previously joined us as a guest to discuss her work with Well Vet, an initiative aimed at connecting mothers in the profession and creating a strong support network. Now, as she enters what she calls the "Twilight of Motherhood," Liz has become passionate about supporting women through menopause and perimenopause. Given that veterinary medicine is predominantly a female-driven profession, this issue has never been more urgent.

Three out of four women will experience negative symptoms related to menopause, whether physical or psychological, which can impact both their relationships and overall health. For those who do not experience severe symptoms, the risk of increased health complications remains significant. Liz highlights these statistics and many other compelling reasons why women's health advocacy is crucial across all industries.

To address this, Liz has created a comprehensive, FREE resource designed to offer support. This includes information and practical advice presented in accessible, bite-sized videos. The content is grounded in the pillars of lifestyle medicine, breathwork and yoga techniques, as well as the neuropsychology of hormones.

Liz hopes to lead the way for the veterinary industry—and all industries—to take women's health seriously, providing the necessary education and support for every woman in the workplace.

What’s Inside:

• A problem facing a majority of the veterinary workforce.
• What effects can women experiencing menopause and perimenopause have at work and in the world?
• What are women facing during menopause and perimenopause?
• Blazing the trail for advocacy in women’s health.

Mentioned In This Episode:

WellVet
Full Circle Lab
Crystal Stokes on LinkedIn

Dr. Ruthanne Chun and Dr. Laura Garrett, both veterinary oncologists and professors, emphasize the transformative power of intentional communication in veterinary medicine. With years of experience training students and professionals, they’ve discovered that effective communication is as vital as medical skills.

Unlike humans, animals can’t express their needs directly, so veterinarians must bridge that gap with pet owners. Drs. Chun and Garrett define intentional communication as the practice of engaging with a mindset of “What can I do to build this relationship?” This approach is personal, requires self-awareness, and helps even seasoned clinicians build trust and rapport.

One common challenge is using closed-ended questions, which can feel like an interrogation. Instead, relationship-centered questions foster understanding and create bonds. Core skills include empathy, open-ended inquiry, reflective listening, and attention to nonverbal cues. Additional techniques—like pausing, chunking information, and signposting—help create a supportive environment where clients feel seen and heard.

Dr. Garrett demonstrates these skills through a scenario with an upset client, showing how empathy, open-ended questions, and reflective listening can defuse tension and improve communication. Dr. Chun highlights how each technique contributes to building trust and making challenging situations manageable.

Both emphasize that these skills can be learned gradually, one at a time. Even empathy, they note, can be developed through practice. For those interested in workshops, Drs. Chun and Garrett are available at ruthanne.chun@wisc.edu and garrett1@illinois.edu.

What’s Inside:

• What is intentional communication?
• How can closed-ended questions cause communication difficulties?
• Is it possible to learn empathy?
• The core skills for relationship-centered communications.
• Tools and skills for enhancing client and patient care.

Mentioned In This Episode:

Teaching Cultural Humility and Implicit Bias to Veterinary Medical Students: A Review and Recommendation for Best Practices
Experiences of empathy training in healthcare: A systematic review of qualitative studies
Didactic and Experiential Training to Teach Communication Skills: The University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Veterinary Medicine Collaborative Experience
Communication identity in veterinary medicine: a grounded theory approach
Coaching and Feedback: Enhancing Communication Teaching and Learning in Veterinary Practice Settings
Full Circle Lab
Crystal Stokes on LinkedIn

When Greg Bishop, a veterinarian, writer, and cartoonist, first learned nonviolent communication in veterinary medicine, it transformed how he dealt with difficult clients. What once felt like a precarious challenge became an opportunity to turn clients from ferocious lions into purring kitties.

Nonviolent communication is about staying aware of your own emotions during interactions. As Greg says, "Keep it Vertical." Acknowledge that "I have needs, you have needs—let’s work together to meet them." This mindset protects you from harmful comments, allowing you to stay focused on helping the client.

Greg shares real-life stories, including one where he took over a case involving a critically ill puppy. The client’s first phone call started with a tirade of complaints. Instead of getting triggered, Greg paused and thought, What does she need? By coaching the client to stay calm, he helped the team deliver life-saving care.

New to nonviolent communication? Greg suggests:

• Be patient and understanding
• Be as self-confident as possible
• Stay aware of your feelings and emotions

Clear communication and emotional awareness are key. If you listen, your client will tell you what matters to them, creating a richer experience for both of you.

You can follow Greg’s cartoons, blog, and more at his website, Sasquatch Paw.

What’s Inside:

• What is nonviolent communication?
• Steps to get started with nonviolent communication techniques.
• How nonviolent communication can impact client cases.
• Being emotionally self-aware and listening can tell you all you need to know right away.

Mentioned In This Episode:
Sasquatch Paw
Full Circle Lab
Crystal Stokes on LinkedIn

Dr. Glenn Robinson is a clinical coach and consultant who supports veterinary leaders, especially with clinic finances. Often, leaders are hesitant to discuss money, but finances play a crucial role in supporting your staff. Whether you’re experiencing a downturn in clients, facing equipment expenses, or looking to give your team a raise, being open and candid about clinic financials can help leaders put a plan in place to use money as the TOOL that it is.

Debunking Myths and Red Flags in Clinic Financials:

• Money is a dirty word: The biggest mistake is avoiding conversations about finances—especially about setting goals.
• Working harder = more money: Initially, yes, but over time it can lead to burnout and create other problems that may actually result in financial loss.
• Increasing prices, seeing more pets, and keeping costs low: These three common “levers” aren’t the real answer. Understanding clinic financials is more nuanced than that.

Finances aren’t just a leadership issue. When you get everyone involved in the financial goals, you can motivate the team to buy in and take ownership of the clinic's success. Dr. Glenn shares excellent examples of how to provide thorough, thoughtful care while compensating for lost revenue. It’s a win for both the client and the clinic—better care almost always correlates with better financials.

What’s Inside:

• How can clinic leaders get there team involved in clinic financials?
• How clinic finances impact your staff and clients.
• 3 “Myths” about clinic financials.
• Why better care equals better financials.

Mentioned In This Episode:
Southwest Veterinary Solutions
Dr. Glenn Robinson on LinkedIn
Full Circle Lab
Crystal Stokes on LinkedIn

Dr. Jennifer Edwards has lived what I call a full-circle life, combining her passions for conscious leadership and veterinary medicine. Before addressing how to "wake up" in your life, we explore the concept of living on autopilot—a condition affecting many. Jennifer describes the symptoms as dissatisfaction, feeling stuck, disempowerment, and a resignation to a “sucky life.” We dissect the disempowering phrase, “it is what it is.”

But what if you reject that mindset? What if you connect with yourself, wake up to your life, and realize you have a conscious choice? This is the heart of our conversation: taking responsibility for your life and every choice you make. Jennifer highlights the obstacles that often prevent people from embracing this—energy blocks (limiting beliefs) and guilt (imagined consequences of our choices).

Authenticity and responsibility are gifts, not only to yourself but to others. By seeking help, whether through a coach, therapy, or self-improvement books, you empower yourself to navigate challenges. Responsibility doesn’t just solve problems—it defines your life, placing your happiness firmly in your own hands instead of others'.

What’s Inside:

• Taking accountability and responsibility for the choices in your life.
• Obstacles and barriers to making conscious choices.
• How taking responsibility for our lives can impact everyone around us.

Mentioned In This Episode:
Dr. Jennifer Edwards
Book a Free Connection Call
Free e-book "3 Keys to Rediscovering Joy and Happiness in Your Life and Career"
Full Circle Lab
Crystal Stokes, MA, LMFT - Full Circle Lab | LinkedIn

Are you entering a leadership position? Today, Dr. Sarah Gillings shares her leadership development journey and offers insights on how others stepping into leadership can make their desired impact.

Dr. Sarah gets right into the basics. Before you become a leader, you really don’t know what you don’t know. She reminds us that people pay much more attention to you than you realize, and your influence is significant. What you model will be echoed throughout your team. Additionally, you need to set explicit expectations for “The Bar,” AKA the minimum effort you expect from your team.

We discuss the importance of supporting your team in taking on more than just basic skills. By aiding in their advancement and not making assumptions about what they can handle, you can provide a sense of agency and growth in their careers—something critical to job satisfaction. Dr. Sarah provides a great example of training by scaffolding knowledge and expertise.

Communication style is another important factor that Dr. Sarah discusses. As team members step into leadership roles, whether you're a hospital manager or a DVM, providing what we call a “Leader Operating Manual” for your team can be extremely valuable. While it does take work and requires setting aside your ego, letting your team know what makes you tick and what you expect can create a consistent and comfortable work environment.

What’s Inside:

• What should you know as a new leader?
• How leaders influence their team.
• Communication matters when it comes to leading your team.
• Supporting your team with advancement and agency.

Mentioned In This Episode:
Sarah Gillings on LinkedIn
Full Circle Lab
Crystal Stokes on LinkedIn

We are operating in a time where diverse generations like the Baby Boomers, Gen X, and Millennials, and even some Gen Z, are working together in one clinic. These individuals come with varying backgrounds, lifestyles, and lived experiences that all impact the way they work. Dr. Craig Clifford joins me with his perspective as an overworking, burnout-prone Gen X.

Dr. Clifford explains the mindset shift that has had to occur as younger generations bring in the value of self-care and quality of life over productivity and higher income. Older generations may be quick to point the finger and claim these younger generations “aren’t hard workers,” but with veterinary suicides at such a high rate, it poses the thought that maybe we all should be focusing on work-life balance a little more.

So how can you bridge that gap in your practice?

1. Create connections outside the clinic—get to know your peers and see them for more than just their position at work.
2. Pair up—when it comes to CEs, get those diverse generations together to share their different views and work together.
3. Workshops—sometimes it can be fun to get talking about the elephant in the room; be intentional about talking about the unique benefits your generation brings to the clinic.

Dr. Clifford shares some of these tips and more insight on why every generation is important in the clinic and how even more powerful it is when we work together.

What’s Inside:

• How can such diverse generations work together?
• The pros and cons of each generation?
• Tips to use in your practice to create cohesion in the age gap.

Mentioned In This Episode:
Craig Clifford on Facebook
Craig Clifford on LinkedIn
Craig Clifford (@oncvet22) on Instagram
The Boy Who Wanted To be A Veterinarian: Conor's Journey
Full Circle Lab
Crystal Stokes on LinkedIn

Today I am joined by Tedd Trabert and Dr. Bill Wagner of Associated Veterinary Partners. AVP is a veterinarian-founded and veterinarian-operated network of veterinary hospitals, managing 16 partner practice locations across 12 states in the U.S. Unlike many others, AVP is not controlled by private equity; all partner locations are co-owned by AVP and local practice leaders. This unique partnership model allows AVP to combine the strengths of both independent and corporate ownership, providing resources and support to partner practices while maintaining their local culture, values, and medical autonomy.

‘Love What You Do Again, Join AVP’ is a slogan Tedd uses as a hallmark of the heart of AVP and what it's like to work with them. We discuss how they provide hope to the new generation of vets, putting ownership in their grasp. Working with AVP as a partner involves putting culture and relationships at the forefront of the practice while their team supports you in finding your voice as a leader. Dr. Wagner explains the autonomous process of working with AVP, along with having access to support and guidance as you grow your confidence. This is truly a new opportunity for all in the vet med industry.

Those interested in learning more about AVP can visit yourvetpartner.com. AVP welcomes connections with current practice owners planning their practice transition, aspiring practice owners interested in co-ownership opportunities with AVP, and veterinary team members seeking roles at one of the partner practices or at the AVP Success Center.

What’s Inside:

• What kind of partnership does AVP offer?
• A new option for veterinarians in practice leadership.
• Support AND autonomy in practice ownership.
• Keeping the entrepreneurial spirit alive with the new generation of vets.

Mentioned In This Episode:

Associated Veterinary Partners
Full Circle Lab
Crystal Stokes on LinkedIn