Veterinary medicine is serious work.
But does that mean we have to be so bloody serious while we’re doing it?
My guest today is Dr Greg Bishop, a practising veterinarian, cartoonist, author, illustrator and speaker based in Portland, Oregon. Through Sasquatch Paw, Greg combines veterinary medicine, humour, science communication and visual storytelling to explore the absurd, emotional and deeply human parts of caring for animals. He’s also the author of the forthcoming Science Comics: Veterinary Science.
And beneath the cartoons, jokes and what Greg calls his “professional zoomies” sits a serious idea: fun matters.
In this conversation, we explore why humour and play aren’t distractions from good veterinary medicine. They can help us cope with difficult moments, communicate better, build trust and perhaps stay connected to the reasons we came into this profession in the first place.
We talk frankly about burnout and Greg’s own relationship with work, before getting into gallows humour, the science of laughter and the surprisingly powerful role comedy can play in the consult room, even during some of the hardest conversations we have with clients.
We also explore clinical communication, creativity, AI, our increasingly digital lives, and the danger of becoming so obsessed with efficiency that all we do with the time we save is cram more work into it. Greg’s argument for slowing down, paying attention and trusting the art alongside the science is a timely one.
This is funny, occasionally ridiculous, surprisingly moving and, ultimately, a reminder that fun is not frivolous. In a profession that asks so much of us, humour, creativity and play can help us stay connected, stay curious and keep enjoying the work.
If we want veterinary medicine to be sustainable, perhaps putting some of the fun back into it is more important than we think.
Episode Highlights
[00:05] Meet Greg and his “professional zoomies”
[00:20] When veterinary medicine stops being fun
[00:25] Burnout and hitting the limit
[00:39] Finding your way back
[00:45] Why communication needs to be fun
[00:49] The power of gallows humour
[00:57] When a joke goes too far
[01:04] You still have a funny bone
[01:09] Simple. Honest. Kind.
[01:14] Humour as a clinical tool
[01:18] Fozzie Bear and reading the room
[01:23] Humour as a bridge to trust
[01:24] Analogue humans, digital world
[01:31] AI and switching your brain off
[01:33] Look at your fish
[01:36] The veterinary efficiency trap
[01:42] Slow down and enjoy it
Episode Links & References
Connect with Dr Greg Bishop
Greg speaks and creates educational work around veterinary medicine, humour, communication and visual storytelling. He is also the author of the forthcoming Science Comics: Veterinary Science.
And if you organise veterinary conferences, I’ll repeat what I said in the episode: book him. We could use more of this.
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