WWAMI Stories and Student Features

The landscape stopped Mikayla Bullman in her tracks  not because it was foreign, but because it wasn’t. Rolling grassland, wide sky, communities scattered far from the nearest hospital. “Rural Montana is not all that different,” she would later reflect. “The landscape even looks the same.” This summer, Bullman and fellow Montana WWAMI second-year Lucy Corbett […]

Michael Martin grew up in the Seattle area with two things in mind: get to medical school, and get there by way of a smaller Jesuit college away from home. He found that at Gonzaga University, where he is pursuing a biochemistry degree. What he did not expect was how much the research itself would […]

For Roger Turcotte, MD, the path to medicine ran through Idaho and back again. An Idaho native set on returning home to practice primary care, he made WWAMI his first choice for medical school. “As an Idahoan, I was committed to coming back to Idaho and I was interested in primary care, so WWAMI was […]

For Wesley Simko, the path to medicine began close to home, watching his father care for patients as an emergency room nurse in a critical access hospital. His RUOP experience in Hailey gave him another opportunity to see the difference a physician can make in a rural community. An Idaho WWAMI student, Wesley completed his […]

For Idaho WWAMI student Natalie Warr of Boise, the desire to become a physician began early—shaped by watching people she loved struggle to access health care and trust the system. Her RUOP rotation gave her the opportunity to turn that early calling into hands-on experience serving a rural Idaho community. Natalie completed her four-week Rural […]

For Karen Sanchez-Reyes, rural medicine is more than a career path—it reflects the community that first inspired her to become a physician. Karen completed her four-week Rural Underserved Opportunities Program (RUOP) rotation at Valor Health in Emmett from June 29 to July 24, 2026 under the mentorship of  preceptor Madison Beatty, MD. The elective gives […]

For Sabrina Allison, caring for others has always been rooted in community. Her RUOP rotation in Orofino offered a chance to build on that commitment while experiencing rural medicine firsthand. Sabrina completed her four-week Rural Underserved Opportunities Program (RUOP) rotation at Clearwater Valley Health from June 29 to July 24, 2026 under the mentorship of  […]

For Landon Butler, the journey to medicine has included soccer fields, construction sites and a few unexpected turns—but his RUOP rotation brought him exactly where he wanted to be: learning medicine in a rural Idaho community. An Idaho WWAMI student, Landon completed his four-week Rural Underserved Opportunities Program (RUOP) rotation at St. Mary’s Health in […]

For Colton Campbell, the path to medicine has taken him from finance and real estate to clinical care, international service and recently, rural Idaho where he spent four weeks discovering what it means to care for patients in a close-knit community. An Idaho WWAMI student from Rigby, Colton completed his Rural Underserved Opportunities Program (RUOP) […]

For Idaho WWAMI student Hope McWilliams, her RUOP rotation in Smelterville was more than an introduction to rural medicine—it was a chance to return to the Northern Idaho community she calls home. Hope spent four weeks at SMC Family Medicine from July 13 to Aug. 7, 2026 under the mentorship of  preceptor Jessica Harnisch-Boyd, DO, […]