Medical Education in Idaho

The Idaho WWAMI Program (a program for Washington, Wyoming, Alaska, Montana, and Idaho) provides medical education and training to students, residents, and practicing physicians throughout the vast state of Idaho.  Twenty Idaho WWAMI students completed their first year of medical training at the University of Idaho’s Moscow campus, sharing resources and faculty with the joint program at Washington State University in Pullman. WWAMI, the University of Washington’s regional medical program, allows first-year medical students to train in their home state, increasing their familiarity with the health care needs of their region and state, and increasing the likelihood that students will select further training or practice opportunities in Idaho, once their training is complete. 
 
After completing their second year of training at the medical school in Seattle, WWAMI students have the opportunity to return and complete their clinical training requirements in Idaho.  These clinical rotations are coordinated through the University of Washington School of Medicine WWAMI (Idaho) Office for Clinical Medical Education in Boise. Following receipt of their M.D. degree, University of Washington School of Medicine graduates have the opportunity to apply to the three primary care residencies in Idaho.  In addition to these formal training programs, Idaho physicians have opportunities for informal continuing medical education through seminars, programs, consultations, or academic affiliations with the University of Washington School of Medicine through its Idaho WWAMI program.

The WWAMI Medical Program is committed to helping prepare physicians for primary care practice, regardless of eventual subspecialty selection, and to increasing the number of physicians who choose to practice in rural or underserved areas. There is also a strong commitment to the partnership between excellence in research and teaching in medical education.  Cutting edge research prepares the next generation of doctors to be well informed and at the forefront of clinical medical practice.  The WWAMI faculty at the University of Idaho and the clinical faculty for clerkships in Boise, Pocatello, Coeur d’Alene, and Idaho Falls, and our rural training communities, are committed to being both dynamic teachers and informed biomedical scholars.