RCVS and BVA data suggest career satisfaction for vets ‘ain’t what it used to be’. The most obvious symptom of this is seen in the difficulty practices face in hiring and retaining clinical team members. But underlying the recruitment issue is a deeper fundamental failing. We are simply not meeting the needs of the next generation of clinical staff who are voting with their feet and leaving not just our practice, but also the general practice arm of the profession. Wage stagnation, poor support and chronic mental health issues were all problems before COVID-19 showed up and raised the stakes and pushed demand for vet services higher than ever before. If you are a leader in practice, then you should be paying attention because this is an existential threat to practice as we know it. This session shines a spotlight on the causes of the issue and options available to leaders to make the changes needed so everyone has the chance to thrive in their clinical career.