Breaking the Productivity Trap in Veterinary Medicine

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Your Practice Deserves a Marketing Plan as Unique as You Are

To help you navigate the digital landscape more effectively, we’re offering our podcast listeners a complimentary Digital Visibility Audit. Lila Stone, Marketing Advisor at the Veterinary Business Institute and Marketing Director of ekwa marketing, will take a close look at your online presence, local SEO, and competitive environment. You’ll receive a customized plan filled with practical recommendations to enhance your visibility and connect with more clients.

Book your complimentary session here at a time that’s convenient for you

This isn’t a sales pitch—it’s our way of giving back to the veterinary community we truly care about .

In this episode, we sit down with Dr. Amy Grimm — veterinarian, certified life coach, and founder of Daring DVM Coaching — for one of the most honest conversations we’ve had on this podcast. Dr. Grimm knows this world intimately. She moved to the U.S. from South Africa at 18, rebuilt her entire path to vet school from scratch in a foreign system, and eventually achieved everything she’d worked for — only to find herself exhausted, stressed, and quietly wondering why it didn’t feel the way she thought it would. Sound familiar?

Together, we dig into what Dr. Grimm calls the productivity trap — the neurobiological cycle that keeps high-achieving veterinarians and practice leaders locked in a pattern of overwork, burnout, and not-enoughness, even when they’re doing everything “right.” We talk about the real science behind why you can’t think your way out of stress, why your nervous system treats a missed deadline the same way it treats a physical threat, and why veterinary culture itself — the long hours, the skipped lunches, the glorification of endurance — unintentionally makes things worse for individuals and entire hospital teams alike.

But this one doesn’t leave you stuck in the problem. Dr. Grimm walks us through her four core coaching pillars and gives practical, real-world tools that actually fit into a busy clinical day — including one that involves nothing more than washing your hands. Whether you’re an associate feeling the weight of it all, a practice owner wondering how to lead a burned-out team, or someone who just quietly knows something needs to change, this episode will meet you where you are. It doesn’t have to be this way — and this conversation is a great place to start.

Key Time Stamps

• 00:00 – 14:20 | Ambition becomes a trap when achievement defines your worth
• 14:21 – 27:42 | The biology of burnout — your nervous system can’t tell work stress from real danger
• 27:43 – 31:46 | You can’t think your way out of stress — but you can regulate through it
• 31:47 – 45:25 | Veterinary culture rewards endurance and it’s costing teams everything
• 45:26 – 56:49 | Dr. Grimm’s four pillars: Regulation, Mindset, CARE coaching, Practical Habits

Dr. Amy Grimm

Founder, Daring DVM Coaching

Dr. Amy Grimm is a veterinarian, certified life coach, and the founder of Daring DVM Coaching. With a background as a medical director and relief surgeon, she brings firsthand knowledge of veterinary pressures to her mission of helping professionals reclaim energy, balance, and fulfillment.

Through one-on-one and group coaching, Dr. Grimm supports high-achieving women and veterinary leaders in creating sustainable success—without burnout. Her coaching integrates mindset work, somatics, and emotional wellness strategies to promote personal and professional transformation.

Known for her bold yet compassionate approach, she partners with mission-driven organizations to improve team dynamics, reduce emotional exhaustion, and foster healthier workplace cultures. Her insights on intentional leadership, boundaries, and work-life integration are regularly shared through keynote talks, trainings, and her podcast, The Daring DVM.

Currently based in Northern California, Dr. Grimm blends her clinical relief work with her passion for mentorship and outdoor adventure—often alongside her partner on a tandem mountain bike or scaling new peaks across the globe.

Connect with Dr. Amy Grimm:

• LinkedIn
• Website