You know you are in for a different sort of interview when in the middle of hearing the answer to your first question, you have to stop Dan Massey, PharmD, BCPS, to make sure you really are hearing the unmistakable noise of 30 agitated rattlesnakes.
Or when asked to describe himself, Steven Dudley, director of the Arizona Poison and Drug Information Center, says with a laugh “In my free time I enjoy long walks on the beach and cooking bacon.”
Not typical. Neither is the center’s approach to making sure Arizonans are kept safe from accidental poisonings and bites and stings by venomous creatures. By having a variety of poisonous snakes, Gila monsters, scorpions and spiders in the Arizona Poison and Drug Information Center, operators can quickly become familiar with and comfortable directing treatment of bites or stings.
“We’re training current and future pharmacists and physicians to practice better medical care to improve the lives of Arizonans,” Dudley said.
Massey, the center’s venomous reptile curator, is a clinical staff pharmacist at the Southern Arizona VA Health Care System and a 2010 graduate of the University of Arizona R. Ken Coit College of Pharmacy. He was the driving force behind having venomous animals in the center. A self-described lifelong “snake guy,” Massey is living out his childhood dream of working with snakes and educating the public and the toxicology world about venomous animals.
“One of the things that fascinates me about being a clinical pharmacist is not only being able to know how to treat an envenomation with antivenom, but also understanding how and why venom causes these clinical symptoms,” Massey said. “What about the venom composition, what aspect of this animal venom is actually causing the symptoms that lead to some of these clinical presentations we see in the hospital? And what better way to make some of this information stick in an individual’s mind than to have an actual live animal there. It’s just one of those visual keys that just help information stick.
“A lot of our fellows and toxicology residents will come in from states where they don’t have envenomations,” Massey said. “They don’t see rattlesnakes. This is their one chance to be exposed to something unique. A big part of the Arizona Poison and Drug Information Center is envenomations. Being able to physically see and treat patients with antivenom, then observing a live rattlesnake on display in the center, really solidifies the learning experience.”
Animals provide visual cues to make learning easier
It’s clear from listening to Massey and Dudley that including live animals as visual cues in the Arizona Poison and Drug Information Center is important and exciting to them both. Dispelling myths about the animals is another reason they are in the center.
“I think one of the biggest misconceptions about rattlesnakes is that they’re aggressive,” Dudley said. “You know, ‘They’re mean, they’re aggressive.’ And that’s not true. They are defensive, though. They’re very, very defensive. If you’re walking by a rattlesnake, it doesn’t know if you’re minding your own business or if you’re trying to harm them if you get up in their space, and that’s where people get into trouble.”
Massey, who undergoes yearly permit renewals by the Arizona Game and Fish Department to have the animals, will bring the snakes out of the cages and give lectures. The snake is unconcerned or just interested in getting back into its home, he said.
“It’s just hanging out,” Dudley adds. “It’s not chasing anybody. That sort of reinforces those points that you can’t get by just looking at a YouTube video or reading something online.”
Dudley warned that only trained professionals should handle snakes, and under no circumstances should you try this at home.
At any one time, the center might have one of dozens of different rattlesnakes, including Western Diamondbacks, Mojaves or smaller species such as Sidewinders, as well as scorpions, Colorado River toads and Gila monsters. The animals are in the center for two to five weeks and then return to Massey’s home.
The Arizona Poison and Drug Information Center is unique in having the animals on hand to help with calls from the public and in training future pharmacists and physicians. Being able to ask the right questions can lead to the right answers.
“Having that knowledge base is critical, because a lot of who we’re training and educating are doctors who are going to go and then treat patients,” Dr. Dudley said.
The center trains pharmacy and medical students at the U of A Health Sciences, emergency medicine residents at two Banner – University Medical Center locations in Tucson, providers at Darnell Army Medical Center, and others with an interest and need to learn about saving lives.
