Dr. Nathan Peterson, DVM, DACVECC, takes us straight into one of the most uncomfortable questions in veterinary medicine: are we sometimes prolonging suffering, and what does that do to our teams? In this episode, Dr. Andy Roark and Dr. Peterson unpack medical futility, moral distress, and veterinary burnout in a way that feels both honest and actionable. They explore what happens when technicians feel stuck providing care that conflicts with their values, and why that tension matters more than we think. You’ll hear practical ideas like creating psychological safety, building a “pause button” for team concerns, and even introducing ethical rounds to navigate tough cases together. If you’ve ever wrestled with end-of-life decisions, team conflict, or the emotional weight of patient care, this conversation will leave you thinking differently and leading better. Gang, let’s get into this episode!
You can also listen to this episode on Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, Spotify, YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts!
ABOUT OUR GUEST
Nathan Peterson, DVM, MBE, DACVECC is an Associate Clinical Professor at Cornell University. He received his DVM from The Ohio State University and completed his internship and residency training in Emergency and Critical Care medicine at Angell Animal Medical Center in Boston. Following board certification, he spent 12 years as the head of the Department of Emergency and Critical Care Medicine at a tertiary referral hospital in Los Angeles before taking his current position at Cornell. He completed a Master of Bioethics through the Harvard Medical School Center for Bioethics in 2023 and has published works exploring the impact of providing futile treatments in veterinary medicine.
