The Vet Vault: Veterinary Career, Clinical Skills & Wellbeing26 Aug 2025

146: Your Veterinary Sixth Sense: How It Works, And How to Teach It. With Dr Annie Wayne

Ever had a case where you just knew what was wrong before you even touched the patient - but if someone asked you HOW you know, you couldn’t explain it?

That almost mystical “sixth sense” we develop in practice - that’s exactly what this episode is about.

Our guest is Dr Annie Wayne - a criticalist, educator, and learning strategist—who’s been exploring naturalistic decision making: the cognitive model that explains how experts think in real-time, and how to pass that intuition on.

We talk about what separates expert intuition from novice reasoning, how to break down unconscious diagnostic processes, and how the right kind of mentorship can accelerate the path to expertise. Annie also shares her research on parenting and vet careers, challenging the stigma around pregnancy and parenthood during training.

Here’s what you’ll learn:

What “naturalistic decision making” really means (and why it feels like a sixth sense)
How experienced vets spot subtle signs that others miss
How to externalise your gut feeling so younger vets can learn from it
Real-world strategies for mentorship and better clinical teaching
How to avoid the traps of lazy “shortcut” thinking
How this framework builds confidence and reduces stress in new grads
Annie’s personal take on parenting through training—and how to smash the stigma around pregnancy in vet careers

This isn’t just about clinical decision-making - it’s about how we teach, how we lead, and how we support each other in a demanding profession.

Lift your clinical game with our RACE approved clinical podcasts at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠vvn.supercast.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ for more clinical confidence and better patient outcomes, or check out our Advanced Surgery Podcast at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠cutabove.supercast.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

Get case support from our team of specialists in our ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Specialist Support Space⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

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Join us in person for our epic adventure CE events at ⁠⁠⁠Vets On Tour⁠⁠⁠. (Next up: Japan snow conference!)

Topics and Time Stamps

04:53 What is Naturalistic Decision-Making?

08:36 Expert vs Novice Thinking: Why Mentorship Matters

15:55 Risks of Shortcut Thinking and Balancing with Algorithms

19:11 Speeding Up Expertise: Can We Teach "Sixth Sense" Thinking?

22:47 Mentorship Models: Building Skills and Confidence

34:45 Can AI Help Naturalistic Thinking?

37:20 Parenthood and Veterinary Careers: Breaking Stigma and Building Support

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