WSU alumnus returns to mentor veterinary students

Fresh out of veterinary school and minutes from her first shift as a practicing veterinarian, Dr. Sarah Calvin was the first person at the clinic when she found a client waiting at the locked door with an injured dog that had just been hit by a car.

To add to the stress, Calvin was informed the dog was owned by a relative of the clinic's office manager.

In that chaotic moment, Calvin ('21 DVM) drew on the skills she acquired from her time at Washington State University's College of Veterinary Medicine, and in particular a program she experienced in just her second year of veterinary school - a case-based simulation known as the Diagnostic Challenges.

"It was so cliche, someone was like, 'we need a doctor now,' and I very much felt like looking around me like, yeah, we need a doctor here. Then you just slow down and you go back to the basics," Calvin said. "It felt a lot like the Diagnostic Challenges in the sense that it was a complex case, I gained a ton of confidence, and I was able to apply everything that I had learned in that moment."

Calvin is one of seven veterinarians on staff at Riverview Animal Clinic in Clarkston, Washington, and one of six who earned their Doctor of Veterinary Medicine at WSU, but this week she is returning to her alma mater to coach veterinary students in seats that were reserved for her just a few years ago.

Often the first medical case for WSU veterinary students, the Diagnostic Challenges feature real-life experiences with volunteer clients and stuffed patients, as well as facilitating veterinarians like Calvin guiding them through each case.

This year, in her second Diagnostic Challenges as a volunteer, Calvin is one of 47 practicing veterinarians returning to WSU Pullman, all of whom are WSU College of Veterinary Medicine alumni.

Calvin said her love for animals stems from an underlying passion to help people, which is why she volunteered to return to the Diagnostic Challenges in the first place.

"It's a program that's unique to WSU and had such a big impact on me. It's easy to want to give back," Calvin said. "My facilitators taught me so much during those cases and this was a huge way I could do exactly that: help students gain what I gained from the Diagnostic Challenges."

Calvin noted teaching and learning goes both ways - there's a lot she learns from the students, too.

"We had a case last year that included a very common symptom that I see probably every day, if not multiple times a week. I'm not that far into my career, but I already had a routine workup for this type of symptom. The students approached it in a different way, and it was really good to step back and be like, OK, there's a couple of steps I had been missing here that are very valuable," she said.

Calvin said she hopes to volunteer her time for the Diagnostic Challenges as long as she is available and beneficial to the 33-yearprogram that has become a WSU tradition.

"Everything you do in the Diagnostic Challenges is going to replicate into the real world, even down to practicing talking to a client, introducing yourself, creating a connection, to the physical exam, thinking through things, and discussing with your colleagues," Calvin said. "I love that it's a collaborative environment because that's how practice is in a multi-doctor practice."