The heartbeat of the veterinary profession. Join us as we talk with veterinary colleagues about critical topics from student debt to mental health. And share stories, stories connect us… as humans, as animals, as a veterinary community.
Episodes
Saturday May 07, 2022
Saturday May 07, 2022
Listen in as Executive Director Jordan benShea chats with student debt expert and Board Member Dr. Tony Bartels and the newest student debt team member Dr. Rebecca Mears in this next installment of our Student Debt Series.
In this episode we’re discussing the latest news about student loan forgiveness from the Department of Education. Is this a time machine for loan forgiveness? What should borrowers know now and if colleagues have been making payments can they get a refund? Find out what you need to do if you federally held loans versus commercially held loans and where to go for updates.
As always, we want to hear from YOU. Please share your thoughts by sending an email or joining the conversation.
GUEST BIO:
Dr. Tony Bartels
Tony Bartels, DVM, MBA graduated in 2012 from the Colorado State University combined MBA/DVM program and is a VIN Foundation Board Member and Student Debt Expert, and an employee of the Veterinary Information Network (VIN). He and his wife, a small-animal internal medicine specialist practicing in Denver, have more than $400,000 in veterinary-school debt that they manage using federal income-driven repayment plans. By necessity (and now obsession), his professional activities include researching and speaking on veterinary-student debt, providing guidance to colleagues on loan-repayment strategies and contributing to VIN Foundation resources. Beyond debt, his professional interests include small- and exotic-animal practice. When he’s not staring holes into his colleagues’ student-loan data, Tony enjoys fly fishing, ice hockey, camping and exploring Colorado with his wife, Audra, and their two rescued canines, Addi and Maggie.
Dr. Rebecca Mears
Rebecca Mears, DVM grew up in Delaware before moving to Lexington, KY, where she completed her BS at University of Kentucky. She is a graduate of University of Georgia’s College of Veterinary Medicine. While in vet school, she served as the National Business Certificate Director for the Veterinary Business Management Association (VBMA) and as a board member for Vets for Pets and People. During this time she took an active role in wellbeing awareness and access within the veterinary community. Rebecca then worked as an equine general practitioner and has been an active AAEP member. In her time away from veterinary medicine, she can be found hiking, baking, and hosting impromptu dance parties. She is passionate about giving back to the profession and improving the lives of veterinarians, pre-vet and vet students. She is incredibly grateful for the opportunity to do so as a member of the VIN Foundation student debt team and Rising Leaders Committee lead.
LINKS AND INFORMATION:
- Department of Education press release: https://www.ed.gov/news/press-releases/department-education-announces-actions-fix-longstanding-failures-student-loan-programs
- StudentAid.gov https://studentaid.gov/announcements-events/idr-account-adjustment
- VIN Foundation Student Debt Center: https://vinfoundation.org/studentdebtcenter
- Check your current student loan servicers and other loan details -- VIN Foundation My Student Loans tool: http://www.vinfoundation.org/mystudentloans
- VIN Foundation WikiDebt: https://vinfoundation.org/wikidebt
- VIN Foundation Webinars: https://vinfoundation.org/resources/webinars/
- VIN Foundation Blog post: https://vinfoundation.org/fedloan-servicing-quits/
- FedLoan Servicing: https://myfedloan.org/
- StudentAid.gov: https://studentaid.gov/
- Federal Student Loan Servicers: https://studentaid.gov/manage-loans/repayment/servicers
- StudentAid PSLF: https://studentaid.gov/manage-loans/forgiveness-cancellation/public-service
- New Grad Student Loan Playbook: https://vinfoundation.org/playbook
- New Grad Student Loan Playbook webinar: https://VIN.zoom.us/webinar/register/4016518582800/WN_panblGA3RlKA8yf3wCVOAA
- Student Loan Repayment Restart webinar recording:
- https://vinfoundation.org/climbing-mt-debt-student-loan-repayment-restart/
- Stay up to date with VIN Foundation updates: https://vinfoundation.org/updates/
- Personalized student loan assistance: https://vinfoundation.org/personalized-veterinary-student-loan-debt-help/
- Email VIN Foundation: studentdebt@vinfoundation.org
- Get updates to stay tuned for the VIN Foundation webinars on student debt.
You may learn more about the VIN Foundation, on the website, or join the conversation on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter.
If you like this podcast, we would appreciate it if you follow and share. As always, we welcome feedback. If you have an idea for a podcast episode, we’d love to hear it!
Thursday May 05, 2022
Thursday May 05, 2022
Listen in as VIN Foundation Executive Director Jordan benShea has a conversation with Dr. Bree Montana and Dr. Jose Pla in the next episode of the podcast series, The Future’s So Bright, the ins and outs of selling a veterinary practice. Jose takes us through the important aspects of sharing the story of your practice. What financial documents do you need? Do you need your tax records? And how important is production? What are minority partnerships? He also does a deep dive into the below five big categories of what needs to be considered when you are getting ready to sell your practice:
Top 5 categories to have when considering selling your veterinary practice:
- Lease information
- Financial records, make sure they are clean
- Make sure that practice management software is able to print out financial reports
- Think about your exit plan, are you willing to work and for how many years?
- Pay to have a professional evaluator ahead of selling, ideally 2 years
Most importantly, we want to hear from YOU our listeners, to know what topics YOU want to hear about from experts. Please email us to share your thoughts: podcast@vinfoundation.org.
GUEST BIOS:
Dr. Bree Montana
Bree Montana, DVM, CCFP graduated from the University of Cincinnati with a Bachelor of Science degree focused in the field of Biology followed by a Doctorate in Veterinary Medicine from The Ohio State University’s College of Veterinary Medicine. After graduation from veterinary medical school, Dr. Montana worked exclusively in small animal outpatient and emergency hospitals while pursuing additional medical training in the latest technologies. Dr. Montana has advanced training in ultrasonography, echocardiography, chemotherapy, dentistry, emergency medicine and surgery, transfusion medicine, class IV laser therapy, pain management and rehabilitation. A past member of UC Davis’ College of Veterinary Medicine’s External Advisory and Admissions Boards, and a past Board member of the VIN Foundation, Dr. Montana is the Director of the VIN Foundation’s Vets4Vets® programs. When not practicing medicine, Dr. Montana will generally be found playing with her daughter Ember and their ponies, hiking with her huskies, and skiing or snowboarding with her husband.
Dr. Jose Pla
Dr. Pla obtained his DVM degree from Cornell University in 1995 and his MBA from Rutgers University in 2018. As a practicing veterinarian he has a special interest in feline medicine, behavior, nutrition and gastrointestinal diseases. As a businessman he has been the owner or co-owner of five veterinary practices and a founding partner of Companion Animal Practices North America. Since obtaining his MBA, Dr. Pla shifted his focus to entrepreneurial ventures, practice management education and private practice transition consulting. He is an avid sailor, scuba diver and wanna-be photographer. Activities he shares with his wife and two sons.
LINKS AND INFORMATION:
- Veterinary Pulse Podcast on VIN: https://vinfoundation.org/podcast_v
- VIN Foundation application access for VIN: https://vinfoundation.org/vinapp
You may learn more about the VIN Foundation, on the website, or join the conversation on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter.
If you like this podcast, we would appreciate it if you follow and share. As always, we welcome feedback. If you have an idea for a podcast episode, we’d love to hear it!
Wednesday Apr 20, 2022
Wednesday Apr 20, 2022
Listen in as Executive Director Jordan benShea chats with student debt expert and Board Member Dr. Tony Bartels in this next installment of our Student Debt Series. In this episode we’re discussing the latest changes to student loans, including the latest student loan pause extension through August 31, 2022. Tony covers everything from should you file your taxes separately if your married, to how to do a physical exam of your student loans.
*Episode note* As always this is a fast changing landscape and since we recorded this episode additional student loan information has been in the news, check the links below for more information.
GUEST BIO:
Dr. Tony Bartels
Tony Bartels, DVM, MBA graduated in 2012 from the Colorado State University combined MBA/DVM program and is a VIN Foundation Board Member and Student Debt Expert, and an employee of the Veterinary Information Network (VIN). He and his wife, a small-animal internal medicine specialist practicing in Denver, have more than $400,000 in veterinary-school debt that they manage using federal income-driven repayment plans. By necessity (and now obsession), his professional activities include researching and speaking on veterinary-student debt, providing guidance to colleagues on loan-repayment strategies and contributing to VIN Foundation resources. Beyond debt, his professional interests include small- and exotic-animal practice. When he’s not staring holes into his colleagues’ student-loan data, Tony enjoys fly fishing, ice hockey, camping and exploring Colorado with his wife, Audra, and their two rescued canines, Addi and Maggie.
LINKS AND INFORMATION:
- *New info!* As we were recording this podcast new information came out about student loans: https://www.npr.org/2022/04/19/1093310151/student-loans-income-based-repayment
- VIN Foundation Student Debt Center: https://vinfoundation.org/studentdebtcenter
- Check your current student loan servicers and other loan details -- VIN Foundation My Student Loans tool: http://www.vinfoundation.org/mystudentloans
- VIN Foundation WikiDebt: https://vinfoundation.org/wikidebt
- VIN Foundation Webinars: https://vinfoundation.org/resources/webinars/
- VIN Foundation Blog post: https://vinfoundation.org/fedloan-servicing-quits/
- FedLoan Servicing: https://myfedloan.org/
- StudentAid.gov: https://studentaid.gov/
- Federal Student Loan Servicers: https://studentaid.gov/manage-loans/repayment/servicers
- StudentAid PSLF: https://studentaid.gov/manage-loans/forgiveness-cancellation/public-service
- New Graduate Student Loan Playbook: https://vinfoundation.org/resources/veterinary-new-grad-student-loan-repayment-playbook/
- Stay up to date with VIN Foundation updates: https://vinfoundation.org/updates/
- Personalized assistance is available via the special Student Debt Message Board areas. If you do not have an active VIN username and password, you may gain access through the VIN Foundation access application: https://www.vin.com/apputil/project/defaultadv1.aspx?id=9593830
- Email VIN Foundation: studentdebt@vinfoundation.org
- Get updates to stay tuned for the VIN Foundation webinars on student debt.
You may learn more about the VIN Foundation, on the website, or join the conversation on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter.
If you like this podcast, we would appreciate it if you follow and share. As always, we welcome feedback. If you have an idea for a podcast episode, we’d love to hear it!
Wednesday Apr 20, 2022
Wednesday Apr 20, 2022
Listen in as VIN Foundation Executive Director Jordan benShea has a conversation with Dr. Casara Andre about her first-hand boots-on-the-ground experience as the volunteer branch director of the Front Range Veterinary Medical Reserve Corps (FRvMRC) and how her heart cat brought her to the veterinary profession. Join us as we learn about her story from a forensics anthropologist passion to volunteer work and her successful experience as an entrepreneur. With helpful life lessons and fascinating stories, this episode offers a wonderful opportunity to explore a different veterinary career path full of passion.
*Episode note… this episode was originally recorded in February 2022 but due to some technical issues was published on April 20, 2022.”
GUEST BIO:
Dr. Casara Andre
Casara Andre, DVM, is a Healer consistently motivated by her desire to help all mammals of all species (human and veterinary) repair and sustain their health and wellbeing. A veterinarian by education and training, Dr. Andre’s day-to-day mission is creating a safe-haven and incubator-for-ideas opportunities within medical communities. By leveraging the power of cooperation, creating a supportive community, and encouraging creative solutions, she works to support entrepreneurship among Healers that have a vision for positive change in the world. Dr. Andre currently serves the geographic regions east of the Continental Divide as the volunteer branch director of the Front Range Veterinary Medical Reserve Corps (FRvMRC). The FRvMRC is a group of medical and non-medical volunteers working to support a disaster prepared and resilient veterinary community and provide animal-related expertise to non-veterinary disaster response organizations.
LINKS AND INFORMATION:
- Front Range Veterinary Medical Reserve Corps (FRVMRC): https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/front-range-vmrc
- Get in touch with FRvMRC: https://forms.gle/wLkmMzdw1aQgcVH67
- Massey Veterinary School: https://www.massey.ac.nz/about/colleges-schools-and-institutes/college-of-sciences/school-of-veterinary-science/
- Virginia-Maryland Veterinary School: https://vetmed.vt.edu/
- Veterinary Cannabis: https://www.veterinarycannabis.org/
- Cultivate Wellbeing: https://www.cultivatewellbeing.health/
You may learn more about the VIN Foundation, on the website, or join the conversation on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter.
Tuesday Feb 22, 2022
Tuesday Feb 22, 2022
Listen in as VIN Foundation Executive Director Jordan benShea has a conversation with Dr. Bree Montana and Dr. Susan Cohen in the 3rd installment of the podcast series The Future’s So Bright, the ins and outs of selling a veterinary practice. This episode we’re diving into the mental and emotional aspect of making the choice to sell a veterinary practice.
From exploring how identity can be tied up with owning a practice, to how to deal with a shift in life priorities. Bree shares her personal experience, Susan offers tips on how to assess when the right time to sell might be based on a colleague's individual life circumstance, and we discuss how colleagues can set themselves up for mental success.
Most importantly, we want to hear from YOU our listeners, please weigh in on the discussion, and we want to know what topics YOU want to hear about from experts. Please email us to share your thoughts: podcast@vinfoundation.org.
GUEST BIOS:
Dr. Bree Montana
Bree Montana, DVM, CCFP graduated from the University of Cincinnati with a Bachelor of Science degree focused in the field of Biology followed by a Doctorate in Veterinary Medicine from The Ohio State University’s College of Veterinary Medicine. After graduation from veterinary medical school, Dr. Montana worked exclusively in small animal outpatient and emergency hospitals while pursuing additional medical training in the latest technologies. Dr. Montana has advanced training in ultrasonography, echocardiography, chemotherapy, dentistry, emergency medicine and surgery, transfusion medicine, class IV laser therapy, pain management and rehabilitation. A past member of UC Davis’ College of Veterinary Medicine’s External Advisory and Admissions Boards, and a past Board member of the VIN Foundation, Dr. Montana is the Director of the VIN Foundation’s Vets4Vets® programs. When not practicing medicine, Dr. Montana will generally be found playing with her daughter Ember and their ponies, hiking with her huskies, and skiing or snowboarding with her husband.
Dr. Susan Cohen
Dr. Susan P. Cohen has been called a pioneer in the fields of pet loss, human-animal interaction, and the human side of veterinary practice. Since 1982 Dr. Cohen has helped pet lovers make decisions about the illness of their pets. She developed the first-ever Pet Loss Support Group and began an animal assisted activity program that took the then-unusual form of having volunteers work with their own pets. She originated many training programs for workers in the veterinary and social service fields, and she has been a field instructor for several schools of social work.
She has written several book chapters and scholarly articles on social work, veterinary practice, and the human-animal bond. Her most recent book chapter, “Loss, Grief, and Bereavement in the Context of Human-Animal Relationships” (Susan Cohen, DSW; and Adam Clark, LSW, AASW) was published in 2019. She is currently working on a chapter on pet loss for Routledge's International Handbook on Human-Animal Interaction.
These days she consults with veterinary groups on client and professional communication, compassion fatigue, and how to make practice fun again. She facilitates online support groups for veterinarians, animal welfare workers, managers, and those grieving the loss of a pet. She teaches online workshops and lectures widely to veterinary colleges and conferences, colleges of social work, veterinary technician programs, and human health groups on communication, pet loss and bereavement, human-animal interaction, client relations, compassion fatigue, and career development.
She is Vice Chairperson of SWAHAB (Social Workers Advancing the Human-Animal Bond), the first such committee of the National Association of Social Workers. Her work has been featured in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The New Yorker, and Smithsonian Magazine. In addition, she has made numerous television and radio addresses nationwide, including “The Today Show,” "20-20," and "The Oprah Winfrey Show."
LINKS AND INFORMATION:
VIN Foundation Vets4Vets®: https://vinfoundation.org/v4v
Book appt with Vets4Vets®: https://vinfoundation.org/v4vappt
Veterinary Pulse Podcast on VIN: https://vinfoundation.org/podcast_v
VIN Foundation application access for VIN: https://vinfoundation.org/vinapp
You may learn more about the VIN Foundation, on the website, or join the conversation on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter.
If you like this podcast, we would appreciate it if you follow and share. As always, we welcome feedback. If you have an idea for a podcast episode, we’d love to hear it!
Thursday Feb 10, 2022
Thursday Feb 10, 2022
Listen in as VIN Foundation Executive Director Jordan benShea has a conversation with Dr. Bree Montana and Dr. Lance Roasa in the next episode of the podcast series, The Future’s So Bright, the ins and outs of selling a veterinary practice. In this episode, we’re drilling down on the different types of veterinary practice sale options. Lance breaks it down into four main buckets of sale options, with an additional fifth bonus bucket for a more alternative approach.
Are you wanting to sell all of your practice? Maybe you want to stop working? Or perhaps you want to continue working but are curious about the financial options to improve your work/life balance. Listen in to find out how Bree did on her homework assignment and the pros and cons of each sale option.
Most importantly, we want to hear from YOU our listeners, to know what topics YOU want to hear about from experts. Please email us to share your thoughts: podcast@vinfoundation.org.
GUEST BIOS:
Dr. Bree Montana
Bree Montana, DVM, CCFP graduated from the University of Cincinnati with a Bachelor of Science degree focused in the field of Biology followed by a Doctorate in Veterinary Medicine from The Ohio State University’s College of Veterinary Medicine. After graduation from veterinary medical school, Dr. Montana worked exclusively in small animal outpatient and emergency hospitals while pursuing additional medical training in the latest technologies. Dr. Montana has advanced training in ultrasonography, echocardiography, chemotherapy, dentistry, emergency medicine and surgery, transfusion medicine, class IV laser therapy, pain management and rehabilitation. A past member of UC Davis’ College of Veterinary Medicine’s External Advisory and Admissions Boards, and a past Board member of the VIN Foundation, Dr. Montana is the Director of the VIN Foundation’s Vets4Vets® programs. When not practicing medicine, Dr. Montana will generally be found playing with her daughter Ember and their ponies, hiking with her huskies, and skiing or snowboarding with her husband.
Dr. Lance Roasa
Lance Roasa, DVM, MS, JD is a 2008 graduate of Texas A&M where he was the first student to undertake a 4th year business-track, spending the majority of his clinical training in veterinary business and industry. In 2016 He completed a law degree from the University of Nebraska and his training was centered on the law of small business, taxation and the law of veterinary medicine.
LINKS AND INFORMATION:
- Veterinary Pulse The Future’s So Bright on VIN: https://vinfoundation.org/podcast/fsbv
- VIN Foundation access on VIN: https://vinfoundation.org/vinapp
- Veterinary Pulse Message Board on VIN: https://vinfoundation.org/podcast_vmb
- VIN Foundation Vets4Vets® support group: https://vinfoundation.org/v4v
- Podcast email: podcast@vinfoundation.org
You may learn more about the VIN Foundation, on the website, or join the conversation on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter.
If you like this podcast, we would appreciate it if you follow and share. As always, we welcome feedback. If you have an idea for a podcast episode, we’d love to hear it!
Wednesday Dec 22, 2021
Wednesday Dec 22, 2021
Listen in as Executive Director Jordan benShea chats with student debt expert and Board Member Dr. Tony Bartels in this next installment of our Student Debt Series. In this episode we’re discussing the latest news announced today by President Biden extending the pause on federal student loan repayments for an additional 90 days — through May 1, 2022, and what borrowers need to know, and do now.
GUEST BIO:
Dr. Tony Bartels
Tony Bartels, DVM, MBA graduated in 2012 from the Colorado State University combined MBA/DVM program and is a VIN Foundation Board Member and Student Debt Expert, and an employee of the Veterinary Information Network (VIN). He and his wife, a small-animal internal medicine specialist practicing in Denver, have more than $400,000 in veterinary-school debt that they manage using federal income-driven repayment plans. By necessity (and now obsession), his professional activities include researching and speaking on veterinary-student debt, providing guidance to colleagues on loan-repayment strategies, and contributing to VIN Foundation resources. Beyond debt, his professional interests include small- and exotic-animal practice. When he’s not staring holes into his colleagues’ student-loan data, Tony enjoys fly fishing, ice hockey, camping, and exploring Colorado with his wife, Audra, and their two rescued canines, Addi and Maggie.
LINKS AND INFORMATION:
- White House Statement: https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2021/12/22/statement-by-president-joe-biden-extending-the-pause-on-student-loan-repayment-an-additional-90-days/
- VIN Foundation Student Debt Center: https://vinfoundation.org/studentdebtcenter
- Check your current student loan servicers and other loan details -- VIN Foundation My Student Loans tool: http://www.vinfoundation.org/mystudentloans
- VIN Foundation WikiDebt: https://vinfoundation.org/wikidebt
- VIN Foundation Webinars: https://vinfoundation.org/resources/webinars/
- VIN Foundation Blog post: https://vinfoundation.org/fedloan-servicing-quits/
- FedLoan Servicing: https://myfedloan.org/
- StudentAid.gov: https://studentaid.gov/
- Federal Student Loan Servicers: https://studentaid.gov/manage-loans/repayment/servicers
- StudentAid PSLF: https://studentaid.gov/manage-loans/forgiveness-cancellation/public-service
- New Graduate Student Loan Playbook: https://vinfoundation.org/resources/veterinary-new-grad-student-loan-repayment-playbook/
- Stay up to date with VIN Foundation updates: https://vinfoundation.org/updates/
- Personalized assistance is available via the special Student Debt Message Board areas. If you do not have an active VIN username and password, you may gain access through the VIN Foundation access application: https://www.vin.com/apputil/project/defaultadv1.aspx?id=9593830
- Email VIN Foundation: studentdebt@vinfoundation.org
- Get updates to stay tuned for the VIN Foundation webinars on student debt.
You may learn more about the VIN Foundation, on the website, or join the conversation on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter.
If you like this podcast, we would appreciate it if you follow and share. As always, we welcome feedback. If you have an idea for a podcast episode, we’d love to hear it!
Friday Dec 10, 2021
Friday Dec 10, 2021
Listen in as VIN Foundation Executive Director Jordan benShea has a conversation with Dr. Bree Montana and Dr. Lance Roasa to kick off the new podcast series, The Future’s So Bright, the ins and outs of selling a veterinary practice. In this episode we discuss our goals for the series, topics we plan on covering, including - various financial aspects of selling a practice, different types of sale options, tips on how to figure out if an associate might be a good buyer, where real estate comes into play, and the impact of mental health. Those interested in this path also get a homework assignment to get started.
Most importantly, we want to hear from YOU our listeners, to know what topics YOU want to hear about from experts. Please email us to share your thoughts: podcast@vinfoundation.org.
GUEST BIOS:
Dr. Bree Montana
Bree Montana, DVM, CCFP graduated from the University of Cincinnati with a Bachelor of Science degree focused in the field of Biology followed by a Doctorate in Veterinary Medicine from The Ohio State University’s College of Veterinary Medicine. After graduation from veterinary medical school, Dr. Montana worked exclusively in small animal outpatient and emergency hospitals while pursuing additional medical training in the latest technologies. Dr. Montana has advanced training in ultrasonography, echocardiography, chemotherapy, dentistry, emergency medicine and surgery, transfusion medicine, class IV laser therapy, pain management and rehabilitation. A past member of UC Davis’ College of Veterinary Medicine’s External Advisory and Admissions Boards, and a past Board member of the VIN Foundation, Dr. Montana is the Director of the VIN Foundation’s Vets4Vets® programs. When not practicing medicine, Dr. Montana will generally be found playing with her daughter Ember and their ponies, hiking with her huskies, and skiing or snowboarding with her husband.
Dr. Lance Roasa
Lance Roasa, DVM, MS, JD is a 2008 graduate of Texas A&M where he was the first student to undertake a 4th year business-track, spending the majority of his clinical training in veterinary business and industry. In 2016 He completed a law degree from the University of Nebraska and his training was centered on the law of small business, taxation and the law of veterinary medicine.
LINKS AND INFORMATION:
- VIN Foundation Vets4Vets: https://vinfoundation.org/v4v
- Drip.vet: https://drip.vet/
- VBMA: https://vbma.biz/
- EBITDA: https://www.investopedia.com/terms/e/ebitda.asp
You may learn more about the VIN Foundation, on the website, or join the conversation on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter.
If you like this podcast, we would appreciate it if you follow and share. As always, we welcome feedback. If you have an idea for a podcast episode, we’d love to hear it!
