Cerys Goodall is a change agent with over 20 years of experience helping leading tech start-ups to move from ideation to growth through the power of communications, brand development, and operations. Her passion and energy for defining and leading new markets combined with the incredible team and technology at Vetster will improve access to care for pets globally.
We find out more about her vision for how technology can also benefit veterinary teams through supporting flexible working, helping to improve retention and creating career and business development opportunities.
Please could you give us an overview of your career story so far and how it brought you into the veterinary sector?
Growing up I wanted to work with animals and I even worked in our local vet clinic. But my path took a different route, working with technology startups seeking international growth. I was thrilled to get a phone call from Vetster’s CEO, Mark Bordo, in 2021 asking if I wanted to join a company that was helping to make veterinary care more accessible on a global scale.
What do you most enjoy about working in the veterinary industry? And what are the challenges?
I am grateful for the opportunity to provide overburdened veterinary professionals with flexible options for practising virtual care. Every day we hear success stories from veterinarians that we are helping to improve work-life balance by allowing them the freedom and flexibility to practise when and where they choose. For some, this means practising exclusively in the virtual space. For others, practising remotely provides greater optionality in their work. I am equally grateful to help make veterinary care more accessible to pet parents.
One of the biggest opportunities we are navigating is the role technology plays in pet care. Regulations have yet to catch up with the needs of modern pet parents while safeguarding the support veterinarians need to establish an effective and appropriate patient-client relationship. It is our belief that with the right education and guidelines, we should trust veterinarians who are well adept at assessing the best care plan for the animal.
Virtual care platforms make it possible for more animals to receive care. We open up new opportunities to serve clients who may not have access to care otherwise – such as those living in rural or underserved areas – for whom virtual care can be a lifeline. They enable veterinarians to help pet parents become more involved in their pet’s care, on a more regular basis, with more coaching. Every day we hear from vets on our platform who say that practising virtually allows them to make a meaningful impact on animal welfare beyond their local community.
How do you see your role in helping veterinary teams find solutions to the current issues facing the profession?
One of the most inspiring learnings at Vetster has been that while we are the technology experts – veterinarians are the ones at the forefront of this movement. Our platform democratises the ability for all veterinarians to create a virtual practice either full or part time as they choose. This has led to tremendous learnings in how veterinarians want to shape their careers and the care they deliver. We leverage the data we collect to understand the best use cases for virtual care, to understand the needs of clients outside of a clinic setting, and to provide training to veterinarians and clinics in developing their own best practices. We also share insights with the industry and associations to help advance the responsible application of teletriage, telehealth, telemedicine and general advice in the digital space.
Veterinary telemedicine is a rapidly developing phenomenon. What are your thoughts on the ways it will transform how practices operate in future?
Veterinarians have not been able to unlock the full continuum of care for clients, largely because they are incredibly strapped for time and resources. Virtual care platforms are leveraging technology to streamline efficiencies in the veterinary practice while creating more options for accessing quality care. These tools can connect veterinarians, clinics, diagnostics, prescriptions, nutrition, and more with a patient’s centralised medical record. This comprehensive, holistic dataset can easily be shared with a patient’s veterinarian or in-clinic provider. At the same time, improved access to timely veterinary care results in improved patient outcomes and a better quality of life for animals.
What benefits can telemedicine bring to women in the veterinary professions?
Despite the industry now being 80% women led, the systems and constraints of practising don’t meet their needs. At the London Vet Show I spoke with one veterinarian, baby in tow, who had left her clinic because they could not accommodate a flexible work-shift for her. Virtual care provides a way for individual practitioners and locums, as well as clinics and hospitals to offer more options for their vets.
“For parents and those looking towards semi-retirement, practising virtually provides flexibility while keeping the industry’s experts in the field and improving access to care.”
Clinics working with telemedicine platforms may choose to create virtual shifts for their teams so they can work from home 1-2 days a week. Others choose to offload their overflow and non-urgent cases to telemedicine platforms to focus on higher priority cases in-clinic. Others still choose to hire someone to be exclusively virtual as part of their practice. This helps with retention and hiring, and significantly improves overall work satisfaction.
For parents and those looking towards semi-retirement, practising virtually provides flexibility while keeping the industry’s experts in the field and improving access to care. With a fully flexible platform, each person or clinic can set their own rates, schedule and areas of speciality.
For newer vets, an added benefit is the ability to use virtual care in their own continuing education. One of our vets uses virtual care to advance her practice of rodents, birds and other exotics that she doesn’t often see in-clinic.
How can leaders in the professions manage the advancements in telemedicine to be able to benefit from the opportunities and solutions it offers, while also safeguarding the health and welfare of animals?
We trust our vets. They are the experts. It is our responsibility to help veterinarians use technology effectively and safely within the bounds of good medicine for animals. When helping a client and their pet online is not an appropriate solution, virtual care quickly shifts into a solution to coach the pet owners. In most cases, pet owners are grateful to feel supported and informed even if their next step is to see their in-clinic vet or go to an urgent care hospital.
There will always be a need for in-person care. In a virtual space it is our role to help pet owners seek care appropriately – whether that is via a telemedicine platform, seeing a specialist, or going to the hospital.
STEM is still a male-dominated field. Has this presented challenges in your career, and how have you negotiated them?
While the numbers remain poor in many industries with fewer than 30% of women in STEM fields, the numbers in the veterinary industry are leaps and bounds ahead. That doesn’t however mean that the industry has developed equitable practices – yet. Technology is a great disruptor here. Women who are more likely to be caregivers to children and family members need tools that can work with their needs, and not the other way around.
“We must broaden our horizon to solve the challenges of equity – specifically salary inequity”
This goes far beyond women in STEM, it extends to women generally. We must broaden our horizon to solve the challenges of equity – specifically salary inequity – and do so early in a woman’s, person of colour, or other minority group’s career. It is not enough to right size salaries later in a career. We must make sure that at the very earliest of careers that we are setting people up for financial and long-term success.
What key piece of advice would you give your younger self?
“Why not you?” The only difference between you and someone who is excelling is they took a step forward and were willing to risk failing. I wish I’d had the confidence and vulnerability I do now to step forward, ask for opportunities, and accept that I won’t always succeed. I would have been able to advance my career differently, but also not be so hard on myself when it didn’t turn out perfectly. It would have let me enjoy the journey more and be more present. I’m glad I know it now.
What do you feel would most benefit female leadership in the STEM field and how can we work towards implementing this?
Pay women equitably. Not equally. If they do more work, pay them more. If there has been a pay gap for years, make up for it now. And moreover, do it early. Set strong compensation practices for your teams with clear career progression milestones. Do it out of the gate. Your first salary dictates so much of how your financial growth will evolve throughout your career. Helping people to start on the appropriate foot from the outset is one of the most powerful things we can do for women.
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