On a crisp fall morning, volunteers from 10 states came to WSU to participate in something unique to the College of Veterinary Medicine: The Diagnostic Challenges. During one week in October and a second week in November, 60 volunteers helped 130 second-year veterinary students hone their diagnostic and communications skills. Mike Burdette (’73 DVM) began volunteering eight years ago after reading about the program in the college’s Advance newsletter and from recent graduates who shared how much they learned during their own Diagnostic Challenges. » More ...

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 ...