Student Policies
Duty Hours
During the fourth year of the veterinary curriculum, students rotate
through the various clinical areas in the veterinary teaching hospital.
Hospital services and patient care duties are continuously present, seven
days per week, and students are responsible and accountable for their
assigned tasks, regardless of time and day of week.
Emergency services are offered to the public on a 24-hour basis,
seven days a week. Assignments are demanding and students are
required to spend time at night, weekends, and holidays in the
delivery of care to patients. Refusal to perform tasks assigned or
failure to appear for duty will be regarded as grounds for earning a
failing grade. A failing grade may prevent a student from receiving
the DVM degree.
Animal Use in
Lab Exercises
The use of animals in instructional and research activities within
the College of Veterinary Medicine is strictly regulated by written
protocols, designed to ensure the humane treatment of animals under the care
of students, staff, or faculty.
The WSU Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC)
regularly review these protocols to ensure compliance with state and
federal regulations. During the first year of the professional
curriculum, several laboratory exercises will involve the use of
both live animals and cadavers. The cadavers are dissected in the
first and second semester veterinary anatomy courses. In addition,
palpation experiences are provided. These “hands-on” experiences,
which involve a number of domestic animal species, reinforce the
anatomical concepts learned in the anatomy laboratory. In
concomitant laboratory exercises, students actively learn restraint
techniques, as well as animal management principles.
In all instances, the humane treatment of these animals will be
stressed and, should any associated procedures be deemed painful,
the animals will be anesthetized. Beginning in the second year and
continuing throughout the third and fourth years of the curriculum,
a combination of living animals and cadaver specimens will be used
in laboratory exercises to teach anesthetic induction and a variety
of surgical skills. Participation in these exercises is mandatory
for all students. In addition to these required core exercises, an
array of electives, including a medical procedures laboratory, are
offered. Some instructional protocols may provide for the humane
euthanasia of animals at the completion of the laboratory exercises.
Every reasonable effort has been taken to minimize the use of
animals in terminal instructional procedures and to minimize the
degree of discomfort and stress for all animals involved in survival
procedures.
Policy Guidelines on Student Requests for
Transfer Into the Professional Veterinary Medical Curriculum
Transfer Request
Students seeking to transfer into the Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (DVM)
program in the College of Veterinary Medicine at Washington State University
must:
- Submit a letter of intent to transfer to the Director of Admissions
of the College of Veterinary Medicine that includes: a) a well-written
explanation of the student's reason(s) for requesting a transfer; b) an
indication of the semester and year of the curriculum into which the
transfer is requested; and c) the student's State of residence
(preference is given to students from the State of Washington).
- Provide a letter of character and academic reference (including
class rank and overall GPA) from the Associate Dean of the College of
Veterinary Medicine from which the student desires the transfer.
- Provide up to three letters of reference from former instructors who
are members of the faculty of the College of Veterinary Medicine from
which the student wishes to transfer.
- Provide official copies of all academic transcripts.
- Provide official GRE (Graduate Record Examination) scores.
- Provide proof of completion of all prerequisite coursework required
by the WSU- CVM.
- Provide a current curriculum vitae.
- Finally, contact Barbara Hodson to request online access in order to
submit a WSU-CVM supplemental application [including $60.00 fee].
Transfer Students
Approval of Transfer Request
The Director of Admissions and/or the Dean of the Veterinary College
[with a recommendation from a member or members of the Admissions Committee]
will decide whether to approve or deny a request to transfer. Under most
circumstances, the decision will be based upon the following factors: a) the
existence of an appropriate vacancy; b) the approval of the transfer from
the sending school; c) the student's reason(s) for requesting transfer; d)
the student’s academic performance; e) the level of support communicated in
the letters of reference; f) the student’s citizenship and state residency;
and g) the satisfaction of all WSU-CVM curricular requirements.
Interested applicants should contact Mrs. Barbara Hodson,
Academic Coordinator, Office of Student Services, WSU-CVM before applying [bhodson@vetmed.wsu.edu;
509-335-1532].
