WWAMI Mission Statement

WWAMI is dedicated to improving the general health and well being of the public. We place special emphasis on the following:

WWAMI works with public and private agencies to improve health care and to advance knowledge in medicine and related fields of inquiry. It acknowledges a special responsibility to the people in the states of Washington, Wyoming, Alaska, Montana and Idaho, who have joined with it in a unique regional partnership in the medical profession. WWAMI acknowledges a particular responsibility to those minorities and underrepresented populations prevalent in its region. The program is dedicated to ethical conduct in all its activities.

The WWAMI Program

The WWAMI Program provides a unique opportunity in medical education. As a first year medical student, you will be in a class of only 38 students. This small class size offers close student-teacher interaction and a close knit student body.

The small class size allows our program to maintain a curriculum that supports significant clinical exposure. The physician-student interaction offered to first year WWAMI students greatly exceeds what is offered at other medical schools. After only a year you will be well ahead of your peers in your experience in patient contact and clinical medicine. The class participates in a year long course, Introduction to Clinical Medicine, taught in small groups led by local physicians in the community. In your first year you will already be learning skills in taking patient histories and in physical diagnosis.

Another outstanding benefit the WWAMI Program offers is the Preceptorship. You will spend half a day each week with one of over 70 local physicians. These Preceptorships range from working with a family physician or sub-specialist, or in some cases, rotation through several subspecialties of surgery.

If you are interested in additional out-of-class experience, the WWAMI Program also offers the opportunity to do basic or clinical research with faculty at Idaho or at Washington State University during the summer after your first year.

Another opportunity for clinical experience is the Rural/Underserved Opportunities Program (R/UOP). After the completion of your first year, you can apply for a fellowship to work four weeks in a rural or underserved community with a clinical preceptor. More than one-half of the class takes advantage of this fellowship opportunity each summer. There is also an opportunity to do a community medicine research project during this time. These scholarships are available to all WWAMI students.

It is often said that, 'the key to unlocking your potential in a subject is to get excited about the subject early on'. This is what WWAMI has to offer you.