WWAMI is an enduring partnership between the University of Washington School of Medicine and the states of Wyoming, Alaska, Montana, and Idaho. The WWAMI name is derived from the first letter of each of the five cooperating states. The WWAMI program's purpose is to provide access to publicly supported medical education across the five-state region. The UW Medicine School of Medicine maintains a Dean's Office in each of the five states. These offices oversee clinical medical education for the School of Medicine within their regions, providing support services for the local clerkships and students rotating among them. WWAMI focuses not only on medical students but on students in K-12, college students, medical school graduates in residency and physicians in community practice.
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The program has been in place now for over 35 years. It was begun in 1971. In 1996, Wyoming joined Washington, Alaska, Montana and Idaho as the fifth state in the consortium.
In recent years, medical educators have gained an understanding that medical students need to learn medicine where it is practiced - in the community rather than only in an urban, academic hospital setting. The philosophy of WWAMI is to put emphasis on a decentralized form of medical education. A significant part of any given student’s education occurs within the WWAMI region in communities utilizing a combination of both full-time and volunteer teachers.
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Each of the participating states designates a specific number of medical school seats. These are supported through a combination of appropriated state funds and student tuition which cover the full cost of medical education. The tuition paid by students in Wyoming, Alaska, Montana and Idaho is the same as that paid by Washington state residents. This allows for publicly supported medical education in states where no freestanding medical school exists.
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Outcomes of the program at the University of Washington School of Medicine and WWAMI indicate that, over 30 years, 61% of graduating students stay within the five-state area to practice. Over the course of the past 20 years, very close to 50% of graduating students have chosen to pursue careers in primary care. This is particularly important since 35% of the population in the WWAMI region lives in rural, generally underserved areas underscoring the importance of primary care. Upon graduation, an estimated 20% of WWAMI graduates will practice in Health Professional Shortage Areas (HPSAs) following graduate medical education.
The University of Washington School of Medicine has been identified as the top primary care school in each of the last 15 years by U.S. News & World Report. We continue to lead the country in provision of innovative programs in both medical education and the provision of community service by students not only in the medical school but across all of the health sciences schools at the University of Washington.
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In addition to education for medical school students, the WWAMI program focuses on the identification and preparation of qualified students in the K-12 and college years. It supports residency opportunities in the five-state region, including the 17 participating residencies in family practice located throughout the five states, and also provides innovative programs to support those in community practice throughout the region.
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