Ready Vet Go

Is practice culture your biggest career risk—or your superpower? Are “lazy new grads” a myth masking broken systems?

Host Dr. Dani Rabwin is joined by Dr. G (Gershon Alaluf) for a candid, high-energy conversation on building psychologically safe teams, real mentorship, and simple habits that make clinics fun, resilient, and effective for early-career veterinarians.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

Why culture is the practice: daily behaviors beat policies every timePsychological safety: how to create space to speak up, debrief, and learn fastThe fear → worry loop: stopping post-op rumination with struc...

Duration: 01:01:34

In this energizing and real episode of ReadyVetGo, Dr. Dani Rabwin sits down with Dr. Jake Rastas—a new grad veterinarian, rotating intern at the University of Georgia, and ultra marathon runner—for a conversation about mentorship, confidence, and mental resilience in early-career veterinary medicine.

From Division I football to vet school to internship life, Jake shares how mentors shaped his path, how to stay competitive without becoming toxic, and why you don’t need confidence before doing something hard—confidence often comes after you do it. If you’re a vet student, new grad, or intern...

Duration: 00:39:54

Are we training vets to lead—or to chase grades? How do we build grit without burning out?

Host Dr. Dani Rabwin sits down with Dr. Peter Weinstein for an energizing deep dive into leadership, resilience, and bringing the fun back to vet med—without skipping the hard stuff. Perfect for new grads, students, and anyone building healthy, high-trust hospital cultures.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

The origin story of a “leadership guru”: lifelong follower → practice owner → MBA → mentorWhy fear kills growth—and practical ways to reframe risk while staying safe/ethic...

Duration: 00:52:55

In this inspiring and practical episode of ReadyVetGo, Dr. Dani Rabwin sits down with Noah Gershoni (he/him), a final-year veterinary student at the University of Arizona, to talk mentorship, networking with authenticity, and how to get the most out of clinical rotations—especially in a distributive model program.

Noah shares his non-traditional path to vet school (community college prereqs, years working in ER), how meaningful connections opened doors like Venom Week, and why collaboration beats competition in veterinary medicine. They also dig into the realities of rotating through different clinics and states, the hidden ch...

Duration: 00:35:53

How do we keep great technicians in vet med—and build mentorship that actually lasts? What can veterinarians learn from RVTs about communication, culture, and training?

Host Dr. Dani Rabwin sits down with Phil Snow, RVT—military veteran turned RVT, educator, and co-founder of an alternate-route vet tech school—for a candid conversation about career pathways, mentorship, VTS specialization, the mid-level debate, and avoiding (and owning) mistakes.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

Military → medicine: leadership lessons and entering vet med via the kennelTech → teacher → school founder: building an alternate-route RVT program in...

Duration: 00:47:45

How do you build real confidence when your first job is solo ER overnights? Can open, transparent care and shared decision-making transform client trust?

Host Dr. Dani Rabwin is joined by Dr. Morgan Stoddard, DVM (UIUC ’20) for a fast, practical deep dive into ER mentorship, communication that lowers stress, and leadership that leads with love.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

Why structured ER mentorship matters—especially on solo overnightsClient language that lowers the load: “I’m the recommender; you’re the decider”Trust-builders you can use immediately (narrate-the-exam, in-room X-rays/laptop, let clients li...

Duration: 01:00:05

This one’s a game-changer. In Part 2 of his Ready Vet Go interview, Dr. Gersh Alaluf (Dr. G) takes a hard look at who we’re accepting into veterinary school — and what that means for the future of our profession.

🔥 Are we selecting for IQ over EQ? 🔥 Are perfectionists more prone to burnout in vet med?

🔥 Are schools doing enough to prepare students emotionally for real-world practice?

Joined by host Dr. Dani Rabwin, Dr. G unpacks how admissions criteria, mentorship gaps, and emotional blind spots are fueling stress, imposter syndrome, and attrition among new grads. He s...

Duration: 00:41:42

This is the Ready Vet Go episode you didn’t know you needed.

Veterinarian, entrepreneur, mentor, and doctoral candidate Dr. Gersh Alaluf (Dr. G) joins Dr. Dani Rabwin to unpack the raw, unfiltered truth behind veterinary mentorship, leadership, ownership, and emotional intelligence.

💥 What happens when the corporate machine makes you question your entire identity?

💥 How do you go from kennel kid to practice owner — and still feel like you don’t belong?

💥 Why is emotional intelligence the most overlooked skill in veterinary education today?

💥 What does real mentorship look like — and why are...

Duration: 00:32:24

Veterinary school graduate Dr. Alex Elizas shares a powerful and candid journey from feeling unprepared, overwhelmed, and nearly quitting veterinary medicine to discovering strength, resilience, and career-saving mentorship.

Facing difficult mentors, surgical nightmares, and professional isolation, Alex reveals how joining Ready Vet Go transformed her confidence, practice, and future.

This honest discussion is a must-watch for vet students, early-career veterinarians, and anyone navigating mentorship challenges in veterinary medicine. Dr. Alex Elizas opens up about the harsh realities faced by new vets, the critical role of mentorship, and how Ready Vet Go saved her...

Duration: 00:41:29

In this powerful and refreshingly honest episode of Ready Vet Go, Dr. Dani sits down with Dr. Greg Gstrein—relief veterinarian, business owner, and all-around empathetic powerhouse.

💥 Rejected from vet school multiple times

💥 Learned the hard way how to trust his gut and survive critical mistakes

💥 Built his own relief business from scratch

💥 Mentors teams with compassion, leadership, and some serious X-ray teaching skills

Dr. G doesn’t just talk vet med—he lives it. From his beginnings as a zookeeper to navigating imposter syndrome, tax strategy, and client heartbr...

Duration: 00:57:02

Welcome to Ready Vet Go, the podcast where we elevate veterinary mentorship one real conversation at a time.

In this powerful episode, Dr. Dani sits down with Dr. Tasha—emergency veterinarian, mentor, and mother—to talk about what it really takes to survive and thrive in veterinary medicine.

💥 From vomiting into a trash bag during her internship while pregnant...

💥 To discovering her passion for organized chaos in emergency vet med...

💥 To owning her mistakes, surviving imposter syndrome, and mentoring the next generation...

Dr. Tasha gets real about what it means to be a...

Duration: 01:08:24

What really keeps vet techs in the field for 20 years? What does true mentorship look like behind the scenes in vet med? And why are RVTs the unsung heroes of every successful veterinary practice?

In this powerful episode of Ready Vet Go, Dr. Danny Rabwin sits down with Mallory, a seasoned Registered Veterinary Technician (RVT), educator, and shelter volunteer, for a deeply honest conversation about the highs, lows, laughs, and lessons from two decades in veterinary medicine.

🎙️ Topics we cover:

How to find your forever clinic (and why culture matters)The RVT’s role...

Duration: 00:40:45

This episode of Ready Vet Go hits different. 🎙️

Veterinary student Garth turns the tables and puts podcast host Dr. Dani Rabwin in the hot seat to tackle some of the realest questions about veterinary mentorship, early-career stress, and what it actually means to be ready after vet school.

🔥 What does true mentorship look like—and how do you find it before you graduate?

🔥 What happens when mentorship is promised but never delivered?

🔥 How does Ready Vet Go actually support new grads, and why does it matter now more than ever?

🔥 Why are so m...

Duration: 00:39:21

Step into the heart of Ready Vet Go as host Dr. Dani Rabwin honors the mentor who shaped his career, Dr. Mike “Buff” Buffum—veterinarian, Air Force officer, coal-miner-turned-animal-nutritionalist-turned-practice-owner, and tireless advocate for client-focused care.

In this emotionally rich episode, discover:

Mentor & Mentee Bond: How a chance meeting led to decades of shared wisdom—cowboy medicine, emergency shifts, and beyond.

Unconventional Journeys: Dr. Buff’s $10-bet GED-to-veterinary-degree story proves that opportunity favors the bold.

Building Culture: The secret behind a practice where associates thrive, clients feel heard, and teammates cover each...

Duration: 00:59:31

Ever wondered how a Pony Club rider becomes a globe-trotting veterinarian and mentor? 🐎✈️

In this candid Ready Vet Go episode, Dr. Dani Rabwin sits down with Dr. Natasha Lefkowitz to unpack her journey across continents, species, and career pivots:

🌱 Early Passion How Pony Club ignited a lifelong love of animal care

🎓 Vet School Adventures Drum circles in Santa Cruz, Himalayan yak research, and the power of initiative

🚚 Solo Practice Realities Triumphs, mishaps (yes, wrapping a truck around a barn counts!), and the cost of flying solo

🦍 Wild Pivot Three months...

Duration: 00:35:26

Discover how strategic mentorship, emotional intelligence, and shelter-medicine know-how can accelerate the success of early-career veterinarians.

In this Ready Vet Go Podcast conversation, host Dr. Danny Rabwin interviews Dr. “Hawk” Hawkins, Executive Director of the Southern California Veterinary Medical Association (SCVMA), about building sustainable veterinary careers, leading teams, and turning setbacks into growth opportunities.

🎯 What You’ll Learn

– Proven mentorship tactics new-grad veterinarians can apply today

– How shelter medicine experience sharpens clinical and leadership skills

– Emotional-intelligence tools for diffusing exam-room stress

– Inside look at organized veterinary medici...

Duration: 00:46:15