WSDA Blog

It's an annual tradition that WSDA field veterinarian Dr. Minden (Mindy) Buswell wouldn’t miss: speaking to students in the Yakima Valley Community College Veterinary Technology Program.

Dr. Buswell’s annual presentation is part of the program’s public health and OSHA safety courses. She covers various topics, from the mission of WSDA’s Animal Health Program to how WSDA veterinarians respond to disease outbreaks – such as the recent bird flu outbreak – and natural disasters like wildfires that displace livestock from their farms as we saw last year in the Spokane area.

As these students will become animal health technicians on the front lines of animal disease detection and response, Dr. Buswell’s presentation and hands-on exercises give the students a real-world understanding of the importance of and challenges in their veterinary careers.

The students learned that the first objective in any emergency or disease is safety for the responders, followed closely by containment and elimination (if possible) of the disease itself. Dr. Buswell went over the science and techniques to achieve these goals and equipped the students with knowledge of the importance and principles of good biosecurity.

Always a fun exercise that puts knowledge into practice and usually involves a fair amount of laughter (it isn’t as easy as it looks and hey, everyone looks a little funny in Tyvek), the students went through a “donning and doffing” exercise where they learned how to properly put on and remove personal protective equipment (PPE) to avoid contaminating themselves or spreading potential pathogens. While participants may feel or even look a little silly, proper use of PPE is critically important to not only protect people but to prevent the spread of disease.

“I truly enjoy the outreach and education aspect of my job, especially to students,” Dr. Buswell said. “When I was a student, the educators and experts who gave their time and expertise to my education are the reason I have found such a fulfilling career path. I am grateful that WSDA allows me to pay it forward and sees value in educating the next generation.”

Visit the WSDA Animal Health webpage to learn more about the work state veterinarians do to protect animal and public health in Washington State.