Work-Life Integration and Building Connections with Dr Magda Upton

#018 - Some might say Dr Magda Upton is a bit of a unicorn, as she has been a veterinary surgeon for 21 years and still loves her job - and the profession! Her secret sauce? Mould the job in such a way that you can't help but love it! For some, like Magda, that might mean reducing the work hours to free up more family time; for others it might mean moving to a small practice in the country, or perhaps jetting off to the other side of the world to pursue specialty training. 

Dr Magda is an incredibly down-to-earth and inspiring veterinary practitioner, and during this episode she shares with us how she has succeeded in achieving veterinary happiness, whilst still managing to be present for her family and her community.  She talks honestly about whether it's truly possible to have everything, work-life integration, and how it is absolutely ok to not be everything for everyone.  

As someone with an Instagram following of almost 10K, Dr Magda knows a thing or two about building community and connections; and she is kind enough to share her thoughts on the use of social media for veterinary practices. If you aren't following her on Instagram already, make sure you do - @dr.magda.vet


DR MAGDA UPTON INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/dr.magda.vet/

WARWICK VETERINARY HOSPITAL INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/warwickvetperth/

PLATINUM CPD INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/platinum_cpd/



  

Get in touch with us on Instagram, LinkedIn, Facebook and visit our website - platinumcpd.com

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:00

You absolutely need to figure out what your priorities are at the stage in life that you are, and it does change every couple of years because you can't be everything to everyone.

SPEAKER_00 0:08

That's right.

SPEAKER_01 0:09

So you sort of almost need to triage what's important and prioritize that at that point.

SPEAKER_00 0:16

Welcome to the Positivity Podcast. I'm your host, Emma McConnell, Equine Vet, Company Director, Wife, Stepmum to one, Chihuahua enthusiast, and lover of miniature ponies. We are on a mission to bring happiness back into veterinary medicine by shining the brightest of spotlights on all the positive aspects of the veterinary industry. Through the sharing of stories, we will showcase the magic and joy that comes with being a veterinary professional, encouraging you to remain motivated about this special vocation and helping you become as mentally wealthy as possible, both at work and in life. Every one of us has a unique story that is worth sharing, and this is the perfect platform to share the extraordinary tales of our colleagues and community. So settle in and rediscover the joy of veterinary medicine and get ready to feel inspired and energized about your chosen career. This is the Positivity Podcast. Hello, Magda. Welcome to the Positivity Podcast. I am absolutely thrilled to welcome you on today, and I just absolutely cannot wait to chat to you. Hi, Emma. It's nice to be on here. Just before we do get going, I was just wondering if you could just share with us a little bit about your journey in veterinary medicine so far. So maybe how you came to choose veterinary medicine as your career, you know, where you went to vet school, what you've been up to since graduation.

SPEAKER_01 1:53

Sure. Well, I think I'm just one of those typical vets that just always wanted to be a vet from a very young age. Um, I've got a memory of drawing a picture of myself as a vet in like a year two project. Oh, cute. Yeah. So I think I sort of diverged a bit. Like I knew I always wanted to work with animals and I was always drawn to animals, and it's just something that came out of nowhere for me because my family's uh like I was born in Poland during communist times. There's actually no word for pet, or at that time there was no word for pet in the Polish language, you know, and animals, which is very much just uh farm animals, or they always had a purpose. But I just was always like just drawn to animals from the word go. So I guess I always knew I wanted to work with them, and then yeah, so I guess vet came out of that. I when I was a teenager, I had this idea that I was gonna save the tigers. Oh yeah. I didn't know how I was gonna do it, but I was gonna save the tigers from extinction. Okay, love that. Yeah, yeah. But then luckily, um, you know, sense and practicality came into it, and I realized I could just, you know, being a vet was probably gonna I'm gonna achieve more being a vet than you know, having this arbitrary ideal of saving a species from extinction. Anyway, um, so yeah, so I just worked hard at school and um got into Murdoch University vet school and graduated in 2001. So I've been a vet for a long time now, it's over 20 years, and I've always just worked with small animals. Um I did do a really short stint working with horses in a regional area of Western Australia. Um wasn't really by choice, I just had to. I don't like it. Uh I've I've found it very challenging.

unknown 3:36

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 3:37

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 3:38

Like because of the owners or just the whole situation. I mean, regional practice would be difficult, I imagine.

SPEAKER_01 3:44

To be honest, many of the owners, like, I think because I'm not a horse, like the first question they ask you is, are you a horsey person? And because I wasn't, like, instantly you just lose credibility.

SPEAKER_00 3:54

Yeah. Um you're on the back foot.

SPEAKER_01 3:56

Yeah, so I found that really hard. And I had to do track work at the races and the trots, which was challenging. Yeah, no, so look, it was fine, but no, I did not go back to equine practice after that. Yeah, but don't believe me. Anyway, yeah, no, so I've always worked with smalllies and I did do a short stint of last year of some emergency, casual emergency work, and um I locumed at the Murdoch primary care section and did a bit of teaching there. So yeah.

SPEAKER_00 4:23

Oh, beautiful.

SPEAKER_01 4:24

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 4:24

Okay, super. And did you enjoy the teaching? I did actually, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 4:28

I did. Yeah. It's a very it's a very different pace to suburban general practice.

SPEAKER_00 4:34

Oh, absolutely. Yep, 100%. I can definitely appreciate that. Yeah, I'm sure that you probably don't get the luxury of 45-minute consults.

SPEAKER_01 4:43

Uh absolutely not. No, and and the the clients are just so willing to do things as well. Like they were just really there's a different calibre of clients at Murdoch, so really lucky to have that primary care department and have clients that let you do so much and the students can learn.

SPEAKER_00 4:59

Yes, yeah, absolutely. And so when you did qualify, did you kind of have an image of what you thought your life was gonna look like? Like, did you have any sort of big expectations for your career?

SPEAKER_01 5:16

Not really. I mean, 20, 21 years ago now, it was sort of a very different climate in Western Australia, in that it wasn't like to do an internship or anything like that, you had to go overseas. I mean, Murdoch was the only specialist center. There was none of the other specialist centers that we have now. So, unless you were super bright, which I wasn't, um, you you would just go into, you know, the expectation was that you would go into general practice, and that's what the majority of my cohort did, and that's what I did too. So I guess that was, yeah, I didn't, and I guess you sort of can't be what you can't see, and I wasn't really aware of what else I could have done, and I just expected to go to general practice, and that's just what I did.

SPEAKER_00 5:56

Yeah, no, absolutely. And what about sort of knowing what you know now? Obviously, having had 21 years in the industry, what might you have told your new graduate self? Do you think you would have done anything differently?

SPEAKER_01 6:12

I think the only thing I would have done differently realistically, maybe was to do some further study before I had kids.

SPEAKER_00 6:19

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 6:20

Because I do like the idea of membership exams, but it wasn't even really something that was talked about, or maybe just didn't come across my ears in those days. And now I just don't absolutely don't have the time because I have thought about it, but I just yeah, it's so much work.

SPEAKER_00 6:34

Yeah, absolutely. And yeah, and I mean the amount of stuff you're already doing, uh, which obviously we will get into, but yeah, I think to add that to your plate, I mean, it just gets impossible, doesn't it?

SPEAKER_01 6:45

Yeah, but I like I don't think I would have specialized. Like I just actually love doing a bit of everything. So I don't think I'm a specialist material, I'm not an academic. Yeah, and I probably wouldn't because I I met my now husband when I was at uni, so I was already with him when I graduated. So I wasn't prepared to move away from Perth at that stage, you know. So I probably no, I wouldn't have done too much differently, except maybe doing a bit of extra study before I had kids, really.

SPEAKER_00 7:11

Yeah. Oh, I really love that. And so, you know, you have been in the industry for a long time, which is absolutely amazing. And it certainly sounds like you do still really love what you do, would that be correct?

SPEAKER_01 7:26

I do, I do, I'd do it all again, absolutely.

SPEAKER_00 7:28

Oh, that's amazing. So, do you think like, first of all, I guess what does veterinary happiness mean to you? And I guess, do you think that those two words can actually be put together?

SPEAKER_01 7:40

Yeah, I do. Yeah, I mean, it's it's it's a really difficult profession, absolutely, but you can definitely be happy in your job. I mean, I am, and there's lots of people, other people that are, I think, but I also know there's lots of people that are unhappy. Yes, which makes me sad. It's it's a really tricky thing because I think different things make different there's different challenges in different situations.

SPEAKER_00 8:02

And what do you think has contributed to your happiness in practice or in the career you've chosen?

SPEAKER_01 8:09

I think there's a lot of I've made a list of things that make me happy as that I need to do in order to be happy as a vet.

SPEAKER_00 8:16

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 8:17

Yeah, because I thought I thought I thought it was quite a good question, actually. So I think it's important for me as a person to have like autonomy and the freedom to practice how I want to. Yes. Rather than having to follow like specific guidelines of this is how you need to approach this case. Yeah. Yeah. I think especially in general practice, that's all I can speak of. You know, you get so many different people with different needs and wants and um financial levels. So you do sort of need to tailor what you do to each client.

SPEAKER_00 8:49

Mm-hmm. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 8:50

I think it's also like teamwork is so important. Like you can't you cannot do this job on your own. Like you need to lean on your colleagues and the nurses and the reception staff. They need to be able to work as a team and and do it as a team in general practice. It's too hard to do on your own.

SPEAKER_00 9:07

Oh, for sure.

SPEAKER_01 9:08

Yeah. Um, I think it's important to have a boss that or you know, a manager or a boss that sort of trusts you and and listens to you and doesn't try to micromanage you either. And I think it's important to work with people that so I mean, if you're in a pract as in a in a practice for people to sort of be on the same page. So like we share all our cases at our clinic, and I know that if I have like if I work something up and then I know that the next day whoever's gonna come in is not gonna radically change what I've planned because we all sort of do the same thing.

SPEAKER_00 9:41

I think that's important.

SPEAKER_01 9:42

Yeah, because that helps with communication.

SPEAKER_00 9:44

So how many vets do you work with?

SPEAKER_01 9:46

There's four of us.

SPEAKER_00 9:48

Four, okay. And does is everybody full-time or do you sort of work part-time? We're all part-time. Okay, that's amazing. We'll definitely talk about that too, actually, if that's okay. And so obviously, in that regard, then there probably is a number of different handovers throughout the week.

SPEAKER_01 10:04

Yeah, so depending on who's on the next day, like I might be working with the vet that's on the next day if it's my day off, or if it's not, then I will message them before I go home, just to give them a quick rundown. Um, look, this is what's in hospital, this is my plan, these are the possible issues. And I also make so I make more detailed notes as well in the record that they can go through when they get there.

SPEAKER_00 10:26

So Magda, just to sort of jump ahead a little bit, um, but seeing as we're kind of on this train of thought, yeah. Um, you are obviously you're a mum of three. Yes. Like I said, you are literally superwoman. So obviously, you know, as a mum or a parent, I imagine I don't have children myself, but I imagine that that does present some challenges in regards to schedules and consulting times and things like that. So I guess as well as if if you have multiple parents working in a practice, is it actually possible to have shifts or work your schedules where you can drop off and pick up your children, not necessarily every day, but you know, maybe where you can sort of have those parent-friendly shifts and still run an efficient and effective business? Because obviously, as time goes on, you know, our profession is female dominated. You know, I think this is kind of something that you know, I think people are realizing we do have to have some flexibility around. Yeah. And we do have to start to get creative to support mums and dads in these positions. So I guess we're going to have more and more people working part-time. So I guess I'm I'm really interested because it seems like you guys are able to do that effectively.

SPEAKER_01 11:52

Yeah. So the out of the four of us, um, three of us have kids. One of the vets, her kids are grown up, so she doesn't really have to do much with them. But but two of us, so I have the I'm the youngest in the practice actually. Um so I have the youngest children.

SPEAKER_00 12:08

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 12:09

So the so I my boss is very creative. Like I'm not a creative person, so I didn't come up with this schedule, but she did, she's amazing. So the way it works for us is that we have three vets on every day. There is one vet that does consulting only. So she works nine till six and she only does consults, and it's twenty-minute consults, and she she gets an hour lunch break. But what that means is that out the back there are two vets on hospital/slash procedures.

SPEAKER_00 12:38

Yes, okay.

SPEAKER_01 12:40

Yeah, so one of them does the school hours shift, so like 8 30 till 2 30-ish or 9 till 3-ish, and the other one works 12 till 6.

SPEAKER_00 12:49

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 12:50

So if through consults there comes like something that needs workup or is quite sick, that gets handballed out the back to the hospital vets, and therefore the consult vet in theory runs on time, and then we take over at the back.

SPEAKER_00 13:03

Okay. See, that sounds like a very efficient system.

SPEAKER_01 13:07

Yes, it is. It is, it works well. And it really shows like yesterday we were short staffed. So the uh the lady that works 12 to 6 wasn't able to work yesterday. So I I was on my own from three and I did two hours overtime because I had to do both workups and consults and look after what's in hospital, and it was hard.

SPEAKER_00 13:26

So, yes, obviously, there's always gonna be those times when we do have to, you know, juggle things around. Um but at least at least you've almost got like a slight little buffer there.

SPEAKER_01 13:37

It works well. Like, and and we support each other. So if someone needs a day off, we just we know it's gonna be a busier day. We try to schedule less, you know, we try we really try to be as flexible as possible. Yeah, so that's how it works.

SPEAKER_00 13:49

Okay, and I guess in order for that to work, then I guess yeah, you have to have sort of people that, you know, are sort of open-minded, like you said, all on the same page with similar goals. Yes. Um, and obviously a sort of practice manager or a boss who's sort of open to doing those. But I think, yeah, you've definitely shown that it is definitely possible. And I guess I'm always interested to sort of find ways where we can support people, and it might not necessarily be just because they have children, but maybe people have hobbies or sports and things like that that they do want to continue to, you know, enjoy as part of their life. Yeah. I think this is gonna be the the way that practices are gonna be heading.

SPEAKER_01 14:27

I think it has to, because we're there's so many women now with children. And you don't well, I guess I don't want to speak for dads as well. I mean, sure dads feel the same way, but I don't want to be at work 40 hours a week. Like I I don't think I'd enjoy my career if I was working that much.

SPEAKER_00 14:43

And do you think that's because you will start to I guess feel like some of your family time is being taken away?

SPEAKER_01 14:51

Yes, absolutely. Because being being a parent is like a full-time job. Yeah. It is like, and it's 24-7. So then, so then if you're then working an actual job on top of that, it's it is a lot of work.

SPEAKER_00 15:03

So, like we said, you are mum of three, you're a small animal vet, you are quite involved in your community, so you do surf life saving, you're a lifeguard. Yes, you're learning to play the cell. Incredible. You also have a really impressive social media following. You are absolutely a superwoman. I don't think anyone would deny you that. So, what is your secret? And please can you share it with us?

SPEAKER_01 15:35

Oh, well, I think Instagram can be like a highlight reel. So I guess, you know, consciously or unconsciously, we don't, you know, we only present the best of ourselves. And, you know, I guess I don't show my messy house and you know, my garden that's rubbish and you know, the times that I'm really stressed about my kids getting low marks and and not on purpose. Like I think it's probably helpful to share those things, but I don't know how to share them without looking like I'm fishing for sympathy. You know, I think it's yeah. So I guess unconsciously I do show all the good stuff. So I think I do struggle just as much as everyone else. So there's nothing as a secret, but I guess the biggest the biggest secret to my work-life balance is just working three-quarter time rather than full-time.

SPEAKER_00 16:16

Yes. Okay. So I'm glad that you just mentioned work-life balance. So um I'm interested to know what your thoughts are on that particular term. It's a term that I really don't like it because it kind of implies that your work is not part of your life. And so I actually heard a phrase today where it was people talking about work-life integration. And I immediately was like, yes, that is me. Like where your work is integrated into your life, like you don't kind of separate them. I don't know, I know that's not for everyone, but I was like, oh yeah. So that kind of really resonated with me. But I'd be interested to know what your kind of thoughts are on the whole work-life balance.

SPEAKER_01 17:01

Yeah, I think um, I think I've I have heard of that work-life integration. I think there was like a plenary speech at one of the AVA conferences a few years ago from someone that I can't remember his name, that promotes that kind of different way of thinking. And I agree that that sort of is it's different for everyone, what works for you. It's not going to be something that's going to, there's no blanket rule that's going to work for everyone, but it's finding a way to I'm going to use the word balance, to balance out all the demands placed on you and not feel too stretched. Yeah, because you do need to make every part of your life work. So integration is probably a better word.

SPEAKER_00 17:36

Yeah, I just, I just really liked it because I think sometimes, and I think it's really good to have boundaries in place. I think we as as veterinary professionals, you know, we have to have those boundaries in place. You know, we have to draw the line where, you know, we don't want to be calling clients at sort of, you know, seven or eight o'clock at night. You know, we don't want to be taking our work home with us. Absolutely not. Like we do need to have that break. But but I think there I probably depends on sort of the season of life that you're in. But you know, there might be times when it might be a Saturday morning and you know, you sort of pop into work because you just have to quickly check something. I kind of think, you know, like for me, that would I would consider that sort of integration.

SPEAKER_01 18:19

Yeah, you absolutely need to figure out what your priorities are at the stage in life that you are, and it does change every couple of years because you can't be everything to everyone.

SPEAKER_00 18:28

That's right.

SPEAKER_01 18:29

So you sort of almost need to triage what's important and prioritize that at that point.

SPEAKER_00 18:36

Yes, absolutely. So as a mum of three, I imagine that you know, you absolutely would have your hands full. I honestly don't know how you do that. Three kids just sounds like it would be amazing. I'm one of three and like obviously love my brother and sister, but oh yeah, as a mum, I think like, wow, hats off to you. Do you sometimes feel that you are torn between being a veterin surgeon and being a mum?

SPEAKER_01 19:04

I guess I feel because I've had kids, it has affected b how I work and the kind of work that I do. Like, for example, I when I did my locoming at an emergency center last year, like I loved it. Um it was so exciting, but there is just no way that I could do that full time. I cannot work at nights, so and that's because of my kids. So it does. So yeah, it has definitely affected how I work.

SPEAKER_00 19:30

But obviously, no regrets.

SPEAKER_01 19:32

No, no, no, no, my family my family's comes first, absolutely.

SPEAKER_00 19:36

And so do you really think that it is possible to do it all and to fit all of these things into your life, or do you feel that you can do it, but it does come with some kind of sacrifice?

SPEAKER_01 19:49

Oh yeah, it definitely does. Yep, absolutely. You do you can't have ever you cannot I well, I don't think I can't have everything. I'm sort of like a jack of all trades master of none. So yeah, so I do it, I do a little bit of everything, but I'm not perfect at any of them.

SPEAKER_00 20:06

Well, I don't think any of us are, to be honest.

SPEAKER_01 20:08

So yeah, I think I mean I can't really do it. It's uh it I can't do it without my family. I can't do it without my mum helping me. Like when I work late, she helps me. When I used to work Saturdays, you know, hubby would have the kids on Saturdays. When I was working emergency, he'd have them. Well, of course he has them, he's their dad, but you know, he would do the the the solo parenting while I was away. And then sometimes I have to choose like not being there for assemblies. But if I can't be there, I can get someone else to come in. So I think as a mum, we also have to stop trying to be everything to everyone. We don't have to like there's other people that can fill that role that are just as important. Like it takes a village, and I think for me, like I've outsourced a lot of things like I get a cleaner in every week and I get that meal delivery service that you know, HelloFresh or whatever. I rotate through them so I don't have to think about dinner. My house is quite messy most of the time, not by me, you know, my kids are messy, you know.

SPEAKER_00 21:07

I think that's understandable.

SPEAKER_01 21:08

Yeah, you know, so there's things that you just have to let go of and outsource, and you're not gonna have a show home and yeah, but it's a lived in, you know, happy home and full of love, I'm sure.

SPEAKER_00 21:17

Exactly, that's exactly right.

SPEAKER_01 21:19

So yeah, it can't, it can be done, but yes, it does require sacrifice and it's not gonna look like a magazine.

SPEAKER_00 21:24

Yes, yeah. I think I mean I think that's actually really wise advice because I think so often, and I guess, you know, we probably do have social media and and things like that to blame for you know all of that. You know, we see these people having these perfect lives and perfect children, perfect homes. And and I think it's really nice and really refreshing to hear someone say it's just that's just not the case, and that is okay.

SPEAKER_01 21:52

Absolutely. I think in you know, social media is like a double edged sword because you know it can really make you feel down if you're not if you're not. careful about what you're consuming.

SPEAKER_00 22:02

Yeah, absolutely. Yeah. I think, yeah, you know, you sort of only want to be looking at the things that kind of inspire you, as opposed to, you know, making you think, oh, I wish I had that or my life doesn't look like that.

SPEAKER_01 22:13

And also remembering that a lot of the stuff that's posted on Instagram is a highlight reel. Like it's posed and only the good stuff.

SPEAKER_00 22:19

Yes. Oh, could not agree more.

SPEAKER_01 22:21

Whether it's intentionally or unintentionally. Yeah. You got to just realize that everyone has problems, everyone has issues. It's just the way it is.

SPEAKER_00 22:28

Yeah, no, absolutely. So, you know, I think we would all agree that community and connection is obviously really important for all of us as humans. But I think it's especially important for us as veterinary professionals, especially given the rigors of the job, the emotional toll you know it can have and and the sort of burden that it can potentially place on us. And I guess these days a lot of people would seek that connection through social media. So like we sort of mentioned before you yourself you actually do have a really thriving Instagram page. I mean you have almost 10,000 followers which is incredible. And if you haven't checked out Magda's page you absolutely need to it's dr.magda.vet it's amazing. You definitely need to check it out. Thank you. Can you maybe just tell us a little bit about how that actually started and was it an intentional thing to kind of grow so big or that just happened organically?

SPEAKER_01 23:36

That kind of happened organically.

SPEAKER_00 23:38

I love that.

SPEAKER_01 23:39

Yeah but the way it started was I guess I had my own sort of personal Instagram account and I would just post photos and things and I was like friends, hashtag friends with people at work and they noticed that I guess they liked what I was posting. It was just photos of my kids. And this was maybe 2016 I think and my clinic was looking to start an Instagram account. So I started my clinic's Instagram account and I just posted what I loved which was just cases and um the things that we did and that grew quite quickly. I think it's got like five that just over 5,000 followers. But then with time because you know I'm not the owner of the clinic and I've got no sort of financial stake in it apart from just working there. Everyone else at work is quite private. So they didn't want like the nurses don't like being photographed, the vets don't like being videoed. So it ended up just being more and more skewed towards me and what I thought.

SPEAKER_00 24:34

Yes. Okay. Fair enough.

SPEAKER_01 24:36

Yeah. And then I got sort of quite quite a little bit uncomfortable with like I was restricting what I really wanted to say because it was a business account.

SPEAKER_00 24:43

Of course yes.

SPEAKER_01 24:44

Yeah so then I it just got to a point where I just started my own page so I could say what I wanted to say but be removed from the business.

SPEAKER_00 24:53

Yes. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 24:55

And I still have access to the Warwick account which I still post to but I must admit I haven't I find it tricky um I found it really got because you have to get client permission to post things and it sort of got in the way of my relationship with my clients. It's like oh you know I'm really care about your pets is the plan blah blah blah. And do you mind if I post it to social media?

SPEAKER_00 25:16

Yeah it gets tricky doesn't it?

SPEAKER_01 25:18

It does yeah so I yeah so we've been posting a lot less there because of just those issues.

SPEAKER_00 25:24

Yeah yeah absolutely so I guess I'm I'm also interested and sort of along those lines is you know I think social media is a really good tool for practices to build their own community for their clients and to kind of showcase their staff and their team and and what they do. So do you have any tips or advice for people how they could potentially use social media for good to kind of promote their practice or build a bit of a community around their practice?

SPEAKER_01 25:58

Yeah a lot of clients commented that they loved our account at the time and we actually had clients come to us because they loved our account so much. So it yeah it was going really well there for a while. Yeah it definitely can because I think it you can show the people in your practice as people and make you know bring them down bring people's perceptions down to earth a bit and you can definitely sort of showcase what you do at the back you know what happens behind because people come in they just see the waiting room and the consult rooms they don't see where the animals are at the back unless they ask you know they don't see the the cages they don't see the nurses cuddling the dogs they don't see them cuddling the cats the x-ray room they don't see the nurses monitoring the pets under anaesthetic and how much care actually goes in. So I think you can it's quite in its it's almost quite easy to run a vet vet Instagram account because everyone loves animals. Everyone wants to see animals everyone loves vets well a lot of the time you know maybe or maybe not you know so it's quite really every day you're generating content. It's just there. You just got to film it.

SPEAKER_00 27:01

Yes.

SPEAKER_01 27:02

And that's what I really loved doing about the Warwick vet page but it just got to a point where the nurses were like don't film me. So it got I know exactly um they're just they're just private people and it's fair enough.

SPEAKER_00 27:14

Yeah exactly exactly yeah yeah so yeah so do you think I mean it does obviously take a little bit of time you know to create the content and you know obviously to post it and I guess you probably do want a bit of strategy around what you're doing.

SPEAKER_01 27:29

Exactly so I think that's why I have a love hate relationship with it because it does take it takes so much time and especially now that I've got a really like a you know sizable following I I a fact check everything for accuracy because I don't want to be putting things out. I have a lot of like vets in other countries that follow me and I don't want to put out inaccurate things. So yes so it takes me a long time um and that's sometime you know at the moment I haven't really got any idea I've just sort of reached a creative lull at at this point in time. Yeah so yes it does take a lot of time. You can use things like I use a um planning auto posting app so you can write posts ahead of time and auto set it to auto post. So back in January I had a lot of I had a summer holiday and I wrote a lot of posts and they auto posted for about 12 weeks.

SPEAKER_00 28:17

Yeah okay so that's a really good tip.

SPEAKER_01 28:20

Yes yeah I found that really helped me yeah there's a lot of reels now like it's very reel based you know the little short TikTok type videos and they take a lot of time as well. Yeah so I'm not really into them because again it just takes me too much time.

SPEAKER_00 28:35

Yeah no I was going to say it is a fair commitment but do you kind of now feel obliged to continue because you do have this following yeah I do. So yeah it's kind of another kind of another hat that you are wearing.

SPEAKER_01 28:49

Yeah it's another job I do no I do love it. I've met like so many vets and nurses and techs from all around the world like so many different countries and I've loved just chatting to them and like vet medicine is practiced so differently in different parts of the world and it's yeah but we all struggle as well like no matter where we come from whichever country and we like vets as a profession we struggle.

SPEAKER_00 29:14

Do you think from what you you the sort of conversations and connections you've made would you say that the struggles are similar country to country yeah I think they are yeah and I think some countries think that other countries have it better or they like they have that grass is greener sort of vision but yeah we all struggle with clients and communication and difficult cases and um thinking about cases when we go home and not letting things go and making mistakes we all have the same struggles. And I guess that's just something that I really love about the veterinary profession is the fact that you know we do have this big network of people where everyone understands each other. You know like it doesn't matter what country you're from you know we've all been on a similar journey you know to get through vet school there they are all going to be pretty much the same. We all know you know that was a lot of fun those five or six years. Yeah. And again like you said we we have the similar struggles you know things like that. So I just think it's so nice that yeah we do kind of have this you know shared experiences with people of all different nationalities and I just love that.

SPEAKER_01 30:24

Yeah I love it too. I think that's what drives me to keep going is just the people I've met and the conversations I have.

SPEAKER_00 30:30

Yeah absolutely that was something that I did want to ask you actually so again you know you have been you know you've had a long career in veterinary medicine and it's certainly far from over by the sounds of things. So what do you think are some contributing factors to having a sustainable career or you know longevity in our profession?

SPEAKER_01 30:53

So for me I guess as a mum the at this point in my life the key factor is the reduced hours that I work. So I don't work full time I work 27 hours and it's only this year that I've worked 27 hours like before that. So I worked full time until I had kids and then I've did about 20 hours a week until this year.

SPEAKER_00 31:13

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 31:14

So that's finding that time for my family because my family's always going to come first. And for me I just love I actually I guess people that weren't around 21 years ago don't like the new grads don't know this, but veterin has really improved with how much I mean we still struggle with clients and finances, but clients these days are so much more prepared to spend money and work things up than they were 21 years ago. So even though it's still difficult, it was even harder 21 years ago. So I love that I can talk most people into doing something, you know, at least running bloods or at least doing an x-ray or if not a full workup then a partial workup to whereas before it was like oh nah it's just a dog mate.

SPEAKER_00 31:57

Yeah like try it with some antibiotics or something see if it gets better. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 32:01

Like I remember being a new grad and wanting to do a urine analysis on a dog with a suspected UTI and the owner was like why would you do that? I just want antibiotics like she's refused to even do a dipstick. You know like and it was just so hard and it was quite demoralizing. Whereas now I don't think anyone would decline a dipstick. I can't remember the last time someone declined a urine dipstick you know yeah um people wouldn't even microchip their pets back then so it really has um and I just love I I need to be challenged so I love the fact that especially as a GP I can just keep upskilling yeah both practical and soft skills there's always something new to learn there's new techniques new things that come out so I that that challenge is what keeps me going.

SPEAKER_00 32:47

Yeah yeah okay and that's kind of what's kept you in the job for for so long yeah because I found a way to love it.

SPEAKER_01 32:55

I think communication skills are so important. When I first graduated I really struggled with communication um and I was almost a little bit resentful that uni didn't teach me better communication skills but I think that and they do that very well at Murdoch now like having worked there in the general practice they definitely do do way better in that than they used to but I also think communication skills are something that's learnt by trial and error so you develop it over time and you will probably be uncomfortable but depending on your personality it takes time.

SPEAKER_00 33:27

Yes definitely but but I guess it ultimately it does come though doesn't it and everyone has their own you know communication so you don't have to communicate to clients the same way you know your colleague does you you find whatever works for you.

SPEAKER_01 33:40

Exactly yeah exactly you find that way yeah and I think you need to accept that you will like I think this is a really big thing for the current generation is mistakes because you will make mistakes and we're all such we're all such perfectionists and I guess we worry about making mistakes because we're our mistakes can have devastating consequences it's not the same as getting a coffee order wrong. That's right you know sometimes our life is on the line isn't it exactly but you you need to accept that you will make mistakes and I've made a ton of them and you need to sort of develop the resilience to move on and that's that's not easy.

SPEAKER_00 34:19

It's really not easy because we're so hard on ourselves yes but I think you are absolutely right and we talk a lot about falling over failing you know like it is okay to fall it it's absolutely fine it's expected you're human yes and absolutely you will make mistakes like you said you know we have all made mistakes in our career you know and this is also what's great is because you know you ask any vet and they'll be very happy to share like some of the crazy things that they've done. Yeah right you get some good war story yeah out of it. But I think yeah at the time obviously it's never kind of awful thick it's always horrible isn't it when you're a bit traumatized. Very but I think yeah and I think just accepting the fact that like you said it will happen you know it's inevitable and it's okay and you're not the only one that would have made that mistake but as long as we can then try and learn something from it not let it consume you exactly and then hopefully we won't make that mistake again.

SPEAKER_01 35:20

That's exactly right yeah um and then not practice from a place of fear just you know not let it hold you back just be brave like someone on Instagram I don't know who it is said be afraid but do it anyway.

SPEAKER_00 35:31

Yes exactly yes yeah absolutely because again that's the only way you are going to progress you know you have to get into that stretch zone you know you have to be willing to to push yourself a little bit you don't just want to stay in your little comfort zone. Exactly absolutely that's how you grow yeah oh absolutely and I absolutely love that I think you know certainly for me that's also one of the things that I love about the profession and and again what has kept me in the job for you know 17 years is you know that challenge that lifelong learning and you know just the fact that not every day is going to be something different you don't know what's going to walk through the door. Yeah I love that and there are still things that you know that that I'm terrified is going to walk through the door.

SPEAKER_01 36:17

Yeah same that's that's why that's why I wanted to work in emergency because I'd never done a GDV and it was really bothering me. I was like how can I have been a vet for 20 years and I've never done a GDV surgery and I got to do I got to do one. So I've ticked that box.

SPEAKER_00 36:34

But then now you won't be so terrified if one does walk in. I think that's always the thing it's like yeah what? So I yeah there's a couple of things for me that I'm like oh yeah I I would be worried if this presented itself to me you know and then you're kind of on your own. So yeah so I like to talk through those kind of scenarios. I I we talk a lot with our residents and specialty trainees about okay what kind of case is going to give you the heebie jeebs and then let's talk about how you would deal with it.

SPEAKER_01 37:04

I love that you're having those conversations that's amazing.

SPEAKER_00 37:06

It's well I just think it's really important and especially um you know if you are doing emergency work or obviously with horses you know we all still do after hours. You know and and it's just you don't want to be in the situation where it is something that you're scared of and you haven't had that conversation so you really don't know what you're gonna do.

SPEAKER_01 37:25

Yes.

SPEAKER_00 37:25

Because there's nothing worse than just kind of feeling that panic because you're like I'm supposed to be the person in control of this situation. Yes and I have no idea what I'm gonna do.

SPEAKER_01 37:35

I love that yeah you don't want to freeze you want to just I think I heard someone say like um the best decision you can make is the right decision. The next next best decision is the wrong decision but the worst thing you can do is make no decision at all and just do nothing.

SPEAKER_00 37:49

Yes oh I absolutely love that. So just going back you just mentioned about how you felt that communication is so important and it certainly sounds in your practice that communication plays a really big role in the efficiency of the working of your practice you know obviously you do have sort of multiple people working shifts so yes I guess I was just wanted to sort of know from a sort of team building perspective you know what would be some things that you would do to kind of help with that efficiency and help with those good communications. You mean between the team or with clients or between the teams because I think that's where I think a lot of managers may have some reservations about having multiple part-time staff working. I think this is these are the conversations we need to be having to overcome these potential barriers because I think people worry about breakdown in communications poor handovers things like that. So I guess it just given your experience like what do you or sort of how would you maybe approach those kind of handovers and communications?

SPEAKER_01 39:03

Well I think it's important to have them really um and I'm a bit of an overcommunicator so like given that I know how much how important communication is I will make it my job to make sure that the next person, the next vet on shift knows about A B C D.

SPEAKER_00 39:18

Yes, okay.

SPEAKER_01 39:19

And then if I'm working with the other vet at on the day like we'll still talk about it then. So we're both and we both make decisions together so we're we're all on the same page.

SPEAKER_00 39:29

And is it always verbal communication or do you have some like written stuff as well like written handover notes as well?

SPEAKER_01 39:38

So my communication to the other vets will be if it's like a vet on that's the next day it'll just be by messenger or by text message. So it'll be quite it'll be a very summarized just the key points because it's you know late at night and they don't want to be reading that on their day off. Yeah. It's more just a courtesy but then my notes my consult notes are very thorough and we also have hospital charts. So we're still on paper like I know a lot of clinics are on smart I can't remember what it's got like a smart practice management thing. Ours are all on paper so that each patient will have a hospital chart and I'll write all the drugs on there, what I want done when I'm on shift if I'm finishing up I'll find out which nurses are on the next day. So I'll make sure the nurses are on board with it as well. And I think like where possible I try to communicate with the client directly myself rather than saying to the nurse can you call Mr Smith and tell him this, this and this about Fluffy.

SPEAKER_00 40:33

Yeah, okay I like that.

SPEAKER_01 40:35

Because I feel that I guess I'm in control of it so I can tell the client exactly what I want and they have the chance to ask questions as well and it takes the stress off the nurse because they get quite worried about telling saying the wrong thing.

SPEAKER_00 40:49

Yes no I can understand that have you been watching MasterChef by any chance I don't watch much TV just what you say it just made me think they do this challenge and it's a relay so they have one per they've got like a team of four one person starts cooking and they have 15 minutes each and then they have 45 seconds to hand over to the next person. So in really good teams the finished dish is what the first person had envisaged but the people that have like quite poor communication skills the end dish is like a total disaster. Wow I love that because I think sometimes that is what can happen is that stuff does get lost in translation. Yes but I guess when you know you are handing that information over to someone else to relay to someone of course there's always that opportunity for a little bit of Chinese whispers I guess.

SPEAKER_01 41:45

Yes.

SPEAKER_00 41:46

And I guess I always worry I put my sort of patient safety hat on and you know I guess that's something that we probably do need to be mindful of because I guess it could potentially open us up to you know some potential problems.

SPEAKER_01 42:00

Exactly like I'm our nurses are great communicators um and they would like do discharges of routine procedures quite happily or if it's a simple dental and um but I think if it's something that's really complicated and it's beyond their knowledge for them to be able to understand that concept then I think a vet needs to communicate directly with the client in those cases and it definitely saves a lot of errors communication errors and misunderstandings because you set their expectations.

SPEAKER_00 42:29

Yeah I would yeah I would definitely agree with that.

SPEAKER_01 42:32

Yeah it sometimes they need to hear it from a vet and it can like some clients are scary to talk to so I can or annoying. So I know why sometimes you would avoid talking to them but I think you can create more problems by just not stepping up. And I also think nurses appreciate not being put in the deep end and being put out of their depth yes and I think that builds trust like you've got their back so they have your back like you don't expect them to work beyond their beyond what they're trained to do or beyond their skill set.

SPEAKER_00 43:05

Yeah absolutely yeah and I think the other thing also is that it also sort of shows to them that you're not expecting them to do something that you wouldn't do yourself. Yes exactly that's exactly right from a team building sort of perspective I think that's really important is that I would never ask someone whether it's another vet or vet nurse or you know support staff to do something or to put themselves in a position that I wouldn't put myself in.

SPEAKER_01 43:34

Yeah I think it's we need to protect our nurses as much as we can um we all need to sort of share the mental load of of dealing with the public which is often great but sometimes really difficult. And sometimes they do they unfortunately they're they are nasty to the nurses but they'll be nice to the vets.

SPEAKER_00 43:53

Yes and that is such a red flag for me.

SPEAKER_01 43:56

Yes yes and you can save them from being abused like um I actually like sometimes if there's a difficult client out the front, I'll just step out the front and I'll just be there ready to take them down if they you know, like I'm not gonna let them stay the nurses work too hard, they don't need to put up with that.

SPEAKER_00 44:13

Oh no, absolutely not, and we definitely do need to protect them, but it does it really enrages me though that there are people out there that think it's okay to talk to a veterinary nurse or a receptionist like that, and then the minute a vet comes out, they're a whole different person. Like for me, that yeah, that it's not good. Um, so Magda, we are sort of getting close to our time limit. Yep. And it's been so, so wonderful to talk to you. Thank you so much. But just before we go, I have to ask you my favorite question. And lots of my guests find it very challenging, which is totally fine. I get it. Do you have a career highlight or a favorite veterinary memory to date?

SPEAKER_01 45:00

Oh, yeah, I I knew you were gonna ask me this question, and I yeah. At least I give you the head dungeon. I know, I know. Look, I've got like a few like really like superstar stories, like, you know, the pneumothorax on a Jack Russell terrier on my own on a Saturday with one nurse and bringing it back from the dead with Murdoch on the phones, you know, and I'm like, help, what do I do? But anyway, the dog lived, or like, you know, pulling I pulled like 1.2 kilos of grass out of a dog's stomach. He decided to be a goat. I don't know what he was thinking.

SPEAKER_00 45:33

Oh my god.

SPEAKER_01 45:34

And like the GDV that I finally got to do, you know, there's all those. I guess I've I've had a lot of things that have made me really happy. But I was thinking about just even my day yesterday, like I love um just the connection that I have with clients. So even in my day yesterday, I had two school mums from my school come and see me and a school teacher. So like I loved that they had that trust in me and my clinic to just come and see us. And I also had a client yesterday that was really unhappy, and I managed to actually turn it around and them leave happy. So it's just little things like sometimes it's just a lot a lot of little things can add up as well to just make you enjoy it.

SPEAKER_00 46:17

And I guess it just kind of makes you remember why you started this journey in the first place, and also how far you've come.

SPEAKER_01 46:25

Like, you know, maybe 10-15 years ago, I would have been terrified of a client coming in and saying, you know, I spent all this money and my dog's not better and I'm not happy, which is literally what she said to me yesterday. And I just would have gone, help, I don't know. But yesterday I was able to go, okay, well, this is what you spent your money on, and this is what we've ruled out. And you know, dogs don't get better in 24 hours necessarily, even if you spend a lot of money, um, things take time. So let's re-examine your dog and address your concerns and work out what's going on. And that's exactly what we did, and we found we found the problem. So, and she left happy. So it's just little wins like that.

SPEAKER_00 47:03

And it just shows like our profession, like I know it has its faults, but like I said, when you have moments like that, you just like it just brings you joy, right? Like it absolutely is a wonderful profession. We're so lucky.

SPEAKER_01 47:16

We are I love it. Wouldn't do anything else.

SPEAKER_00 47:19

And that's after 21 years in the job.

SPEAKER_01 47:22

Yep, still love it.

SPEAKER_00 47:23

Oh, I absolutely love that. Like that, thank you so, so much. You are actually so inspiring. And I just love how down to earth you are, how realistic you are. Thank you so much for sharing your story. And like I said, I'll definitely pop the link to your Instagram page in our show notes because I think everyone should follow you. I just I always love watching your stories, it just like brings such a smile to my face.

SPEAKER_01 47:50

Thank you. Thank you so much, Emma. Thank thanks for having me. I really enjoy this chat.

SPEAKER_00 47:56

What a breath of fresh air, and so lovely to chat to someone who, even after working as a vet for 21 years, still loves the job and the profession. I absolutely love how down-to-earth and real Magda is. And she's absolutely right when she says we can't be everything for everyone, and nor should we strive to be. I feel like Magda would be the best person and so much fun to just sit and have a glass of wine and a debrief with. And while that may not necessarily be possible, you can catch up with her every day on her Instagram stories. If you want to share your Instagram feed with someone who is just like you and is facing the same challenges as you are every day in practice, then be sure to follow Magda at dr.magda.bet. And if you love this episode, then please leave a rating and review on whichever platform you listen to your podcasts on. It would really mean the world to me. Let's focus on that work life integration. Wishing you a wonderful week ahead. Bye for now.