 Frequently Asked Questions
Do you have a question that should be listed in the FAQ section of the WWAMI Medical Education Program website? If so, please contact the Webmaster at wyo-wwami@uwyo.edu.
WWAMI is an acronym comprised of the first letters of the five participating states in the regional medical education program affiliated with the University of Washington School of Medicine in Seattle, Washington: Washington, Wyoming, Alaska, Montana and Idaho.
First, the student must be certified as a Wyoming resident through the University of Wyoming Certification Office.
Then the student must apply and be accepted to the University of Washington School of Medicine (UWSOM) using the UWSOM normal application processes.
Finally, if you are accepted into the Wyoming WWAMI program, you will be required to sign a contract.
For more detailed information please go to:Applicant Information
At present we have rates of acceptance that are considerably higher than those of U.S. medical schools in general. This is due in part to our close and ongoing relationships with the applicants.
University of Washington School of Medicine applicants who were offered positions for the fall of 2007 had a mean GPA of 3.69 and the following mean MCAT scores: Verbal 10.5, Physical Sciences 10.7, Biological Sciences 11.1, and a mode of "Q" in the Writing Sample. It is important to remember that these average scores rather than cut offs. The admission decision is based on the entire application - the interview being a very important part of the application process.
All entrants in recent years have fulfilled requirements for a bachelor's degree. No specific major is advised. A broad background in the humanities and liberal arts is encouraged.
Some of the above data regarding UWSOM application information is taken from the University of Washington School of Medicine Web site.
As a Wyoming WWAMI medical student, the student will be required to pay a predetermined and set amount to the University of Wyoming for each year of the program. The University of Wyoming pays the University of Washington a seat cost for each Wyoming WWAMI student. It is that amount that constitutes the contract amount. Following completion of a residency program, if the student returns to Wyoming to practice medicine for three years, he or she will have completed the contract. If the student does not return to Wyoming to practice, then he or she is required to pay back the amount of money owed on the contract.
For more detailed information, please go to: Applicant Information
Students receive an excellent medical education at the University of Washington School of Medicine, the number one ranked Primary Care Medical School in 2008 (US News and World Report, online http://grad-schools.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/grad/med).
Year 1 is spent at the University of Wyoming, in Laramie. The course curriculum consists of basic science courses and clinical medicine courses in a small class setting (16: 1 student/faculty ratio); and one-on-one clinical experience with a local, primary care physician.
Year 2 is spent at the University of Washington School of Medicine, in Seattle. The basic science course curriculum continues with the ‘organ systems' courses, and continuation of clinical medicine courses.
Years 3 and 4 are the clerkship years. Wyoming WWAMI students can take their required and elective clinical rotations in communities in any of the 5 WWAMI states (Washington, Wyoming, Alaska, Montana, and Idaho). This means that Wyoming WWAMI students have an opportunity to spend the majority of their medical education within the state of Wyoming!
After graduating from the UWSOM, Wyoming WWAMI students attend residency programs in their chosen field of medicine across the United States. Residency programs take anywhere from 3 to 6 years to complete, depending on the program and level of specialty.
Graduates of M.D. accredited programs usually pursue residency training which allows them to gain additional expertise in a specific area of medicine. Wyoming WWAMI graduates are free to specialize in any area of medicine. There are two family medicine residency programs located within the state of Wyoming, and Wyoming WWAMI graduates can also pursue any other specialty around the country.
The following is a list of the specialties of our past graduates:
Anesthesiology
Dermatology
Emergency Medicine
Family Medicine
Internal Medicine
Nephrology
Neurology
Ob/Gyn
Orthapaedic Surgery Otolaryngology
Pediatrics
Pediatric Pulmonology
Psychiatry
Radiology
Rheumatology
Surgery
Thoracic Surgery
Urology
WWAMI offers the perfect medical education program for a rural/frontier state like Wyoming. It is a regionalized system that promotes a partnership between the University of Washington School of Medicine (UWSOM) and the member states. The WWAMI program provides the highest quality medical education and an emphasis on rural medicine. The small class-size during the first year provide more opportunities for student-centered learning. The second year offers learning on the campus of one of the top-rated medical schools in the U.S. The mission of UWSOM is to address the medical education needs of its region, particularly by recognizing the importance of primary care, and advancing knowledge and assuming leadership in the biomedical sciences and in academic science.
The Wyoming WWAMI student completes his or her first year at the University of Wyoming in Laramie, then goes to Seattle for the second year of medical education. Students then study and see patients in approved clerkship sites in any of the five WWAMI states during year three and four of medical school.
For more detailed information, please go to: Applicant Information
Last Updated on 1/28/2009 12:40:46 PM | 
