The Accidental Leader: Heather Bacon on Welfare, Failure and Finding Your Way

What makes a good veterinary leader? Is it confidence, ambition and having the answers — or the ability to admit when you've got things wrong?In this episode of Veterinary Voices on Air, Robyn Lowe is joined by Professor Heather Bacon, Dean of the School of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Lancashire, for a remarkably open conversation about animal welfare, leadership, self-doubt and the experiences that have shaped her career.

“They are masters of presenting very vaguely for vastly different things.” — Mark Naguib In this in-depth episode of Vet Voices on Air, Robyn is joined by Mark NaguibBVMS(Hons) CertAVP(ZM) MRCVS, RCVS Advanced Practitioner in Zoological Medicine , an experienced avian and exotic veterinary surgeon, to explore the realities of avian medicine in general practice—covering both wildlife birds and companion species.While Vet Voices On Air has previously focused on wildlife casualties and considerations with Emily LLewyn and wildlife rehabilitation with Paul Reynolds, this episode goes broader, tackling the overlap between wild, captive, and pet birds, and addressing one of the biggest barriers many veterinary teams face: confidence.

You’ve spent years working towards becoming a vet or RVN. Then comes the first job. But what happens when the career you dreamed about doesn’t feel quite so dreamy once you’re actually living it?“We all have that glass slipper image of the practice that we feel is best for us.” — Robyn In this episode of Vet Voices on Air, Robyn is joined by veterinary surgeon and graduate mentor Alison Price and recent graduate Danielle Golds for a refreshingly open conversation about those crucial first years in practice.

In this episode of Vet Voices On Air, Genever Morgan and Georgia Woods-Lee explore one of the most debated topics in companion animal medicine: pet nutrition. From raw feeding and kibble to insect protein, plant-based diets and minimally processed foods, they discuss why feeding choices have become so personal—and why conversations about nutrition can be surprisingly complex.

What if it's not arthritis?Lower back pain can look like hip osteoarthritis, behavioural change, skin disease, anal gland problems or simply people thinking it's just ‘old age’. Diagnosing it requires far more than finding one painful spot—it takes careful history-taking, clinical reasoning and seeing the bigger picture.In this episode of Vet Voices on Air, we sit down with RCVS and European Specialist in Veterinary Neurology Colin Driver to explore the complexities of diagnosing and managing chronic lower back pain, particularly degenerative lumbosacral stenosis (DLSS). From recognising subtle behavioural changes and differentiating neurological from orthopaedic disease, to understanding when imaging, medical management or surgery may be appropriate, Colin shares practical advice that every veterinary professional can take back into practice.But this conversation quickly becomes about much more than spinal disease.We discuss what contextualised care really means, why there is rarely a single "right" answer for every patient, and how balancing evidence, patient welfare, owner circumstances, ethics and finances is one of the greatest challenges in modern veterinary medicine.The episode also takes an honest look behind the scenes of specialist practice. Colin speaks openly about complications, cognitive bias, decision-making under pressure and the emotional burden of making mistakes—topics that are rarely discussed publicly but affect every veterinary professional.

What happens when three veterinary students are trusted to think differently?This episode begins with an incredible achievement: three University of Cambridge veterinary students who won a Worldwide Veterinary Service (WVS) competition, securing up to £100,000 to turn their vision into a real-world project. But this isn't simply a story about winning a competition—it's a conversation about the future of veterinary medicine, the role of students, and why One Health thinking has never been more important.Together, Francesca Haldane, Shreya Patel, Rudi Bruijn-Yard share how they developed an ambitious proposal to tackle Peste des Petits Ruminants (PPR) in Uganda through a sustainable, community-led vaccination programme designed to outlive external funding.

The launch of the Innate Health Assessment (IHA) has sparked a passionate debate in the dog world.*Special Extended Episode* Supporters see it as a practical, simple tool to help improve canine welfare by addressing extreme conformation. Critics have raised concerns about fairness, scientific validity, breed identity, and fears that it could ultimately threaten certain breeds.To separate fact from fiction, Veterinary Voices UK sat down with Professor Dan O'Neill, veterinary epidemiologist at the Royal Veterinary College and one of the architects of the IHA, alongside Marisa Heath, Director of the All Party Parliamentary Group for Animal Welfare  (APGAW) and a long-standing animal welfare advocate.Veterinary Voices UK opened up the discussion to everyone to pose their questions and concerns, and the discussion explored the most common questions raised by breeders, owners, veterinary professionals and the wider dog community.

In this episode, Robyn is joined by Dr Camilla Edwards from First Opinion Veterinary Ultrasound (FOVU) for a really practical, honest conversation about making ultrasound less scary and more useful in everyday practice. If your machine is gathering dust, only comes out for the odd pyometra, or you feel that familiar imposter syndrome every time you pick up the probe – this one’s for you.

In the latest Vet Voices on Air, Robyn is joined by Dr. Marie Francesca Menniti, MRCVS (residency-trained clinical nutritionist) to unpack a hot topic in pet feeding: home-prepared diets.

Veterinary work is rewarding but also challenging. This resource explores three key psychosocial factors—burnout, moral injury, and compassion fatigue—that may impact the wellbeing of veterinary professionals. Sudden crises, ongoing stress, trauma, and ethical dilemmas can all contribute. While many other issues affect wellbeing, this guide focuses on these three. It applies to all veterinary team members, offering insights into recognizing, preventing, and responding to these challenges in the workplace