Academics
The University of Washington School of Medicine’s WWAMI Medical Education program is an internationally recognized model for high-quality, cost-effective training of physicians and other health professionals.
Idaho WWAMI students are immersed in required and elective basic science and clinical academics at the University of Idaho in Moscow, Idaho. Referred to as the Foundations Phase, students complete 96 graduate credits in basic biomedical sciences and clinical medical education over an 18-month period.
- Students complete integrated coursework and clinical training in blocks of curriculum that merge diverse training in topics ranging from biochemistry to pathology to ethics.
- Students complete independent research of their design in collaboration with scientists and clinicians during the summer term after their first year.
- Many students pursue additional elective studies including wilderness medicine, Spanish for healthcare providers, LGBTQ medicine or diet and nutrition. Students may also organize and engage in non-academic interest groups based on clinical specialties.
During the Clinical Phase (years 3 and 4), students complete the required clinical and elective clerkships of the curriculum. This includes at least one clerkship at a large quaternary hospital in Seattle but may also include regional experiences in Idaho and across the five WWAMI states.
About the Primary Care Practicum
The Primary Care Practicum (PCP) is a popular part of our early clinical curriculum.
All Foundations students are required to participate in the PCP, which runs January through December. Students spend 15 half-days working alongside a physician, practicing on the Palouse or in the Lewis Clark Valley, and gain valuable exposure to a primary care setting. It is an exciting first clinical experience that students will have as they start medical school, laying the groundwork for their future clinical experiences.
The PCP is not possible without community physicians and other healthcare volunteers who gift their time and teaching talent to our medical students. Thank you, PCP preceptors!