The University of Washington School of Medicine's WWAMI Regional Medical Education Program (often merely referred to as "WWAMI", pronounced "wammy") is a partnership in the western United States , established in 1971 between the state of Washington , the University of Washington and the states of W yoming (joined in 1996), A laska , M ontana and I daho , hence the acronym "WWAMI."
11-502: In 1970, prompted by the shortage of primary care physicians that have historically affected rural areas, the UW School of Medicine created a four-state (later five-state, with the inclusion of Wyoming in 1996) community-based medical education program with the goal of increasing the number of primary care physicians throughout the northwest United States. WWAMI was created as a regional medical education program for neighboring states that, at
22-546: A 40-year agreement with Idaho State University-Meridian, which is located next to the ICOM campus, for use of its Treasure Valley Anatomy and Physiology Laboratory (TVAPL). There, ICOM's first-year and second-year medical students perform whole-body dissections on donated bodies, also known as cadavers. As a free-standing medical school, ICOM only offers graduate-level training. ICOM awards the Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine degree (DO). This
33-424: A New Mexico-based architecture firm, did the design. ICOM's campus includes more than 12,000 feet of classroom space, including two lecture halls, each with 250 seats; a clinical simulation center; a 3,500-square-foot medical library; and a 3,479-square-foot osteopathic manipulative medicine (OMM) Lab. Additionally, 12 Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE) rooms are located on the second floor. ICOM has
44-534: A limited number of spots available, admission is competitive. The following schools participate in the WWAMI program: Idaho College of Osteopathic Medicine Idaho College of Osteopathic Medicine (ICOM) is a private, for-profit osteopathic medical school . The college is currently owned by Rice University, a private university based in Houston, and TPG, an international private equity company. Founded in 2016, ICOM
55-958: Is a four-year degree with years 1 and 2 consisting of on-campus didactic lectures, small group assignments laboratory and clinical experiences. Years 3 and 4 are completed at selected clinical sites. ICOM also offers concurrent degrees of DO+MPH and DO+MHA, in collaboration with ISU. Students can pursue research in basic science, medical education, osteopathic principles and practice, and underserved and rural medicine in collaboration with ICOM faculty. ICOM's research serves to advance medicine and biomedical scholarship in Idaho, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Wyoming and beyond. Areas of focus include: Osteopathic principles and practice; Medical education; Rural and underserved medicine; Obesity, Diabetes, and Cardiometabolic Syndrome; Cellular bioenergetics, free radicals and oxidative stress, muscle biology, cancer, diabetes; Neuroinflammation, gene regulation, cell motility in
66-458: Is largely considered a success, and serves as a model for comprehensive regional medical education. Prior to the addition of Wyoming in 1996, the program was known as "WAMI." That state's previous arrangement was with the private Creighton University School of Medicine in Omaha, Nebraska . The program has five stated goals: The program model uses existing state universities in the five states for
77-467: Is located at the Meridian campus of Idaho State University (ISU). At ICOM, students can earn a Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine (D.O.) degree. Before ICOM was established, Idaho was the most populous state without a medical school of its own. Although Idaho is among the most rapidly growing areas of the country, the state ranks 49th in physicians per capita. ICOM was founded by Dan Burrell, who also founded
88-707: The Burrell College of Osteopathic Medicine in Las Cruces, NM. Though the school is private, it was founded in partnership with Idaho State University and other senior Idaho healthcare and government officials, with Dr. Robert Hasty as the founding dean. The medical school helps address the current and growing shortage of physicians in the Mountain West region and beyond. With approval from the Idaho State Board of Education, former Idaho Governor C.L. "Butch" Otter announced
99-640: The creation of ICOM on February of 2016. In December 2017 COCA granted ICOM pre-accreditation status and authorized the recruitment of 162 students. ICOM's inaugural class matriculated in August 2018. This class graduated in May 2022 and went on to have a 100% residency match rate, leading to ICOM's elevation to full accreditation status by COCA. Located in Meridian, Idaho, the three-story, 94,000-square-foot facility cost $ 34 million, and took Engineered Structures, Inc. (ESI) just thirteen months to build. Dekker/Perich/Sabatini,
110-560: The first 18 months of medical school - the Foundations Phase - the equivalent of years one and two. For the third and fourth years of clinical education, sites across the five states are used. There are over 3,000 individual physicians affiliated with WWAMI that are available for the required and elective clerkships . The program provides in-state tuition rates for all parts of the program, dramatically reducing educational costs. Each state subsidizes tuition for their students. With only
121-563: The time, lacked their own medical schools, (The Idaho College of Osteopathic Medicine was founded in 2016 in Meridian, ID, and Washington State University founded the Elson S. Floyd College of Medicine in Spokane, WA in 2015) while also encouraging physicians-in-training to eventually stay and practice in the region, as the amount of time students spend in a given state is thought to increase their likelihood of practicing there after graduation. The program
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