Wwami medical education program spokane

In recognition of the critical role that the Spokane community plays in the overall health of the state of Washington and the Inland Empire, it's time to make WWAMI-Spokane the next generation of innovation in medical education. It is devoted to the health-care professional needs of communities. First, thanks to the generous support of the Spokane community, which raised private dollars to temporarily fund the second year of medical education in Spokane, the UW School of Medicine will seek state funding in the next legislative session to guarantee that Spokane will become the first permanent four-year medical education program outside Seattle in the five-state WWAMI region.

The funding request will also support previously announced plans by the UW, in partnership with Washington State University, to quadruple the number of medical students in Spokane's classrooms from 20 to 80 per year. It's the best possible way to train for the profession I am so dedicated to. Second, the UW School of Medicine will adopt a new state-of-the art medical education curriculum in Spokane and expand clinical training opportunities in underserved areas across the state, including Yakima, Tri-Cities, Wenatchee, Bellingham and Vancouver.

The program gives students residing in this five-state region access to high-quality, cost-effective medical education by decentralizing the educational process and sharing existing facilities and personnel in universities and communities in the WWAMI states.

Students are enrolled in the UW School of Medicine, and complete their Foundations Phase the first 18 months of medical school in Spokane. The Foundations Phase integrates basic science and clinical education, as well as rural training early in the curriculum. The WWAMI Medical Education Program, including the UW-GU Health Partnership, strives to attain two main goals: to make public medical education accessible to residents throughout the five states, and to encourage graduates to choose careers in primary care and family medicine and ultimately locate their practices in non-metropolitan areas of the northwestern U.

Started in , WWAMI is currently in its 45th year of successfully educating physicians across the five-state region. Presently, the WWAMI program in Spokane hosts 60 first-year medical students and 40 second-year students conducting their medical training in Spokane on the GU campus; third- and fourth-year students do clinical training at sites across the WWAMI region. Learn more:. Community-based clinical faculty volunteer their time to educate our medical students.

The GRMC Star of Educational Innovation and Star of Community Achievement Awards recognize the significant efforts of regional medical campuses to development programs that help students and strengthen ties with the communities they serve.