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 Wyoming (joined in 1996), Alaska, Montana and Idaho, hence the acronym "WWAMI."
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 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,[1] as the amount of time students spend in a given state is thought to increase their likelihood of practicing there after graduation.
[2] The program is largely considered a success, and serves as a model for comprehensive regional medical education.
"[3] That state's previous arrangement was with the private Creighton University School of Medicine in Omaha, Nebraska.