Office of Rural Programs

TRUST

Target Rural Underserved Track (TRUST)

TRUST provides an exceptional educational experience to prepare students for future practice in underserved rural areas and underserved small cities of the WWAMI region.

Program Overview

The Targeted Rural Underserved Track (TRUST) seeks to provide a continuous connection between rural underserved communities, medical education, and health professionals in our region. Our initial goal is to create a full-circle ecosystem by guiding qualified students through a special curriculum that connects rural/small city underserved communities in Washington, Wyoming, Alaska, Montana, and Idaho (WWAMI) to the University of Washington School of Medicine (UWSOM) in an effort to help meet the workforce needs of the region.

While much of our focus is on primary care, other specialties with workforce shortages also lend themselves to rural and small city practices, such as general surgery, OB/GYN, psychiatry, and more. We believe participation in TRUST is advantageous to students who would like to practice in these settings, regardless of specialty.

As a TRUST student, you will have many opportunities to experience the joys and satisfaction of rural or small city practice:

  1. Spend 1-2 weeks in a summer experience before you begin Foundations courses.
  2. Return to your continuity community for short periods throughout the Foundation Phase (first 18 months) of your medical training.
  3. Complete one or more selective courses or events during each term of the Foundation Phase with a focus on underserved rural or underserved small city practice as required at your Foundation campus.
  4. Return to your TRUST continuity community for two other key continuity experiences:
    • Participate in our Rural Underserved Opportunities Program (RUOP), a one-month program during the summer months of your Foundation Phase
    • Participate in WWAMI Rural Integrated Training Experience (WRITE) during 18+ weeks of the Patient Care Phase of your medical school training

If you are strongly interested in underserved medicine in a rural or small city, you should apply to TRUST.  For more information about the program, please check out our brochure: WWAMI TRUST Overview

If you have further questions, please use the navigation menu to the right to learn more about our program. You may also contact the Office of Rural Programs by emailing somrural@uw.edu or see a list of contacts in our office.