What Every Veterinary Professional Should Know from VLC & VMX 2026

What happens when thousands of veterinary professionals gather at the start of a new year to talk about leadership, innovation, and the future of vet med?

In this special solo episode, Dr. Megan Sprinkle shares her top takeaways from two major events — the AVMA Veterinary Leadership Conference (VLC) and VMX. From generational dynamics and “gentelligence” to the rapid evolution of AI in veterinary care, this episode highlights what’s shaping the profession in 2026 and how you can take action in your own career.

🎧 You’ll hear:

• Surprising insights about Gen Z and cross-generational collaboration
• How AI is showing up in the exhibit halls and CE sessions
• Reflections on well-being, leadership, and the importance of community
• A renewed call for curiosity, compassion, and courage in veterinary life

Whether you attended the conferences or not, this episode brings the most impactful conversations directly to you.

Resources & References:

• Video episode on YouTube
• Episode notes on Substack 
• Gentelligence book

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Transcript

Megan Sprinkle: [00:00:00] Welcome to Vet Life Reimagined, the podcast where we embrace curiosity and possibility on how to thrive in veterinary medicine. I wanted to do a very different episode for you. I have attended AVMA's Veterinary Leadership Conference and VMX in the past few weeks and wanted to reflect on some of the things that I thought stood out to me that you might also appreciate. So the Veterinary Leadership Conference is in Chicago. It's um, Chicago in January. Yes. Um, we actually had very decent weather. Apparently. That is not a typical scenario for this conference, but this is where people. From all over the country come to discuss AVMA policy.

So it's a lot of delegates, but at the same time it's a leadership conference. So there are a lot of attendees that are coming to learn more about how to be better leaders in the profession. And this conference, they [00:01:00] really focus on encouraging conversation with each other. So there's a lot of good space for that.

if you are a person that. Typically goes to a conference like VMX. The pace at the Veterinary Leadership Conference is very different. I actually really enjoyed the pace. You feel like, yes, you can go to CE, which at the CE they encouraged the speakers to have very engaging lectures. This is actually where I was able to be a speaker as well.

This was my first time attending. And it was a fantastic experience, but really one of the things that I was. Impressed and kept thinking about over and over again since leaving. Was inspired by the keynote presentation from Megan Gerhardt, who's a PhD professor and director of leadership Development at the Farmer School of Business at Miami University.

, But she's also the author of the book, Gentelligence. So why is understanding the intelligence [00:02:00] of generations all put together important for veterinary medicine and veterinary leadership? Well, we are living in a time that might be the first time ever that five generations are in the workforce.

That's five very different lived experiences trying to collaborate in one place and. I'm all about bringing different perspectives to a challenge, and that includes multiple generations. But the reason why I think Megan's talk was so insightful for me is she told the story of the generations, which I'm gonna do my best to retell.

But when we stop to listen and understand where people are coming from, including different generations, it allows us to acknowledge the strengths of each generation and the diverse perspectives that could contribute to a particular situation, like a work environment. But it also allows us to improve our communication between [00:03:00] generations, which can be quite challenging, and our ability to support one another.

And so as Megan explained, generational tension leads to team adhesion issues, increased turnover, reduced engagement, unsuccessful succession planning, and it interferes with knowledge transfer. All of these things are super important in veterinary medicine. So she started by sharing a little bit of a perspective when you think about the pandemic time.

So she said the individuals who were between the ages of five and 25 during the pandemic had a disproportionate impact on their thoughts and beliefs compared to other ages. It's just a certain time period in your development, that a pandemic impacted them. And so what she says is when we look at generations, we look at shared experiences, which can lead to [00:04:00] generational norms, and that will influence a lot of the behaviors and attitudes that we see.

So she talked about avoiding generational stereotypes, but it's about understanding these generational norms, and she also acknowledged that t he generation that we live in is only one layer of our identity. There's much more to us. So this is only a part of understanding individuals, but it's an important part and it helps by understanding this background.

And I do love the term Gentelligence. she talked about this collective intelligence learning from inter generations.  We learn ,and we can elaborate better together. One of the big, I think things that stand out that she mentioned that is very different between the different generations is around mental health.

And this is a topic we talk about quite frequently now in [00:05:00] veterinary medicine, and what she said is that the mental health support expectations have. Shift between generations. So this is beyond vet med. We're, we're looking at a cultural, situation, but that's coming into veterinary medicine. So this was again, a great perspective that I didn't stop and think about that helped really paint the picture when she described for Gen Z, they are the first generation.

Post, No Child Left Behind that policy. So because they have lived and grown up in that policy, they look for and expect more support overall. And so when we are losing younger people sooner than expected, than workforce, which is again, it's not just vet med, she's sharing this from a country perspective that might be part of it is, is that they're not finding the support that they need.

So what [00:06:00] does success mean? If you look at the different generations, and this is where she really broke down the story of the generations, at least that's what I'm calling it to put in perspective. The time that they're living and how from that experience, they are defining success.

So the oldest generation right now is called the silent generation, and these are going to be people where like the end of the range is 1945. , And she said that there's only 1% of the silent generation still in the workforce, so she didn't emphasize that.

But the reason why I wanted to bring it up was that after this, there were so many different conversations. Talking about this keynote and one of the individuals actually said, oh, well, I'm a silent generation, so even though 1%, they still are showing up, they're still important. So [00:07:00] I will share that. A piece of information.

The next generation are the boomers. And for them, she said, actually, this is the one generation that has the most data backed definition when it came to the years that represent this generation. And that's 1946. To 1964. So born during those dates, and that actually includes my parents,

so the boomer generation, they were born to parents who had gone through very hard economic times. So. The Boomers were supposed to be the new hope generation to help rebuild the economy. And so if you think about those dates, these are individuals who are coming through the civil rights. They were raised to be, uh, hard workers to climb the corporate ladder. That was the definition of success for this [00:08:00] generation, where status is valued and actually workaholic or. Workaholism was actually a symbol of success for this generation. Their parents were encouraging to the work, hard to contribute back to the economy to build that back up. So these are why these behaviors and, beliefs started to form in the boomer generation. So the next generation is Gen X, and that's 1965 to 1980.

And Generation X is actually the smallest generation, but they were born in a time when the family size was smaller. They were considered the most unsupervised generation because a lot of their parents were boomers and so they were workaholics and they were gone all the time.

So, the kind of the derogatory term for this generation, because we've all been called something, we're slackers. , But they had a lot of. [00:09:00] Autonomy and independence very early in life because again, their parents worked. They were also called the latchkey kids. It was kind of a, a slang phrase for them, and they care about being able to decide how to fill their time.

Again. They were at a very early age, allowed to have autonomy and independence, and so that is what they define as success. The next generation is my own generation, the millennial generation, and that's 1981 to 1996. The millennials represent when the children became central to the family unit. This was based on, again.

So depending on where the parents lie and where they were having children, still some of the boomers wanted to push the next generation again to be great. And so the parents really wanted to develop [00:10:00] their early potential. , So they paid attention to talents and other potentials that they can nurture to make them great and, and go off into the world.

Millennials can actually display some of the boomer work ethic and work energy. , But expectations, , really skyrocketed for this generation for what it took to get into college. , So what it might have took for a Generation X, which. Basically you graduated from high school, there was a lot more that was expected of people to get into college and to do things.

So there was increased pressure and stress on this generation, which was very new for young people. . And so when millennials went into work, they showed up, they were ready to work, but they were actively asking about promotions.

And so they got labeled as entitled by the older [00:11:00] generation, because they saw that this generation wanted something that they didn't deserve. . But they were told by their parents that if they worked hard, they could be successful. So again, kind of mixed signals, but this is, this is the millennial generation.

Then we go to Gen Z, which we talk a lot about. I, I feel like now, and these are people born between 1997 in 2012. These are the group of people that grew up in COVID, and so they saw their parents sacrifice for work. Then get laid off. Parents didn't want them to fail either, kind of like the millennials, but this generation had unlimited access to information as they were growing up.

And so they're entering a post pandemic work world where work is still trying to figure things out and, , there's a lot of unknowns and [00:12:00] so they look at everything going on and saying. How much should I be willing to sacrifice? For work when I grew up, when I saw what my parents went through and where personal health was such a central focus.

And so this is also the generation that learned how to text before even writing or typing. , This was such a big thing, uh, coming out of this keynote that we all went away with. And because Megan. Said that when you text, , generation Z, if you put punctuation in your text message, it comes across as too serious or, , that we may be upset if we use punctuation.

I actually had learned not too long before this conference that the thumbs up, , emoji, comes across as passive aggressive to this generation. And I was like, oh, no, I thought I was just acknowledging somebody's [00:13:00] post. So again, understanding, uh, a little bit more across generation helps us so much in our communications.

And clarifying, no, I'm not upset with you, I'm just using punctuation. Like these are things that sounds kind of silly, which is probably why it's such a great topic. And, and it was a fun. Uh, talk, but it's important to be able to know how we communicate again, how we define success, what do we need at work, , to feel like we can contribute and have a , sustainable career path.

And these are what we talked about, like what's different, but there's also some things that we share in common. All generations want respect, connection, and autonomy, but the norms. To fill these needs are what are different, and we all want to feel valued for what we uniquely contribute, as well as have trust when it comes to, , [00:14:00] work or, , connecting with with other individuals.

So what I wrote down that I felt was, okay, so what do we do next from this talk is there are some practices that we can implement with this understanding that can help us improve our communication and working together. There were four that she talked about. One was identify assumptions.

So the, you know, that text message , is a great example of where. A text message comes in, there's a period at the end of the sentence, and the assumption is that who sent that text is upset with at me. We, we need to make sure that we are identifying where we are making assumptions and make sure that we clarify and can overcome those assumptions.

Number two is adjusting the lens, is what she called it. And this is where , we replace judgment for curiosity. So I [00:15:00] think it kind of goes along with identifying our assumptions

ask more information to make sure that we understand what's going on. 'cause we're if, especially if it's negative, most likely are misinterpreting it. So always making sure we're leaning into curiosity and trying to communicate. Building trust is super important.

And the other, uh, number four that Megan mentioned is she calls it expanding the pie. Looking for times when we can leverage what each generation uniquely offers. So understanding some of the differences, the values, and the strengths of each generation, and bringing them all to discuss those things with those unique perspectives.

A couple of other things that she provided that I thought were great that we could start implementing immediately are better terms that we can use. And that kind of goes back to how can we better, , approach with curiosity and build trust. And [00:16:00] there were two particular phrases that I wrote down.

The first one is what resources or support would be most valuable to you? So especially as, gen Z is starting to come into the workforce and the next thing will be, gen Alpha, which you're, you probably already have some and in cleaning kennels and things like that. How do we best support each other?

And so it's a very open-ended question to make sure that we are acknowledging what resources and support that they need the most. , And this can be other direction too. I, I happen to know somebody, they were at the conference maybe listening right now, who. Has people who are older than them, they are leading those individuals.

And so it's not always going down, , in age. It can also just be making sure that you acknowledge the differences , even if the same generation, right. The second phrase, was, [00:17:00] what barriers are keeping you from contributing here at, at the level you'd like? I really liked that one because that one really highlights that I know that you.

Want to be successful, you want to have a voice and contribute. Um, so it, it again, a very open-ended, great conversation starter to really understand and support, the people in your team, the. Last kind of points that I'll talk about around here is around mutual mentoring, and this is just to highlight that we can learn from everyone no matter what age we are.

We can learn from people who are younger than us. We can learn from people who are older than us. Everybody has strengths that can, , be beneficial to business, to your life I try to bring people of all ages and situations, , onto the [00:18:00] podcast as well because everybody has.

A unique perspective that can add value. So a couple of different phrases that she used for, being able to have mentoring conversations is, how would you approach this? Uh, and the second one is, how can we combine those different ideas to create something even better? So combining all of these different perspectives to again, hopefully make an even better solution.

And very quickly, I wanted to share a little bit about my experience at VMX this year because there were some predictions in previous episodes about, um. Some things that might show up there. And I know last year I shared some, um, of my personal experience being a new mom at, at the event. Uh, and so I thought I would [00:19:00] kind of do a little bit of a follow up too.

I thought this year was great. Um, I did not hear final numbers for attendance. All I did here is. Kind of early up in the week. Um, there was over 27,000, so I kept just saying 30,000 to round up. Um, but I'm sure they'll release the final number of attendance. There are a lot of people that are coming together in one place and, uh, I thought they did really well, um, and taking so many people and I felt like this year I didn't feel like we were on top of each other as much as maybe.

Previous years when they started to reduce the registration fee was really when we started to see attendance, uh, numbers really grow. Um, but this is, it is a fantastic conference. I do think that they have a very diverse range of continuing education topics and I, I heard someone else say this too, and I.

Would [00:20:00] agree that I feel like there were even more diverse topics, more additional speakers. That was something I've kind of noticed over my many years going to VMX is that sometimes it can kind of feel like it's the same speakers and very similar topics each year, but I felt like there were much more diverse.

Options this year. So definitely kudos that NAVSEA is taking feedback and constantly every year trying to make the experience for attendees better and better. The expo hall felt bigger this year. Um, I don't know if that's just a feeling or if it's an actual thing. The expo hall is always a fun place to be.

I particularly love VMX for their expo, the size of it. Yes. So many people come to this because, um, it's just so many. Attendees are here in one place that you kind of get more opportunity to get in front of more people as an exhibitor. But, uh, one of the things that [00:21:00] we have talked about in our 2026 Trends episode, uh, about a month ago was we wondered if.

That since 2025 was kind of the boom of AI scribes in veterinary medicine, what would that look like going into 2026? And some of the prediction was okay, it was kind of like the hot place everybody was jumping in and there were a bunch of companies specifically around AI scribes, but that there has to be.

A moment where we actually start thinking about, okay, who is actually really good at it? Who is able to expand beyond AI scribing? And so the prediction was that there would be potentially fewer numbers of AI companies, and that seems to have been the case. I'm going to hope that Ryan Leach counted appropriately.

Um, but. Based by his observation, there were half the amount of AI [00:22:00] companies this year as compared to last year. So within only a one year span, we went from something like 37 to more like 15. Um, so much drastically reduced in the number of companies. Um, it may still feel like there's tons out there. But again, it's that we're moving into a time where I think it's the utility of the tools.

How are we really going to maximize, um, their use and the ability to, again, know their audience and make sure that you are solving for pain points. So that was observed. Um. I did see a very interesting, several different interesting companies. Um, wanna keep watching those for sure. So Expo Hall was really fun.

Um, again, um, great time to. Yeah, have reunions with, uh, people that I already know previous podcast guests and, and, uh, as I [00:23:00] said in my LinkedIn post, of course, finding potential future podcast guests as well. So always really fun there. The other big thing that I love about. VMX. Like I said, so many people come to this conference is at the beginning of the year.

So the other neat thing about the expo hall is this is often when people come to launch new products, make big announcements. Um, like Instinct Science announced a new acquisition this year. They now have scribble that, um. And lots of new products that are launching, including in the nutrition space, but I'm biased there.

Uh, so I leaned into all of those. So also super exciting there. I was able to connect with so many different people. Uh, I really do feel like I had a lot of not just pass by hello meetings, like really good conversations. Um, I, I felt like I spent at least half of my time in the Hyatt meeting with people, and that is.

What brings me the biggest [00:24:00] joy is I still remember those conversations. So for the people who took time to sit down with me and really, uh, I, I honestly had a lot of people who were there giving me advice. You know, back to the, uh, the mentoring. That I discussed with Gen intelligence. I am so grateful for people who are willing to share wisdom just in life.

Uh, not, not just career advice, but I really feel like we have the best people in this profession. I constantly reminded of that, whether it's. Through the guests that I bring on this podcast or when I go to conferences, and I've got two more by March 1st. So if you're going to Western or Midwest Vet Conference, look for me in in those as well.

But just it, it was, I knew that this was gonna be a really hard quarter just with the intensity of the travel [00:25:00] and the speaking and everything. But again, when you're around people that you know that they care. Built these wonderful relationships. It gives you the energy and the purpose to keep going. And yes, I am tired and I miss my family when I'm away.

Um, I have a, a lovely 16 month old who I absolutely adore. And it is very hard to leave. But thank you so much for making this profession as amazing as it is. I, I feel so blessed to, to be in the profession, to do this podcast, to find people who listen. And, and some of you listen to, I think almost every single episode.

And you, you have no idea how much that means to me. So just thank you so much. And that does remind me that my last thing that I was going to share was about being a mom. And going to conferences. I did a whole video about my experience specifically with VMX [00:26:00] as being a new mom, having to feed a baby and trying to find places to do all of this.

And I will say, I felt when I attended this year that NABC must have watched my video because I felt like all of the points that I said were opportunities for improvement. Were there. This year. So if that's true. Amazing. If you just listen to our feedback, that's amazing. But I just wanna commend again, feeling heard and that constant improvement for, for this, uh, conference.

Uh, they had multiple mother's rooms, uh, available. So trying to make it a little bit more convenient. I felt like they were in, um, decently strategic places, so you didn't have to walk to the opposite end of the, the. Conference to go find these places, um, that you can do what you need to do. Um, and again, I, it is kind of neat to be able to have the [00:27:00] ability to watch in live time on your cell phone in the app, the CE event.

So you can kind of multipurpose and not feel like you're missing out. Um, so again, I, I just want to thank the organizers. You do a great job. I can tell you spent an entire year putting this together. Um, it's just very, very well done. So thank you for that. Uh, so I, I hope this was an interesting episode.

Again, I know it's very different. Uh, I'm super excited for the conversations that are, are coming already, that are recorded and ready for you, and I think there will be lots of other opportunities this year. So I hope you, you stick with me. Uh. Send me a message. There's a neat text feature that is one direction, so I, I cannot respond to you, but please feel free to text me.

Um, even if it's love, what you do, uh, you, those little words can. [00:28:00] Means so much and give me so much fuel to go so far. So, um, any, any feedback, any thoughts, guest recommendations, you just questions on other ways to support. We're looking for sponsors too, so if you have ideas there, please let us know. Um, but again, thank you so much for being with me.

We're almost. Four years of that life reimagined. Uh, and again, it's just one of my favorite things that I get to do. So I am so glad to start 2026 with you again, thank you for being here with me. Uh, I will again put some resources. I did start a sub stack this year. Definitely not consistent with it, but I, I would like to have this platform to start building an email list, but providing another opportunity to share resources, uh, personal perspectives.

Let me know if, if there's something specific that you're, you'd be interested in hearing from. But I, I'll try to put some good resources in a substack for you so you have access to [00:29:00] that. And otherwise, until next week, be excited. I am. I absolutely love this next guest. Uh, I can't wait to share more about who he is as an individual, so stay tuned, and until next time, keep reimagining what's possible in veterinary life.