Western Washington WWAMI

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Introduction

Western Washington encompasses the part of Washington State west of the Cascade Mountains, from Lynden/Birch Bay at the Canadian border to Vancouver at the Oregon border.  This region accounts for the majority of Washington State residents; the Western Washington WWAMI region excludes the greater Seattle area.

The mountains-to-the-sea region offers unique learning opportunities in both urban and rural communities.  Even in the rural communities, however, for those with a need for concerts, theatre, shopping, or other urban-esque activities, the urban areas are often only a few hours away.

Support Services
The Western Washington WWAMI Regional Office in Olympia, WA, offers a variety of support services:

• Serves as a liaison between the University of Washington School of Medicine Seattle campus and the medical education communities spanning the length of the I-5 corridor from Lynden to Vancouver and from the coast to the Cascades.
• Develops relationships with local physicians who are interested in teaching medical students.
• Assists current teaching sites with administrative issues such as onboarding requirements for medical student clerkships and housing needs for medical students.
• Strengthens relationships with local physicians to support the practice of rural medicine by developing new clerkship and elective opportunities in a variety of specialties.
• Oversees the Western Washington WRITE (WWAMI Rural Integrated Training Experience) program and the Olympia LIC (longitudinal integrated clerkship) experience.

Training Opportunities

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Olympia LIC (Longitudinal Integrated Clerkship)

The Olympia LIC offers medical students an 11-month integrated clerkship in Olympia, Washington, which includes all third year required clerkships, plus a 2-week Palliative Care clinical elective.

The basic scheduling for the Olympia LIC is designed to rotate students between inpatient hospital care (primarily at Providence St. Peter Hospital) and outpatient care clinics, alternating every two to three weeks. Many of the preceptors are University of Washington School of Medicine alumnae.

This clerkship is geared to students who are interested in primary care as it provides a unique opportunity to follow several of the same patients over an eleven-month period.

WRITE (WWAMI Rural Integrated Training Experience)

WRITE is a clinical medical education program developed by the UW School of Medicine as a means to help meet the need for rural primary care physicians in the WWAMI region. The success of this unique program is due to the integration of community involvement, continuity of experience and a proven curriculum. The Western Washington sites are Ferndale, Lynden, Port Angeles, and Port Townsend.  They are all TRUST (Targeted Rural Underserved Track) sites; we currently do not have any non-TRUST WRITE sites.

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​Contact Information​