Letter from the Dean
Dear
Colleagues:
Greetings from the College of Veterinary Medicine at Washington State
University.
This letter accompanies a referral manual that has been prepared for your
use by the faculty and staff of the Veterinary Teaching Hospital. We hope
that you will frequently use this manual as a resource to assist you as you
make medical decisions and client recommendations. We also hope that this
information we provide will encourage you to refer patients with special
needs to our College of Veterinary Medicine. The same holds for
referral to our new satellite clinic in Spokane. This clinic is a
public private partnership between our college and private practitioners who
have a yen for helping us educate our students. In most cases, the
referral services provided in this satellite clinic will not duplicate those
available in Pullman, or elsewhere in the region.
Your principal reason for referring to our hospitals will be to provide the
very best veterinary care of your clients’ animals. It is our goal to meet
this need – to provide the best medical care that can be achieved for your
patients – and at the same time provide the best experience possible for
your clients. We want your clients to return to you pleased with your
primary care and pleased that you recommended that they visit the Veterinary
Teaching Hospital at our college.
Although it is not the main reason for your referrals, we hope you
understand that the patients you refer are vital to our primary mission of
educating tomorrow’s veterinarians. Referred patients are the “textbooks”
for our students, just as they were for you during your education. They help
provide the clinical experiences that put years of classroom preparation
into perspective. Although students will interact closely with your clients
and provide a substantial amount of medical care, you can trust that the
care of every patient is closely supervised by our faculty.
The cost of the medical care we provide at our Veterinary Teaching Hospital
is on a par with that seen in the private sector. We believe it is important
to teach students responsibly, which in part means helping them to develop
an appreciation for the real economics of veterinary practice.
Although special procedures that advance the body of veterinary medical
knowledge may be supported by research or government funding, the Veterinary
Teaching Hospital must self fund much of the instructional activities that
take place under its roof. Therefore, each patient you refer also helps us
secure the financial resources needed to meet the challenges associated with
operating a referral teaching hospital in the face of external factors, such
as the continual decrease in state support for higher education, which has
been compounded by the recent economic difficulties in the state.
In closing, please know that few things are as important to us as our
relationship with you. If we fail to meet your expectations or if you
recognize areas where we can improve, we would gratefully accept your
comments and suggestions. We thank you for any past referrals and look
forward to serving you, your clients, and their animals in the future.
