Since returning home to her alma mater and north Idaho, Dr. Jessica Bunch has received her certification in canine rehabilitation therapy and veterinary acupuncture. She also studied Chinese herbal veterinary medicine and is currently pursuing her residency in Canine Sports Medicine and Rehabilitation. Still, it’s the veterinary students she works with dayin, day-out that she enjoys learning from the most.
What do you like most about teaching students at WSU?
I primarily teach veterinary students in their fourth-year clinical rotations. I enjoy interacting with the students and seeing them get excited about new concepts or ask challenging and thought-provoking questions.
What is your favorite part about being an educator?
My favorite part about being an educator is learning from the students. They constantly challenge me to continue my own educational journey.
What has been your academic/career path leading up to WSU?
I graduated from WSU in 2002 and started out in private practice as a mixed animal veterinarian then transitioned to solely small animal and worked primarily on the west side of Washington, north of Seattle. In 2013, I became certified in canine physical rehabilitation and added those skills and that knowledge to my toolbox for treating my patients at the practice I was working at. I moved back to this area (Lewiston) in 2014 and worked in Lewiston for a short time before having the opportunity to come to WSU and start the Integrative Veterinary Medicine service at the Teaching Hospital.
What drew you to WSU’s College of Veterinary Medicine?
This region is home for me, and I really enjoyed veterinary school. I enjoy working with students and educating my clients, so it felt natural to make this transition. Working at WSU has provided me with opportunities to expand my own knowledge and specialize in the area of veterinary medicine that I have now become most passionate about. I enjoy working with other clinicians and specialists collaboratively on challenging cases.
What’s something most people don’t know about you?
I am from a very small town called Lenore and went to a one-room schoolhouse in elementary school and there were only two of us in my grade.