Your veterinary big sisters are back, agony aunt style. (Deidre's Photo Casebook fans, this one's for you.)

You asked, we listened. In this episode, Katie and Claire take a question from the community: if my boundaries are being repeatedly crossed, is it right to walk away?

There's no cookie-cutter answer here, but there are some useful things to think about. We explore:

• Why boundaries aren't about controlling other people, but about what you choose to do next
• Whether the boundary has ever actually been said out loud (the biggest illusion in communication is that it's taken place)
• How curiosity can change a difficult conversation, and why really kind people can overstep boundaries too
• Why walking away isn't giving up, and is often the ultimate boundary in itself
• Why this can feel uncomfortable even for coaches, and why that doesn't mean you're doing it wrong
• 
  

Then we catch up on life at Vet Empowered: house floods from Bali, Ibiza, Egypt, the Red Sea, the reality of needing to slow down, and two things you asked for loud and clear in our summer survey.

A Vet Empowered retreat is in the works for 2027, and our accredited Vet Empowered coaching qualification is coming, designed for people who want to coach within their own teams, with ongoing support once you finish.

Next stop: Ireland, for four workshops in a few days. Wish us luck.

Everything we share is general insight, not gospel. You're a unique human being, and your situation deserves depth. Coaching isn't a substitute for therapy or crisis support.

Got a question for a future episode? Drop us a DM on Instagram @vetempowered or email hello@vetempowered.com.

Resources mentioned in this episode

🗣️ Free boundary scripts
A starting point for those conversations you've been putting off. Find them in our free resources hub.
https://www.vetempowered.com/resources

🙅 Free webinar: How to Say No (and Sometimes Yes)
Practical tools for boundaries and difficult conversations.
https://mailchi.mp/vetempowered/boundaries-difficult-convos

❄️ Winter blues and SAD in vetmed: what we can do about it
Our blog on navigating autumn and winter, including a WellVet series webinar with actionable things you can do proactively.
https://www.vetempowered.com/post/sad-and-winter-blues-for-vetmed-and-what-we-can-do-about-it

🌿 Vet Empowered retreats (2027)
You asked, we listened. Register your interest to be the first to hear.
https://retreats.vetempowered.com/

🎓 Vet Empowered coaching qualification
Accredited, veterinary-led, and designed for coaching within your team. Join the interest list.
https://registerinterest.vetempowered.com/

💬 Got a question for a future episode?
DM us on Instagram @vetempowered or email hello@vetempowered.com

You've probably heard us say it before: "Be the change." But what does that actually mean when you're standing in a corridor eating your lunch out of a wrapper, or talking yourself out of going home on time again?

In this episode, Katie and Claire get into the real, practical, moment-to-moment reality of what being the change looks like in vet med. Not the grand gestures. Not waiting for someone higher up to fix the system. The small, sometimes uncomfortable, consistently powerful choices that create genuine ripple effects across teams and entire clinics.

They cover what it looks like to take a break when nobody else is, how curiosity can completely shift a difficult client interaction, what happens when we let our inner critic write the story about a colleague, and why leaders walking their talk matters far more than any policy ever will.

Katie and Claire also talk about the research: Damon Centola's tipping point studies suggest that around 25% of people is all it takes to shift a culture. You do not need everyone on board. You just need enough of you saying: this is worth doing differently.

If you've ever wondered whether your individual choices can actually make a dent in a profession that sometimes feels too big to shift, this episode is for you. You are part of the system. And that is not a small thing.

Katie and Claire also share details about Veterinary Human Factors Live on 26 June 2026 in Birmingham, a full day of collaborative, evidence-based conversations about collective change in the profession. Tickets are limited, so head to vetempowered.com or find Vet Empowered on Instagram if you want to know more.

Find out more about VHFL 2026: https://vetled.thinkific.com/courses/vhfl2026

Find out more about the Vet Empowered Signature Programme here:

https://www.vetempowered.com/vet-empowered-signature-programme

We're back on the podcast, and we're leading with the thing that feels most true right now: life has been a lot lately.

In this episode, Katie and Claire check in honestly about what's been going on behind the scenes, share some personal reflections on navigating challenge, and remind us all that recommitting is always available, no matter how long the pause has been.

What we cover in this episode:

Showing up imperfectly (and why that's the point)Real talk on why consistency doesn't always mean showing up daily, and what it actually looks like to scale back with intention rather than guilt when life gets hard. Spoiler: it looks a lot like compassion.

Claire's experience of unexpected griefClaire shares, with characteristic openness, that she recently lost a close friend suddenly and unexpectedly. She talks about what she needed in that time, what helped, and the importance of recognising where to release pressure rather than pushing through.

Katie's health challengesKatie opens up about navigating ongoing health issues, an upcoming surgery, and how she's been learning to work with her capacity rather than against it, including preparing for recovery practically (hello, freezer meals) and letting guilt come along for the ride without letting it make the decisions.

What actually helps: Katie and Claire's honest listsNeither of them is here to hand you a five-step plan. Instead, they share, with full acknowledgement that everyone's different, what genuinely supports them:

Claire: Checking in without judgment on what she needs each day. Choosing connection over isolation, even when the pull to withdraw is strong. Moving her body as a route back to herself. And finding meaning in challenge by alchemising experience into something that can support others.

Katie: Communicating clearly (with partners, with the team, with her out-of-office). Stepping away from the scroll hole. Preparing future-you for the harder moments. And returning, again and again, to self-compassion as something that doesn't remove the discomfort, but makes the experience of it feel less alone.

Staged returns and lowering the barA genuinely important conversation about what coming back to work actually looks like after time away, and why "I'm here but not at full capacity" is an act of honesty, not weakness. Plus why modelling that out loud gives others permission to do the same.

The hormone-friendly workplace webinar with Dr. Helena TuckerThis episode also touches on the recent session Katie and Claire ran with clinical psychologist Dr. Helena Tucker (generously sponsored by Covetrus), exploring how we create workplaces that understand hormonal health, not as a niche topic, but as something that affects 100% of us in some way.

If you missed the first session with Helena on PMS and PMDD, you can catch up here:Watch: PMS and PMDD in Vet Med with Dr. Helena Tucker

And the second session in the series, the Hormone-Friendly Workplace webinar, is coming up on Saturday 11th April. Register here:Register: The Hormone-Friendly Workplace Webinar

Whether hormones are something you navigate personally or not, this is essential, not optional, learning for everyone working in veterinary.

Resources mentioned in this episode:Visit vetempowered.com for free resources including the Boundary Blueprint, blog posts, and the full WellVet menopause content archive, now available on the Vet Empowered blog.