Summer 2021
Stability
The Summer 2021 issue of Washington State Magazine covers issues of stability in work, democracy, buildings, and communities. » More ...
Doctors
Summer 2021
What’s up? Doctors.
The Elson S. Floyd College of Medicine launches its first class of physicians to fulfill the mission of bringing health care to rural and underserved communities.
This inaugural class of WSU physicians has 21.4 percent who grew up in a rural county and 18 percent notably in a Washington rural county + 18 percent are first-generation college graduates + 55.4 percent come from a low socioeconomic background + 18 Washington counties represented: Benton, Chelan, Clallam, Clark, Cowlitz, Franklin, Grant, King, Kittitas, Pacific, Pierce, Snohomish, Spokane, Stevens, Thurston, Whatcom, Whitman, and Yakima.
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Most people studying to be a medical doctor have those moments. … » More …
Winter 2019
Good medicine
Washington State University staff and medical researchers open the doors of Western-style medical practice to the medicine of the Native Americans for better healthcare for all. It also can hopefully draw in more Native American health-care practitioners. » More ...
Winter 2017
Ethics and effectiveness in medicine
“Can you be an effective physician without also being an ethical physician?” That’s the question students in the inaugural class of the Elson S. Floyd College of Medicine at Washington State University faced for the first time on day two of classes. They’ll revisit it regularly as they make their way towards the MD degree and entry into a profession that has, many bioethicists and physicians believe, an ethic built right into it. To say that there is an ethic internal to medicine is to say that certain kinds of moral responsibilities are built right into what it means to be a part of … » More …
Winter 2017
Medicine to all corners
Washington State University has embarked on one of its most ambitious expansions. The Elson S. Floyd College of Medicine is carving out its physician-training niche by emphasizing innovation, technology, and the importance of bringing high-quality care to some of the state’s most underserved regions.
The request came last spring.
Jim and Linda Bauer have opened their home to visiting symphony musicians, international artists, and others traveling to the Tri-Cities, and community leaders were turning to them again. This time, the Bauers were asked if they’d host a medical student for a weeklong stay at their Richland home.
“We were like, ‘Of course,’” recalls Linda … » More …
Spring 2014
An inquiring mind
“Kenneth was interested in everything,” says Alexander’s mother Marilyn. When her son was four or five, “He would climb on his [father’s] lap and I remember Jack reading radiochemistry out loud to him.”
Once, a small telescope triggered a fascination for the stars and “his dad spent some cold nights outside with him,” says his mother. He also loved music, played the trombone, and as a teen, made frequent trips out of town to play with the local orchestra.
Jack Alexander was the first radiologist hired at WSU’s College of Veterinary Medicine. He was also head of medicine and surgery. Science, medicine, and the … » More …
Fall 2013
Rugged Mercy: A Country Doctor in Idaho’s Sun Valley
Robert S. Wright
WSU Press, 2013
When 13-year-old Robert Henry Wright was caught spying on a kitchen table appendectomy, he was pulled in to assist. Inspired by that experience, the Hailey, Idaho, boy spent his early 20s in medical school, at first struggling to memorize the complex anatomy of the human body. After graduating, he married his childhood sweetheart, moved home to Idaho, and became a successful doctor, beloved in his community.
It … » More …
Summer 2012
John E. Olerud ’65—Science is a lot like baseball
Whether he’s studying how wounds heal or he’s tagging a runner out at home plate, John E. Olerud ’65 knows two techniques to succeed: work hard and stick with it.
Olerud credits those lessons to the man who recruited him to Washington State University’s baseball team, Chuck “Bobo” Brayton. “He was one of those guys who taught you a lot of lessons about life, not just baseball,” he says.
The lessons learned have led to achievements on the diamond—as catcher and captain of the 1965 Cougar baseball team that played in the College World Series, and as a professional player for seven years—and in academia, … » More …
Fall 2010
Recruiting rural health care providers
On the quirky comedy Northern Exposure, an isolated Alaskan town enticed a New York City doctor to become the community’s physician. While the city doc’s angst and the eccentric residents—including a moose from WSU—drew laughs, the show highlighted a real challenge faced by many small towns and rural areas: recruiting and retaining doctors and nurses.
“There’s a shortage of all health care providers: physicians, nurses, all of the technical programs,” says Gary Smith, a senior project associate with the Area Health Education Center (AHEC) of eastern Washington. “The demand will increase even more when the economy turns around and people want … » More …