Negotiations between the University of Washington and Washington State University toward creating a new medical school in Spokane have reached a standstill. From its inception, it was to be a collaborative effort, with each participant committed to bringing their substantial assets to form a “new” medical school. It made good horse sense to pool their vast educational resources, synergize their capabilities, and, from them, create a school that would be recognized across the nation. From a public funding prospective, it would be efficient and a greater potential success for the state.

For Spokane, it should be a significant economic driver; attracting physicians, researchers, entrepreneurial companies, new patients and well-paying professional jobs.

This debate comes when we should be retooling medical education. There are vast changes ahead that will drastically affect medical care delivery and the distribution of physicians across Washington. There is more to this than pumping out family doctors, hoping they will settle in our mid-size and smaller communities. Physician distribution has been a perplexing problem complicated by economic, cultural and educational issues. We are going to treat patients differently given the advances in genomics, biomedical technology, pharmaceuticals and telemedicine. New physicians must become “early adopters” supported by trained nurses, physician’s assistants and technical personnel. The ability to treat, test and educate patients through telemedicine will link primary care doctors and specialists. Medical education must keep up with the advances.

Given the challenges, the current dissonance is like a broken dream. A bipolar solution will be a loss for medical education. The organizational egos are running high, politicians are being lobbied, funding requests have started a tug-of-war, and it appears everyone has lost sight of the vision. Joining together is always hard and, unfortunately, the outcome should no longer be controlled solely by the universities. The Legislature and community leaders need to be involved. Otherwise, we will average down to a mediocre solution.

The WWAMI program, with students from Washington, Wyoming, Alaska, Montana and Idaho, has an outstanding reputation and brand. The UW officials who have built it must be involved in the discussion. WSU aspires to add medical educational slots for students who want to remain in the state and serve our communities. Both schools would benefit from working together because they have more to offer collectively than as separate entities.

Washington clearly needs to educate more physicians. For years, we have been importers of physicians from other states. While we have done well, there is an increasing shortage of doctors because of population growth and a changing work ethic. The demand has outgrown the supply.

At the same time, aspiring students from Washington must go out of state because there are not enough WWAMI slots. Much of our talent continues their post-graduate education away from Washington, and many locate where they have contacts and opportunities.

Here is a proposed solution, “One Vision, One Medical School, Two Programs”:

•One vision for education in a new medical school in the University District.

•The school should be a combined effort, not a branch of the existing one.

•WSU and UW should be equal shareholders of the jointly created medical school.

•The school should be operated under a co-governance model overseen by a board with balanced representation from the universities, community membership and appropriate government officials.

•A mechanism for arbitrating differences between the universities should be part of the charter.

•The school will accommodate WWAMI expansion sponsored by UW’s and WSU’s new “collaborative” medical program.

The benefits:

• One vision, one direction.

• A non-competitive model preserving the integrity of both universities.

• Combines resources from both schools, creating opportunities for synergism.

• Allows retained ownership of existing research but permits joint efforts.

• Provides the state with a single-purpose medical school, and generates a return on its investment.

• Creates a campus in a community that has land, exceptional hospitals, physicians and a trained workforce that will support a joint effort.

• Focuses medical education on fulfilling a need that will change rapidly in the next five to 15 years.

The benefits are numerous and the opportunity is unique. This is the pathway to the future. Let’s do the right thing the first time and be inspired by the results that will accrue from the effort.

Please take the time and exert the energy necessary to provide a sensible solution, absent any emotional turbulence.

Do not lose the opportunity!