WWAMI Stories and Student Features

For first-year Alaska WWAMI student Paige Noble, receiving her first white coat was more than a milestone. It was a chance to reflect on the long journey that brought her to medical school and the people who supported her along the way. “The White Coat ceremony is a milestone that I think every person trying […]

For Dr. Maureen “Mo” Ferguson, TRUST is about more than preparing medical students for rural clinical rotations. It is about giving them the tools, relationships, and perspective they can carry throughout their careers. “I think that creating those connections, not just between doctors, faculty and preceptors, but between the students, is probably the most important […]

Receiving her white coat marks the beginning of student Heidi Sellmann’s journey toward becoming a physician   For Heidi Sellmann, receiving her white coat at Idaho WWAMI’s White Coat Ceremony was more than a milestone. As the first (future) physician in her family, the ceremony offered a chance to reflect on the winding path that […]

When Idaho WWAMI students walk into the interview room at State Hospital South in Idaho, their attending psychiatrist is already waiting for them on a screen. That is Eunice Stallman, MD, and for the next six weeks she’ll be their teacher, their supervisor, and often the person they turn to when the biggest questions of training […]

After more than two decades of leadership with the University of Washington School of Medicine, Dr. Suzanne Allen retired from her role as Vice Dean for Academic, Rural and Regional Affairs in June, leaving behind a legacy rooted in expanding medical education opportunities across the Northwest and preparing the next generation of physicians to serve […]

For Waleed Gharib, a third-year medical student at the University of Washington School of Medicine and co-lead of the Firearm Injury Reduction Education (FIRE) group, expanding access to knowledge about firearm safety and injury prevention is both a personal and professional calling.    “I have seen friends and family experience the pain and trauma caused by […]

Ian Qureshi, DO; John Hatzenbuehler, MD; and Jessica Sallstrom, DO   Three Idaho physicians have earned Idaho WWAMI Excellence in Teaching Awards after being nominated by the people who have experienced their impact firsthand: WWAMI students. The annual awards recognize physician preceptors who go above and beyond to educate and mentor medical students during their […]

When the sun appeared during Andrea Storer’s first TRUST rotation in Juneau, her preceptor encouraged her to get outside and explore. For the first-year Alaska WWAMI student, those sunny days offered a chance to discover more of the community she was getting to know through her clinical experience at Valley Medical. But it was her […]

A new $487,022 investment could create more opportunities for Alaska WWAMI medical students and graduates to complete residency training in the state. The funding, which goes through the State of Alaska Department of Health, is a federal pass-through of Rural Health Transformation Program funding included in the One Big Beautiful Bill. The award will support […]

WWAMI TRUST students from Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Washington, and Wyoming gathered in Coeur d’Alene recently for a retreat designed to strengthen their connection to rural medicine and, perhaps just as importantly, to one another. The retreat (Aug. 18-21, 2026) brought together TRUST students, leaders, and physicians from across the five-state WWAMI region for presentations, workshops, […]