Show Notes
Caffeinators, this is a HEAVY episode. But it is one you ABSOLUTELY need to tune in to. You may remember our episode with Kelly Foltz from 2023 where she touched on the idea of futile care and has since been involved in researching this topic (link below). In this most recent discussion we try to define and label this idea, which proves to be very tricky and as yet is still undecided. But the fact remains, as evidenced by her research, we all have, or will, experience futile care in veterinary medicine. That "why are we doing this" patient. This episode starts that discussion and hopefully many more because we need to be preparing all future veterinarians and credentialed technicians for this. We need to learn to identify it, talk about it, and develop steps to mitigate it because it is not going away. DO NOT miss this episode. Show Links: The first paper by Peterson et al focused on clinicians: https://avmajournals.avma.org/view/journals/javma/260/12/javma.22.01.0033.xml
The paper I co-authored focused on technicians: https://avmajournals.avma.org/view/journals/javma/263/4/javma.24.10.0659.xml; published this year.
Today's Veterinary Practice article, may be more accessible than the research papers: https://todaysveterinarypractice.com/practice-management/recognizing-futile-care-in-veterinary-medicine/
Hastings Center For Bioethics article by Dr. Peterson and Dr. Boyd: https://www.thehastingscenter.org/veterinarians-often-provide-futile-care-doing-so-comes-at-a-cost/
Marie Holowaychuk blog post: https://marieholowaychuk.com/2022/08/03/futile-care-and-the-impact-on-wellbeing-in-veterinary-medicine/
Practical Bioethics from 2023: https://www.practicalbioethics.org/whats-new/three-definitions-of-medical-futility-and-how-to-balance-them/
Human paper from 2005: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16159066/
AMA paper from 2007: https://journalofethics.ama-assn.org/article/medical-futility-legal-and-ethical-analysis/2007-05
Our Links: Check out our sponsor https://betterhelp.com/vettechcafe for 10% off your first month of therapy Follow us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/vettechcafe Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vettechcafepodcast Follow us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/vet-tech-cafe Like and Subscribe on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCMDTKdfOaqSW0Mv3Uoi33qg Our website: https://www.vettechcafe.com/ Vet Tech Cafe Merch: https://www.vettechcafe.com/merch If you would like to help us cover our podcast expenses, we'd appreciate any support you give through Patreon. We do this podcast and our YouTube channel content to support the veterinary technicians out there and do not expect anything in return! We thank you for all you do. 🐾 Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/vettechcafe
More from The Vet Tech Cafe's Podcast
Caffeinators, you know we love to talk to veterinary technicians or nurses who have started their own businesses, and this is one of those episodes! Brandon Dutkiewicz reached out to us recently to see if we'd be interested in talking about the anesthesia monitoring app he launched, and our response was when can we schedule that! It was a fascinating discussion of how he learned how to write an app, how he tests it on real patients with his co-workers and patients and how this can help us provide better care and improve outcomes for our patients. It''s really cool to see all the amazing things our colleagues are doing in their careers and this is just one more example. Give it a listen! Show Links: Levika website: https://levikavet.com/ Levika FB page: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61590465585873
Caffeinators, we hope your passport is still valid because we're going back down under for this one! We recently went to Australia (virtually) to chat with Laura Bennington. She has a unique career path in that she originally became credentialed in Scotland, then moved to the UK and obtained some additional credentials, and now lives and works in Australia and has obtained her VTS(ECC). We talked about what vet med and working look like in those three countries and compared and contrasted that, along with the types of cases she worked/works on. It was a fascinating discussion on how variable vet med can be around the world, depending on the country you're in and the credentials you hold. Definitely tune in for this one! Show Links: Laura's Instagram is https://www.instagram.com/laurarvn.vest/ Handle: @laurarvn.vest VEST online CE site is: https://invest.thinkific.com/
Caffeinators, are you ready to talk behavior? We recently had a great conversation with Monica Henderson you don't want to miss! We talked all things certifications, the VTS (Behavior) process, as Monica is going through that right now, pharmacology, and so much more. We also talked about what a credentialed veterinary technician wished we all knew and how we can better support them and their patients. This is one you don't want to miss-we think we could ALL do better in this realm for our patients.
Caffeinators, you have remember back in 2023 when we had Brian Goleman on as a guest. He'd recently started Brian's Bandages, and we talked all things bandages and bandage education. We learned a ton from just that episode, and he has gone on to do INCREDIBLE things in the 3.5 years since. He is now a very highly regarded speaker nationally on bandaging techniques and uses a lot of point of view to help illustrate what he's talking about. He also does a lot of great bandaging content on social media, so be sure to check him out there as well. It was really cool to catch up and hear the trajectory his career has taken since our first conversation! Don't miss this one. Show Links: The Boy Who Bandages https://www.instagram.com/briansbandages/ Our Links: Check out our sponsor https://betterhelp.com/vettechcafe for 10% off your first month of therapy Follow us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/vettechcafe Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vettechcafepodcast Follow us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/vet-tech-cafe Like and Subscribe on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCMDTKdfOaqSW0Mv3Uoi33qg Our website: https://www.vettechcafe.com/ Vet Tech Cafe Merch: https://www.vettechcafe.com/merch If you would like to help us cover our podcast expenses, we'd appreciate any support you give through Patreon. We do this podcast and our YouTube channel content to support the veterinary technicians out there and do not expect anything in return! We thank you for all you do. 🐾 Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/vettechcafe
We were Live at HiVE East in Charlotte NC! We love this conference and we're so happy they've invited us to join them. We did our second Live episode from the exhibit hall with some great guests that stopped by We will be at HiVE West in October and we''ll have another Live at HiVE episode Here's the link to sign up: https://experience.navc.com/event/HiVEWest2026/summary?utm_source=content&utm_medium=website&utm_campaign=HiVE_West_2026 Remember to use our discount code CAFE to save 20% off registration Our Links: Check out our sponsor https://betterhelp.com/vettechcafe for 10% off your first month of therapy Follow us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/vettechcafe Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vettechcafepodcast Follow us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/vet-tech-cafe Like and Subscribe on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCMDTKdfOaqSW0Mv3Uoi33qg Our website: https://www.vettechcafe.com/ Vet Tech Cafe Merch: https://www.vettechcafe.com/merch If you would like to help us cover our podcast expenses, we'd appreciate any support you give through Patreon. We do this podcast and our YouTube channel content to support the veterinary technicians out there and do not expect anything in return! We thank you for all you do. 🐾 Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/vettechcafe