Washington State University Professor Stephen Hines was awarded fourth place in an international competition for his instructor creativity during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The competition — the COVID Educational Creations Contest — recognized professors at veterinary colleges for their digital approaches to veterinary medical education.
Hines is a professor at WSU’s College of Veterinary Medicine. He received the award on behalf of VetMedAcademy and Merck Veterinary Manual for podcast-style case discussions he video-recorded via Zoom.
The videos featured recent DVM students and graduates of his spring semester VM534 — Veterinary Immunology course.
In addition to the podcast discussions, the course included a COVID-19 immunodiagnostics discussion with recent students who have taken the course and a video explaining cancer immunology with WSU Police acting as the suppressor arm of the immune system.
The course received a 9.2 out of 10 from the 80 first-year veterinary students who reviewed it.
Competition judges included two veterinary practitioners, an educationalist with a digital education focus, and a veterinary publication editor.