From Dr. Suzanne Allen, Vice Dean for Academic, Rural and Regional Affairs
Fall is a busy time: alongside your coursework you are exploring Triple I options or scheduling your Patient Care or Explore & Focus phase clerkships. It’s never too early to start thinking about your upcoming travel around the WWAMI region for research and required clinical rotations. I wanted to take a moment to talk about what it will be like to travel around the WWAMI region—and how we support you in doing so.
The WWAMI collaboration is one of the strengths of our School. The diversity of patient populations and the variety of settings across Washington, Wyoming, Alaska, Montana and Idaho will serve you well as a future physician. A residency program director recently said of a UW medical student, “matching a UW student is awesome— we know they come to internship with very good clinical-skills training.” The breadth of WWAMI training plays a big part in that.
Here’s what you should know and how to plan ahead:
Travel & Housing Support
- Required clinical rotations scheduled away from your official duty station are eligible for housing and transportation support. Check out WWAMI travel.
- Housing at clerkship sites is arranged by the site or WWAMI regional office—not by students directly. Make sure to contact the site in advance for details (see WWAMI travel and clerkship contacts)
- “Family Travel Program”: If you have a spouse/children, check out the WWAMI Travel resource early.
What to expect when you travel
- You will be training at multiple types of sites—urban tertiary centers, community hospitals, rural clinics—across the WWAMI region. This is intentional and gives you breadth of experience.
- Be prepared for logistics: travel, housing arrangements, commuting in unfamiliar places, and credentialing. Watch for emails from your RUOP and/or clerkship team. Department Contacts are here
- It’s helpful to check ahead: What is the local environment like? Housing? Internet/connectivity for study? Additionally, the Learning Environment team has developed a demographics and attractions guide to help you find local amenities in your clerkship community as well as a compilation of community resources to help support you during your time there.
Who you can contact/resources- check out our quick guide
- For travel/training questions: the WWAMI Regional Affairs / Student Travel office (gowwami@uw.edu) is a good start.
- For career advising: visit the Career Advising resources and watch your email for webinars to learn about elective selection, match preparation, timing, etc.
• For learning environment resources: the UWSOM curriculum and clerkship information pages describe expectations and structure.
If you have specific questions now about travel for Scholarship/Research, or a planned rotation, housing at a site, or how a travel/housing reimbursement works and you can’t find an answer with the resources provided, please reach out and we’ll be happy to assist.