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College of Veterinary Medicine Advance Newsletter

Meet Mr. Bear: One of thousands of patients that has been helped because of MRI

Beryl Swanson veterinary student with Mr. Bear
After noticing an odd lump on his dog’s head in the spring of 2013, Joel Greenhalgh of British Columbia, Canada, took Mr. Bear, a then 11-year-old Australian Sheppard-Rottweiler mix, to his local veterinarian. At first the advice was to watch and see, but when it didn’t go away, his veterinarian took a biopsy. Mr. Bear had cancer. » More ...

The WSU Clinical Simulation Center

Veterinarian Julie Cary with veterinary student Amy Berry
In a large room filled with a half dozen tables, groups of students are following what might appear to be sewing instructions with stich names such as “cruciate” and “simple interrupted.” At the top of the sheet it reads: Practice Made Perfect. For the WSU veterinary students who are actually learning basic surgical suturing skills, this kind of practice gives them the confidence they need to perform surgeries later in the program. » More ...

Meet Scout: One of thousands of patients that has been helped because of MRI

When "Scout," a 9-year-old German Shepherd mix, walked into the WSU Veterinary Teaching Hospital, he went to work right away. Calm and obedient with friendly eyes and a large scar across the top of his head, he lies down on the mat his owner, Anne Hensley, puts down for him. She kisses his head, and he watches her as she sits down. Scout is a therapy dog. » More ...

Making Teaching Matter: How Our Instructors are Enriching Student Education

Drs. Nelson and Gwinn are looking at an xray.
After giving a test to third-year DVM students in her small animal medicine class, associate professor Lynne Nelson made a startling discovery. She found that when students were given the name of a disease, they had no trouble listing the symptoms. But when presented with a patient scenario listing those same symptoms, many students were unable to work backward to make a diagnosis. "It really showed how well they do on recall versus clinical problem solving,” says Nelson. “I wondered why there such a big difference in skills and how I could help them get better at using the knowledge.” » More ...

Survey Launched to Help Improve Family Health

Two Kenyan community volunteers standing in a field conducting the interview with a Kenyan woman.
Traveling by bicycle, community interviewers visit homes in Asembo, Kenya, to learn how animal and human disease impacts a family’s health, access to education, and economic well-being. They will visit more than 1,400 households four times each year over several years to ask about their nutrition, family members’ health, household assets, and health of their animals. They collect the data on a handheld computer, or PDA, so that it can be sent back to Pullman the next day for analysis. The goal is to reduce poverty and hunger and improve health and education. » More ...

Vaccinate a Dog and Save a Child’s Life

Dr. Lankester with a Maasai giving a puppy a rabies vaccination.
At 8:00 a.m. people in an East African village have already begun to line up with their dogs. Mostly it is young boys with their pets coming to one of the many free rabies vaccination clinics set up around the Serengeti National Park in northern Tanzania. “There can be 200 people in line at a time and we may vaccinate as many as 1,000 dogs in a day,” said Dr. Felix Lankester, clinical assistant professor in the Paul G. Allen School for Global Animal Health. They never turn anyone away. » More ...

The Next Generation: Educating Our Undergraduates for Careers in Science and Veterinary Medicine

They are working in a laboratory.
James Bonner loves science. As a freshman, James knew he wanted to major in biochemistry, so when he was selected to be part of the new hands-on Science Education Alliance biology lab, or SEA lab, in the WSU School of Molecular Biosciences, he was thrilled. “The lab brings abstract scientific concepts into everyday learning,” said Bonner, one of 24 randomly selected freshmen admitted to the SEA lab in fall 2011, the program’s pilot year. » More ...

Preparing Students for the Careers of the Future

As a manager of a clinical laboratory with the US Air Force, Captain Cordy Herring needs to have science, business, and managerial expertise to do his job well. After he was selected to further his education in a USAF program, he looked at universities that would broaden those skills and the WSU Professional Science Master’s Program rose to the top of his list. » More ...

WSU’s Veterinary Patient Wellness Service

Black lab with yellow vest in the treadmill with Lori Lutskas
Who says cookies can’t be good for you? When Lori Lutskas goes to work each day, she carries a bag of cookies with her to encourage her patients to do their exercises. “We do cookie stretches,” said Lutskas, a licensed veterinary technician and WSU’s veterinary physical rehabilitation practitioner. She puts a cookie (aka a healthy dog treat) on a dog’s hip so the dog will stretch around to get it. “We try to make it fun.” » More ...

Bald Eagle Released After Treatment for Lead Poisoning

Bald eagle coming out of the box
A five-year-old bald eagle was brought to the WSU Veterinary Teaching Hospital in January after he was found in a ditch near Orofino, Idaho. After determining that the eagle showed signs of severe lead poisoning, Dr. Nickol Finch, head of the exotic and wildlife unit, gave him intravenous fluids and chelation therapy, which binds the lead so it can be eliminated through the kidneys. » More ...