What Vet Work Really Feels Like

What does it take to love animals after surviving multiple bites as a child — and still choose veterinary medicine? In this raw, wide‑angle conversation on Behind the Gate, Dr. Bailey Nelson, Associate Veterinarian at Belmont Animal Hospital, pulls back the curtain on what the job actually feels like: the science, the grief, the hard leadership choices, and the surprising tech that keeps her sane.

Scenes you'll relive: a childhood that forged empathy, an entrepreneurship degree that became a secret superpower, dentistry becoming a corner of practice no one taught her for — yet now fuels immediate patient relief, and the emotional rollercoaster that hits between euthanasias and puppies.

Key takeaways:
🧠 Why business training matters for vets and how the Veterinary Business Management Association fills the gap
🦷 Dentistry: 25% of her practice — and why most vets are undertrained
⚖️ The emotional load: how mentorship, boundaries, and team huddles prevent burnout
⏱️ Automated note-taking & delegated callbacks = reclaimed time and less mental fatigue
💸 A harsh reality: pet insurance adoption is tiny (≈3%) — and it shapes clinic sustainability

If you work in a clinic, manage staff, or love animals, this episode delivers actionable ways to protect teams and improve care. Subscribe, share with a clinic teammate, and try one small change from today’s episode — then tell us what shifts.

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