Leo Bustad Forum for Positive Change
This forum was started in the spring of 2007 by a small group of
students who were just about to begin their senior year. They
wanted to pass along their leadership projects and ideas to new
students. The goals of the forum are in keeping with the vision of
Dr. Leo Bustad, who said “if an established university is to attain
and maintain excellence it must always be actively striving,
maintaining flexibility, challenging and demanding more from faculty
and students, and adding new faculty.” For a student in veterinary
school it can seem overwhelming to try to enact change in addition
to attending classes, extracurricular activities, family, and other
obligations. Being able to pass along a project means it will carry
on after the student has graduated and won’t be lost in the
turnover. This website will serve to track the progress that has
been made on various projects, so new students can start where a
previous student left off. Even if a project lapses for a year or
more, the information won’t be lost. This institutional memory also
gives students perspective about what has been accomplished, and
will hopefully inspire them to pursue new projects.
Goals:
Create institutional memory of positive change
Encourage the creation of new outlets for compassion
Foster open communication in a positive environment
Provide networking and continuation of student and faculty projects
Contact: Dr. Kathy Ruby kruby@vetmed.wsu.edu
Projects:
Education Memorial Program/Willed Body Program:
A willed body, or educational memorial program (EMP), would allow
clients at the veterinary teaching hospital the option of donating
their pet’s body to be used for educational purposes. This
program is modeled after similar ones in the human medical field and
would provide an alternative source of cadavers for our anatomy and
teaching labs, while serving a public need to make meaningful
donations. Benefits of a willed body program may include the
incorporation of case-based learning in the first year of veterinary
study, a decrease in the desensitization of veterinary students, and
an increase in moral development of veterinary students.
Colony dog enrichment program:
The goal of this program is to give positive human interaction and
play-time to colony dogs housed at WSU for teaching purposes.
Leo Bustad legacy:
To enable the gift of Leo Bustad’s book Compassion: Our Last Great
Hope to incoming veterinary students at the White Coat Ceremony.
Delta Society
Animal models:
Exploring options to abide by the three R’s (Refine, Reduce, and
Replace) of animal use in the veterinary curriculum, such as the
Haptic Cow rectal palpation simulator and
Rescue Critters!® animal
training mannikins.
Anesthesia course surveys about animal use
The classes of 2008 and 2009 were surveyed regarding
what they knew about animal use in the anesthesia course before it
began, and their views on the anesthesia curriculum. The survey was
intended to help define the use of live animals in the current
curriculum from the student perspective. The survey could be
adapted to poll students from other veterinary schools or WSU
graduates. This topic would make an interesting senior paper.
Behavior course in the curriculum
Behavior problems are one of the top reasons why pets
are surrendered to animal shelters, so veterinary students must
learn how to educate their future clients about animal behavior.
IACUC student representative
New COLE scenario: to prepare incoming students for the challenge of
respectfully interacting with others from different backgrounds and
ideologies.
Additional Information for Internal Users
