Episode Transcript
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0:08
Are you looking for positive change within veterinary
0:10
medicine ? If you want a community
0:12
that's focused on progress rather than
0:14
perfection , you're in the right place . Hey
0:17
there , I'm Dr Stacey Cordovano and
0:19
I want veterinarians to learn to be happier
0:22
, healthier , wealthier and
0:24
more grateful for the lives that we've created
0:26
. Welcome to the Whole Veterinarian
0:29
Podcast . Hey
0:35
there , welcome to another episode of Vet
0:37
Truck Confidential with my friends
0:39
Kelly Zetounian and Misty Gold . We
0:42
hope you are enjoying and finding this helpful
0:44
as we chat about life and work and all the Misty Gold . We hope you are enjoying and finding this helpful as we chat about life and
0:46
work and all the things in between . I
0:48
hope you enjoy this episode . Hi
0:55
again , ladies . How are you Doing good
0:57
? Misty's so good . She's dancing
0:59
, Okay . So glad
1:02
to have you guys here to chat again today
1:04
. I thought maybe we could talk
1:06
. Considering how busy all
1:08
of us are and how many
1:11
people in equine practice don't have some
1:13
giant team behind them , Maybe we could
1:15
talk a little bit about how
1:17
to be more efficient
1:19
in your day or just get the most
1:21
out of your day . What do you think I'm
1:24
in ? I love it , Okay . So
1:26
here's an intro
1:28
. Uh , what does your ideal
1:31
work week look like ? This is certainly
1:33
something we talk about at the SEP seminar
1:35
, but let's talk about our personally
1:37
.
1:38
My ideal work week I'm very
1:40
close to having it right now which is
1:43
, yeah , is two
1:45
days of what
1:47
we call my office time , so it's really like
1:49
time for me to get any sort of management
1:52
things done for the practice . It
1:54
also gives me time to run my own personal errands
1:56
and do consulting work , so
1:58
it's sort of a catch-all . On those days
2:00
, the days that we get to meet or
2:02
I get to meet with you all , that's really
2:04
nice . And then I do two days
2:06
of field work and
2:10
then I spend my fifth weekday
2:12
teaching at the local tech
2:14
school . So kind
2:17
of a nice mix of personal
2:19
, individual time , field time and
2:22
doing something a little bit different with my
2:24
degree .
2:26
What about family time ? Where do you
2:28
fit that in ?
2:29
I thought we were just talking about our work time . So
2:34
family time , what
2:36
I like about the days that I'm kind
2:39
of doing my office days , I get to work from
2:41
home and so I build in a
2:43
little bit of play and just seeing
2:45
Maddie with her caretaker
2:48
during that time , so that's kind of fun . It's like
2:50
I'm here but not totally
2:52
here , and then
2:54
I've worked it out so that I don't leave
2:57
before nine and I am home
2:59
by five .
3:00
Nice Mist . How about you ? Let's
3:03
see .
3:04
In this stage of life . One
3:07
of my children in particular
3:09
has I
3:12
call them special needs . So my work
3:14
time has shifted
3:17
, my work week has shifted . So any
3:19
listeners it might sound like very
3:21
little equine vet work
3:23
, but my ideal work
3:25
and what I have to do out
3:27
of necessity now is when
3:29
I'm parenting . I have
3:32
to just be parenting
3:34
Like the kids do require
3:36
that level of kind of on purpose
3:38
focus . So
3:41
my kids day , whether or not it's
3:43
school or camp starts at eight , so I
3:45
like to be able to do mom
3:47
stuff until eight when I drop
3:49
them off and then I like
3:51
to do outdoor physical
3:53
vet work in the morning . I
3:56
try to be done by 1
3:58
pm so that I can come home
4:00
and have two hours
4:02
to do any
4:04
sort of like paperwork office work
4:07
, whether that's for the practice or
4:09
for decade one or for
4:11
seps or like any of
4:13
other of the kind of vet hats
4:15
that I wear right now . That's not necessarily physical
4:18
practice . I pick my kids up at
4:20
three and then the boys are
4:22
at an age where they're a lot of fun
4:24
and they're active and I don't want to miss
4:27
out on that . So after
4:30
I picked them up from school I do not
4:32
do that work anymore
4:35
. I do baseball practice and taekwondo
4:38
and house stuff . I
4:40
play pickleball on Monday nights . That's
4:42
just for me Amazing
4:44
. Yep , I make dinner
4:47
. Those are the things that I have discovered
4:49
. When I , when I have that stuff in
4:52
order , it takes a huge
4:54
level of internal stress off of me and that's when
4:56
I feel most at peace . And
4:58
all the things that I'm doing and
5:01
my partner has a job that supports
5:03
a large portion of like our
5:05
home and life
5:07
, and so that's what works best
5:10
for us as a partnership
5:12
and for our family , so nice
5:15
that's awesome .
5:16
I don't think that you're saying it tentatively like
5:18
you feel bad
5:21
about that , but I don't think that you should . I .
5:24
I think you do actually um
5:26
I think you do feel bad about that .
5:28
I struggle with feeling
5:30
guilt , as if I'm
5:32
like not
5:35
a
5:37
real vet , I
5:40
mean that's but I don't struggle
5:42
with understanding like an accepting
5:44
that this . So I'm not
5:46
sure I think I struggle with other people's perception
5:49
of how much work that is Like
5:51
. Maybe that's not enough work , but I don't struggle
5:53
with understanding and accepting that in
5:55
this space this is the healthiest as
5:57
a person that I have felt in
6:00
a long time and we've had a rough couple
6:02
of years from just like a sandwich
6:04
generation , caretaker
6:07
of older family members and parents
6:09
and you know just a lot of stuff . But as
6:12
we discuss at SEPs , we are more than just
6:14
a veterinarian . We're whole people and this
6:16
whole people phase of my life requires a
6:19
lot more out of me than just that work
6:21
. So a
6:25
lot more out of me than just that work . So and I do have to remind myself , this is my revelation
6:28
this week I was in intense group practice for 14
6:30
years . That is not no time .
6:32
You did enough work in that time to really make that
6:34
for the next few years .
6:37
I and like that's a new revelation just
6:39
recently , like I do try to tell myself like self , you
6:41
don't have to , like you didn't jump
6:43
ship , you put
6:45
time in , you worked hard , so , like
6:47
you know , I'm not .
6:48
And I think that's that's what it's all about . Right Is
6:50
not having to fit
6:53
within a mold or
6:55
an expectation of what's been done previously
6:57
. Right , like you sort of started off saying most
7:00
people wouldn't think this , but we
7:02
know that most people
7:05
now actually want to
7:07
be working and seeing
7:09
appointments less than
7:11
they currently are . So
7:14
you are just doing it
7:16
where other people want to
7:18
start doing it . So I
7:20
think it's great and I think it's really important for people
7:23
to see and hear that , like we are not
7:25
working five days a week , six to
7:27
six , as equine
7:31
veterinarians out in the field
7:33
, and that's okay . Casey , what about you
7:35
.
7:35
Yeah , as much as I am like a proponent
7:38
of this exercise exercise
7:50
, I'm a little overdue . No , I say it every time I talk about the exercise
7:53
. It will change as your life stages change , so I am overdue on an evaluation
7:55
of my current life stage in this
7:57
. Yeah , this is the year
7:59
of no for me . I'm cutting back on
8:02
as much as humanly possible , hence
8:04
the podcast not being out in a while and
8:07
hence the podcast , you know , changing
8:09
. But
8:12
yeah , my ideal
8:14
is getting my kids
8:16
to school or camp , working
8:19
on all the different projects throughout the day
8:21
, and I am responsible
8:24
for getting them in the afternoon . So that means my
8:26
day wraps at , you know , 2.15
8:29
, 2.30 . And that's a short day
8:31
. And my ideal
8:33
is that I would get an hour
8:35
, an hour and a half additional
8:39
in the afternoon to kind of wrap up my day
8:41
. Because what I've found is , since we've
8:43
lost a nanny , just because of both kids
8:46
going into full-time school , I
8:48
used to have a nanny till about 4.30 . And
8:50
so even when I went to pick up my older
8:52
son , I dropped him to
8:54
her and I still got about an hour to
8:56
wrap up my day . And that is what
8:59
I'm finding I am missing now . So
9:01
I get kind of the same amount of stuff done but
9:03
I don't get that closure at the end of the day
9:05
. And you
9:07
know I've been noodling on how
9:09
to find it or and and currently
9:12
I'm just trying to cut things out and I'm not
9:14
sure that I love
9:16
everything that I have to cut out . I wish
9:18
there were just a little bit of extra
9:20
time in the day . And so , whether
9:22
that's exploring something like you know , additional
9:25
help just for the afternoon from from
9:27
a college student or something like that , but yeah
9:30
I'm , I'm in an exploration kind of
9:32
phase right
9:34
now because it's not currently my
9:37
ideal , but my ideal
9:40
would be to separate kind
9:42
of all that work into the middle of the day
9:44
. And then that
9:47
includes , you know , practice management , the
9:49
Cairo and other lameness
9:51
work I do , and then
9:53
of course the other projects , seps
9:55
and the whole veterinary and things like that mentor
9:58
vet . So
10:04
I also pretty strict boundaries around the end of the day , like obviously I'm on call but
10:06
and that doesn't bother me , it doesn't hurt my feelings to have to
10:08
leave something . My kids know it's important
10:10
for me to have to leave certain things when I'm on call
10:12
. That doesn't phase me at all . I know I'm like
10:14
a little weird in that way , um
10:17
, but when I'm not on call , I'm
10:19
not doing . I'm not doing
10:21
work anymore , and in the evening
10:23
, after they go to bed , or anything like that . That's , it
10:25
was just too much for my brain .
10:28
How are either of you making
10:30
that happen ? What are your ? What are the efficiencies
10:33
that you've built into ?
10:35
I think , personally I'm trying to lean on technology
10:38
and you know that it takes some
10:40
time to learn it . I realized there's an
10:42
uphill battle for that for
10:44
some people who just feel like they're so busy they can't
10:47
even take the time to learn it . But
10:49
for me , covet I've started
10:51
using for records . I'm
10:53
notoriously slow on records
10:55
and now that I have someone you
10:57
know , another veterinarian that needs to see them like
10:59
they need to get done , needs
11:07
to see them like they need to get done , and so Covet is sort of an AI supported record generator
11:09
that I can just copy and paste into records and that is very
11:11
helpful . And then I have
11:14
found an app called Taskade
11:16
. That's a to-do list sort of project
11:19
organizer , but it also has AI support
11:21
running in the background so it can help me create
11:23
templates for things and even
11:26
like employee reviews or like key
11:29
performance indicator outlines . It'll help
11:31
me generate one for , like a veterinary practice
11:33
. It's very smart and not that
11:35
expensive for the year , so those two
11:37
have been really helpful for me . And then it's
11:40
shared as a team , so we have like collaborative
11:42
lists between the support
11:44
staff and my associate
11:46
and myself . I also
11:49
asked my husband for more help than he
11:51
was providing previously and I
11:53
will say that that has been very beneficial
11:55
for our entire family .
11:57
Asking for help . That's the summer theme for my practice
11:59
for
12:09
my practice .
12:09
Nice , I tried technology and I have actually I spent money . I have , like , the iPad
12:11
pro with the pencil and I have this like other digital notebook
12:13
, all in an effort to
12:16
make record keeping , in particular
12:19
, faster and easier . And I
12:21
am back to a notebook
12:24
, a single notebook . It goes
12:26
everywhere with
12:28
me . It encompasses everything
12:31
. So I
12:34
, for example , when we're talking about efficiencies
12:36
, I also rely pretty heavily on routine
12:39
. So and
12:41
this is for life , not just practice because
12:43
again at this stage in life I
12:46
feel like I'm flowing back and forth between
12:48
that all day , every day
12:50
, and
12:53
I sit down and make
12:55
a menu , a dinner menu . That is
12:57
one of those things that just
12:59
the mental load
13:01
of having to think about what people eat all the
13:03
time is a real drag . So
13:06
on Monday I make a menu . Monday
13:08
through Friday , only dinner . Lunch
13:11
is easy for me for packing and whatever
13:13
and breakfast , but dinner weighs on
13:15
me . So in my
13:17
notebook I've got that . I make
13:19
a grocery list based off of that and
13:21
on , my job on Monday is to go to
13:23
the grocery and just shop off the list , which
13:26
has saved so much time
13:28
, money and mental
13:30
load , stress , and then for the rest
13:33
of the week I don't
13:35
have to think about what's
13:37
for dinner , I just look at the menu and
13:39
make it and like that is something stupid
13:41
and simple . That has really revolutionized
13:44
my existence . Also , in that
13:46
notebook is where I keep . I make
13:48
a list each day of what
13:50
has to be accomplished . And I
13:52
challenged myself . We had a speaker at one
13:54
of the seminars talk about list making
13:56
and about how we have a tendency to write
13:59
projects on
14:01
the list and not tasks
14:03
. So I really tried
14:06
and that kind of resonated you
14:08
know I'll just put like clean the basement , that's
14:10
overwhelming to
14:13
make the list each morning of everything
14:15
that needs to get done as
14:17
a task , an individual task that
14:19
helps me kind of see the day better and that
14:21
I can check off and kind of stay on top of . And
14:24
then I also have like the week . Not
14:27
that I don't have a calendar in the phone and
14:29
a calendar digital calendar here
14:31
or there but I write like for the week the
14:34
quick things that I feel like my brain is always like gosh
14:36
, what do we have on Monday night ? What's Tuesday
14:38
night ? You know , it's like taekwondo at
14:40
this time , and this time also in the notebook . So
14:42
no matter what I'm doing , I can
14:45
flip back and forth and see what I need
14:47
. And then what I've had to let go of for the
14:49
medical record is that I really want this
14:51
like beautiful medical record that I can
14:53
share with the client . That
14:55
looks really aesthetically appealing
14:58
and I have let that go . I'm continuing
15:01
to tell myself that done
15:03
is better than perfect and
15:06
, as long as it has all the pertinent information
15:08
to be a medically sound record
15:10
, that that's what we're going to have to do right
15:12
now , and so with a written record , I write
15:15
that as I go I don't have to remember . That's much
15:17
easier for me to transcribe
15:20
into a quick something
15:22
to send over ?
15:22
How about you , Kelly ? What are you using
15:25
to get more , stay more efficient
15:27
?
15:28
My technician how
15:30
many ?
15:31
do you have again ?
15:33
I usually have two that come with me during the daytime
15:35
and we have the
15:38
ratio is basically two to one for the doctors
15:40
, for support team to
15:42
doctor team , and
15:47
not just utilizing them but kind of
15:49
going on this concept . And again , I heard this
15:51
from one of the speakers at very first
15:53
SEP meeting and she said only do what only you
15:55
can do , and
15:58
that is my mantra . So you
16:00
know , when it comes to the
16:03
types of appointments that I see it's only
16:06
do the appointments that I can do and
16:08
the remainder go on that
16:10
assistant or technician schedule
16:13
so that they can go and do follow-up
16:15
, adequant shots or laser
16:17
therapies or those things that you know
16:19
bring value and obviously need to be
16:21
done for our patients . But that is not
16:24
where I need to be spending 30 minutes of
16:26
my time lasering a horse's back . You
16:28
know like I can get the whole
16:31
end of the month of billing done in
16:33
that period of time or I can have that
16:35
you know review with one of my employees
16:38
that we talked about in another one of our
16:40
discussions . So
16:42
that's really been my
16:45
big kind of efficiency is not
16:47
taking on every task just because maybe I can
16:49
do it a little bit faster or it will be done exactly
16:51
how I want it done . But
16:54
kind of embracing and being okay
16:56
with letting other people take over
16:59
has really helped me
17:02
in my day . I
17:05
do like lists . I have my like
17:07
handwritten desk journal , misty
17:09
, so I still this works
17:11
better for me . There's too many electronic calendars
17:14
and shared calendars that I have between
17:16
working at Foothill and
17:18
the practice and my consulting and
17:20
my family calendar and the EasyVet
17:22
appointment schedule . So at
17:24
the end of the week or beginning of the next week
17:26
I go through and I kind of block off the
17:29
time so that I just mentally , you
17:31
know , kind of know where I need to be and what I need to be doing
17:33
and when . And
17:35
that has certainly helped , helped . But I
17:38
really do think like if it were not
17:40
for the awesome team that I have
17:42
, my , there's no way that I could set the
17:44
schedule and not start appointments
17:47
until 10 and be done by
17:49
4 to get up and home on time , and
17:52
there's no way that I would be able to only
17:55
be working and seeing appointments and producing
17:57
that revenue two days a week without an
17:59
amazing group who's been given , you know
18:02
, the reins to really do
18:05
what they need to do .
18:07
Yeah , that's definitely inspiring . I
18:10
don't think I delegate enough , for sure , I think
18:12
. One thing it sounds like we all do , though , is take a chunk
18:14
of time to plan the week . I've found that to be
18:16
so helpful . It sounds like it works
18:19
for both of you too . So I feel like
18:21
in my highest
18:23
period of burnout , I was kind of just letting
18:25
my life run me , and that's one way
18:27
one kind of low bar
18:30
way to start
18:32
taking control of your life is just sit
18:34
down for 20 minutes and think about how the week is
18:36
going to look . I mean , it's gonna get messed up , but
18:38
at least you have a plan to start
18:40
with .
18:41
I'll also throw out and this is something different
18:44
but maybe somebody listening it
18:46
will resonate with them is that with
18:49
a son that has special
18:51
needs or high needs , finding
18:54
the right therapist for
18:56
him . And our situation has allowed
18:58
me to work with
19:01
the therapist really regularly on
19:03
what we need as a family to be able
19:05
to be done and then what skills does that
19:07
translate that we need to build
19:09
up with him . And there
19:12
were so many ways that
19:14
I was getting burnt
19:16
out and our family was burnt out that
19:18
just over time we had kind of evolved
19:21
in a way because that's we
19:23
didn't know better and that's what kind of like
19:25
worked to help us survive . But we weren't
19:27
thriving , like simple things that like
19:29
bedtime that under a typical child won't
19:31
have trouble with . But now , nine years
19:34
in , we were still struggling with and like really the
19:36
amount of freedom going
19:39
to see appointments that are farther away than I know
19:41
that my son would be comfortable with me being
19:43
Things like that
19:45
that we can just kind of address up front
19:47
and the therapist gets to talk to me
19:49
and understand why it's important
19:51
for us and what impact it's having and then help
19:53
him to cope with that and we kind
19:55
of work as a team with him
19:57
has really given
19:59
all of us him
20:02
probably more than anyone this like amount
20:04
of comfort and
20:06
confidence and he's getting to like
20:08
do all these different things and feel
20:10
good about it , and it's really given us a lot
20:12
of freedom as well and like that's
20:15
therapy is one of those things that I think when
20:17
you are busy and burnt out , you just don't know
20:19
where it would fit in or how
20:21
to do it . But I can tell you it has really
20:24
changed our lives
20:26
.
20:27
Yeah , I always like to think that when I feel the busiest
20:30
is probably when I need need
20:32
support the most . So I'm trying to try to
20:34
make time for it . Awesome . Well , thanks
20:36
for sharing everybody . We will put some resources
20:39
in the show notes , for sure . And
20:41
, um , if anybody has any suggestions
20:43
, um , maybe when I post this on
20:45
social media , you can share your suggestions there
20:48
too . Awesome , Talk to you soon
20:50
.
20:50
Bye .
20:53
Thank you so much for spending some of your
20:55
precious time with us . We so very much
20:58
appreciate it and truly hope that
21:00
it helps you just a little bit . We hope
21:02
you are doing well and we will talk to you again soon
21:04
.
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