Bitten, Scratched, and Told to Suck It Up

Getting injured at work is part of life in a veterinary clinic, but what happens next matters more than most practices want to admit. In this episode, Dr. Ernie Ward and Beckie Mossor, MPA, RVT, dig into a troubling pattern showing up across vet med social media: team members who speak up after a bite, scratch, or potential zoonotic exposure and end up facing dismissal, passive-aggressive pushback, or outright retaliation from management. Our hosts unpack the "badge of honor" culture in vet med that normalizes ignoring injuries, the real and underappreciated risks of rabies and other zoonotic diseases, and why unvaccinated staff should never be handling unknown-rabies-vaccinated-status animals. And Dr. Ward shares why he sees early intervention as smart business, not coddling. Whether you're a vet tech who's been dismissed after an injury, a practice manager setting the tone, or an owner assessing your own culture, this episode is a gut-check worth taking seriously.

You can listen to Bitten, Scratched, and Told to Suck It Up online on Radio and Podcast. Open the player on this page to stream the available audio.

Bitten, Scratched, and Told to Suck It Up is an episode from Veterinary Viewfinder Podcast by Dr. Ernie Ward & Beckie Mossor, RVT.

This episode is 0:25:57 long.

This episode was published on Mar 11, 2026.

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