VPN Plus+ ExclusiveTech Talk: The healing power of hobbiesNovember 20, 2025By Beckie Mossor, RVTThe industry discusses “work-life balance,” but maybe that is not the right metaphor. Balance implies equal weight, a delicate scale constantly tipping. What if instead the goal was integration, bringing one’s whole self to work and life outside of it?
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VPN Plus+ Exclusive'How' (not 'will') AI replaces veterinariansNovember 12, 2025By Patty Khuly, VMD, MBAMuch virtual ink has been spilled on the subject of AI’s threat to our professions. Whether we’re discussing computer engineering, accounting, or the allied medical professions, the promise of change is upon us. Artificial intelligence has substantially changed us already. The question is: Will it merely alter our job descriptions…or pull the rug out from under us altogether?
VPN Plus+ ExclusiveTech Talk: 90-day playbook to change your practiceOctober 23, 2025By Beckie Mossor, MPA, RVTKeep tests “small, reversible, and observable.” As teams become more flexible with change, it may be successful to run two micro-experiments to examine potential solutions. This also helps teams become critical of assessing what works as much as what does not.
VPN Plus+ ExclusiveFrom Marlboro Men to Barbie pink: the gender flip in vet medSeptember 17, 2025By Patty Khuly, VMD, MBAWe all know it’s true: Some clients won’t take advice from women the same way they would from men. Within the profession, gender balance might even help alleviate burnout: With more diverse problem-solving approaches, team dynamics improve, and everyone’s burden gets lifted.
VPN Plus+ ExclusiveTech Talk: No seat at the table causes real harmAugust 28, 2025By Beckie Mossor, MPA, RVTn the case of complaints and discipline hearings, credentialed veterinary technicians are faced with the opinion of only one of their peers, unlike veterinarians, who are judged by a panel of their peers. This imbalance or complete lack of representation disrupts true advocacy and further entrenches a system where credentialed technicians are seen as subordinate rather than collaborative professionals.
VPN Plus+ ExclusiveTech Talk: Why 'veterinary technician' deserves protection—now more than everJuly 23, 2025By Beckie Mossor, MPA, RVTNAVTA President on why "veterinary technician" title protection is not a superficial concern: Title misuse impacts patient safety, public trust, professional retention, and ultimately, the sustainability of veterinary healthcare teams. If we, those who hold the credential do not protect, respect, and correctly use our own title within veterinary culture, how can we expect pet owners, legislators, or even our peers in human healthcare to understand its meaning and importance?
VPN Plus+ ExclusiveWe don't like mutts, and I cannot lieJuly 10, 2025By Patty Khuly, VMD, MBAYou know this is true: The purebred bias is our profession’s dirty little secret. We love our purebreds for lots of reasons, but if we are honest, we know it is because they make our profession what it is today—lucrative, for sure, but also challenging and exciting. Nothing satisfies my inner nerd like a Norwegian Forest cat from the Ukraine with all his IBD, cardiomyopathy, and LPLs.
VPN Plus+ ExclusiveTop 10 life hacks for veterinarians courtesy of an AI botMay 29, 2025By Patty Khuly, VMD, MBANo tool has afforded me so many insta-hacks as ChatGPT. This and other AI bot-based tools are every industry’s most conspicuous work hacks, but they’re still undoubtedly under-leveraged—especially in red med. In fact, I can promise if you are not using it every day you are definitely missing out.
VPN Plus+ ExclusiveTech Talk: NAVTA surveys say some things change, some stay the sameMay 22, 2025By Beckie Mossor, MPA, RVTThe National Association of Veterinary Technicians in America (NAVTA) 2024 Demographic Survey provides an opportunity to better understand the current veterinary technician landscape and a valuable opportunity to compare the profession’s evolution since the 2022 survey.
VPN Plus+ ExclusiveBig vet energy, fading fastApril 24, 2025By Patty Khuly, VMD, MBAThe only photo I have on my desk at work is one a classmate snapped during my field service rotation 30 years ago last month. Dinosaur that I am, it was one of those pictures you print at the drugstore photo lab in doubles to give away to your new colleagues at graduation. In it, I'm cradling a Pygmy goat kid…and I'm beaming. It exudes "big vet energy" in the best way possible. Everyone has a picture like that—one that captures their veterinary essence in peak bloom. It represents the moment you first recognized yourself as a real veterinarian. It says, "This is what I am. This is what I do. I was made for this." If your version of this picture isn't already on your desk, it probably should be. It will keep you grounded and inspired, humbled yet exultant. When things go wrong, it'll soothe you to recall why you made the choices you did. When everything's just as you think it should be, it will boost your mood all the more. Ironically, though, it is this photo that made me realize I was ready to end my career as I knew it. Sitting at my desk, crunching …
