WWAMI turns 40
2011 marks the 40th anniversary of the WWAMI regional medical education program, an enduring partnership between the University of Washington School of Medicine and the states of Washington, Wyoming, Alaska, Montana and Idaho that provides publicly supported medical education for the five-state region. The WWAMI name is derived from the first letter of the names of each of the five partner states. Throughout WWAMI’s 40-year history, many individuals, groups, hospitals, universities and government leaders have collaborated to advance regional excellence in medical education and meet physician workforce needs in rural and underserved areas.
Get a preview peek at UW 360's January episode on WWAMI: filling the need for future physicians in rural and underserved areas.
In celebration of its 40 years of medical school training, WWAMI leaders are planning a variety of anniversary events in 2011-2012 across the WWAMI states. The first celebration took place September 10th in Anchorage, Alaska. Although legislative responsibilities in our nation’s capital kept U. S. Senators Mark Begich and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Jon Tester of Montana, Mike Crapo of Idaho, John Barrasso of Wyoming, Representative Michael Simpson of Idaho and Congressman Jim McDermott of Washington from attending in person, they sent video greetings that were shown during the Saturday evening celebration.
The University of Washington School of Medicine maintains regional WWAMI offices in each of the five WWAMI states. These offices oversee first-year education and training, clinical training for third- and fourth-year medical students and support services for students. WWAMI focuses not only on medical students but on students in K-12 and college, residency training for medical school graduates and support for physicians in community practice.
WWAMI Program History and Philosophy
The WAMI program started in 1971, with Wyoming joining in 1996 to form the acronym WWAMI. WWAMI was founded with five goals: 1) provide publically supported medical education; 2) increase the number of primary-care physicians and correct the maldistribution of physicians; 3) provide community-based medical education; 4) expand graduate medical education (residency training) and continuing medical education; and 5) provide all of these in a cost-effective manner. Those goals—with many successes—remain in place today.
WWAMI is recognized nationally and internationally as a model program for training physicians and other health professionals for rural areas. The program has set the standard for decentralized medical education. In 2002, the WWAMI program was recognized by the Association of American Medical Colleges with the Outstanding Community Service Award, given annually to just one medical school in the nation.
How it Works
Each participating state has a specific number of medical students admitted each year; these students are supported through a combination of appropriated state funds and student tuition covering the full cost of medical education. Students spend their first year at their home state university and their second year in Seattle; they then have the opportunity to complete their third- and fourth-year required and elective clerkships throughout the WWAMI states.
Positive Results
The University of Washington School of Medicine has been identified as the nation’s top primary-care school in each of the last 18 years by U.S. News & World Report as well as the top medical school in the nation in family medicine and rural medicine training for the past 20 years.
Most important, outcomes indicate that WWAMI works. Over the past 30 years, over 60 percent of graduating students have chosen to remain within the five-state area to practice. Over the course of the past 20 years, very close to 50 percent of graduating students have chosen to pursue careers in primary care. This is particularly important since more than one-third of the population in the WWAMI region lives in rural, largely underserved areas. Upon graduation from graduate medical education, an estimated 20 percent of WWAMI graduates will practice in Health Professional Shortage Areas (HPSAs).
Looking Ahead
We are proud of the WWAMI program and its successes for the five-state region. As we celebrate this wonderful milestone of 40 years, we begin to look ahead to the next major milestone, a half-century of providing high-quality, cost-effective training for the region. Please join us this year in celebrating what we have all—community members, physicians, universities, business communities, legislatures—created and implemented together to make our region a better, healthier place.
WWAMI in the News