The University of Washington School of Medicine's WWAMI Regional Medical Education Program (often merely referred to as "WWAMI", pronounced "wammy") is a partnership in the

western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, established in 1971 between the state of

Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...

, the

University of Washington The University of Washington (UW and informally U-Dub or U Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington, United States. Founded in 1861, the University of Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast of the Uni ...

and the states of Wyoming (joined in 1996), Alaska, Montana and Idaho, hence the acronym "WWAMI."

Background

In 1970, prompted by the shortage of primary care physicians that have historically affected rural areas, the UW School of Medicine created a four-state (later five-state, with the inclusion of Wyoming in 1996) community-based medical education program with the goal of increasing the number of primary care physicians throughout the northwest United States. WWAMI was created as a regional medical education program for neighboring states that, at the time, lacked their own medical schools, (The

Idaho College of Osteopathic Medicine Idaho College of Osteopathic Medicine (ICOM) is a private, for-profit osteopathic medical school. The college is currently owned by Rice University, a private university based in Houston, and TPG, an international private equity company. Founded ...

was founded in 2016 in Meridian, ID, and Washington State University founded the Elson S. Floyd College of Medicine in Spokane, WA in 2015) while also encouraging physicians-in-training to eventually stay and practice in the region, as the amount of time students spend in a given state is thought to increase their likelihood of practicing there after graduation. The program is largely considered a success, and serves as a model for comprehensive regional medical education. Prior to the addition of Wyoming in 1996, the program was known as "WAMI." That state's previous arrangement was with the private

Creighton University Creighton University () is a private research university in Omaha, Nebraska, United States. Founded by the Society of Jesus in 1878, the university is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission. In 2015 the university enrolled 8,393 graduate ...

School of Medicine A medical school is a tertiary educational institution, professional school, or forms a part of such an institution, that teaches medicine, and awards a professional degree for physicians. Such medical degrees include the Bachelor of Medicine, ...

Omaha, Nebraska Omaha ( ) is the List of cities in Nebraska, most populous city in the U.S. state of Nebraska. It is located in the Midwestern United States along the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's List of United S ...

Program

The program has five stated goals: #Provide publicly supported medical education #Increase the number of primary care physicians and correct the maldistribution of physicians #Provide community-based medical education #Expand graduate medical education and continuing medical education #Provide all of these in a cost-effective manner The program model uses existing state universities in the five states for the first 18 months of medical school - the Foundations Phase - the equivalent of years one and two. For the third and fourth years of clinical education, sites across the five states are used. There are over 3,000 individual physicians affiliated with WWAMI that are available for the required and elective clerkships. The program provides in-state tuition rates for all parts of the program, dramatically reducing educational costs. Each state subsidizes tuition for their students. With only a limited number of spots available, admission is competitive.

Participating Schools

The following schools participate in the WWAMI program: *

Montana State University Montana State University (MSU) is a public land-grant research university in Bozeman, Montana, United States. It enrolls more students than any other college or university in the state. MSU offers baccalaureate degrees in 60 fields, master's d ...

in Bozeman *

University of Alaska Anchorage The University of Alaska Anchorage (UAA) is a public university in Anchorage, Alaska, United States. UAA also administers four community campuses spread across Southcentral Alaska: Kenai Peninsula College, Kodiak College, Matanuska–Susitna C ...

, (formerly at

University of Alaska Fairbanks The University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF or Alaska) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-, National Sea Grant College Program, sea-, and National Space Grant College and Fellowship Program, space-grant research university in ...

, until 1989) *

University of Idaho The University of Idaho (U of I, or UIdaho) is a public land-grant research university in Moscow, Idaho, United States. Established in 1889 and opened three years later, it was the state's sole university for 71 years, until 1963. The un ...

in Moscow *

in Seattle *

University of Wyoming The University of Wyoming (UW) is a Public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Laramie, Wyoming, United States. It was founded in March 1886, four years before the territory was admitted as the 44th state, ...

in Laramie *

Gonzaga University Gonzaga University (GU) ( ) is a Private university, private Society of Jesus, Jesuit university in Spokane, Washington, United States. It is Higher education accreditation in the United States, accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges ...

in Spokane (formerly at

Washington State University Washington State University (WSU, or colloquially Wazzu) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Pullman, Washington, United States. Founded in 1890, WSU is also one of the oldest Land-grant uni ...

in Pullman until 2008, then at Washington State University in Spokane until 2016 when WSU established its own medical school)

Class sizes in each of the WWAMI states

*Washington/Seattle: 100 *Washington/Spokane: 60 *Wyoming: 20 *Alaska: 30 *Montana: 30 *Idaho: 40

References

{{Reflist, 2

External links