More doctors? Key step near

Where will you find your next doctor? The odds are good that your doctor is thinking about retiring in the next 10 years. There are roughly two primary care physicians in the work force in their late 50s or older for every one physician under 30. And that’s on top of a growing national shortage of physicians. The challenge of attracting doctors to hospitals and clinics will become more difficult. Among the hardest-hit areas will be rural regions such as Eastern Washington. Where will you find excellent medical care?

Where a physician attends medical school seems to matter. And that’s good news for Eastern Washington. Since the early 1970s, many Eastern Washington doctors have received part of their training under a regional medical education program started and run by the University of Washington School of Medicine called WWAMI (named for the participating states: Washington, Wyoming, Alaska, Montana and Idaho). Washington State University at Pullman was one of the original WWAMI partner universities to train first-year medical students, and some WWAMI students also do large portions of their clinical training in Eastern Washington with UW clinical faculty members. The track record is impressive; a high percentage of these graduates enter primary care and return to practice in their home areas.

Opportunities are expanding quickly for Eastern Washington medical education. Since 2008 when WSU-Spokane joined the WWAMI program, doctors-in-training have been able to complete their first-year medical education at WSU’s Riverpoint campus.

And a growing number of WWAMI medical students are choosing to complete all of their third- and fourth-year clinical training in Spokane in addition to their first-year education. Just ask Jaime Fair, a fourth-year student, who spent all of her third year and will spend all of her fourth year in what’s called the Spokane Track.

“I worked one on one with attending physicians in Spokane all through my third year,”said Jaime. “I feel I’m part of the medical community here. I love WWAMI Spokane.”

An even bigger factor than medical school training influences where doctors choose to practice. Once medical students receive their M.D. degree, they must complete a residency training period, also known as graduate medical education, or GME. GME is the most influential driver of where physicians choose to practice.

So a key to increasing the supply of physicians in rural Washington, particularly in central and Eastern Washington, lies in offering robust GME programs, especially in primary-care specialties. The WWAMI team has been working diligently to expand opportunities for residency training, not only in Spokane, but throughout the region. Much work remains to be done.

If WWAMI medical school training is to continue to expand in Eastern Washington, GME training slots must also increase. The continuum of medical education to provide the next generation of excellent physicians requires both expanded medical school training and residency programs. The WWAMI program is committed to excellence in both of these vital areas.

To highlight the importance of expanding these, a UW-WSU-community WWAMI planning team will sponsor a regional conference on GME in Spokane on Oct. 15. This GME summit will feature national speakers outlining development of new residency programs and expansion opportunities. We are expecting a lively discussion from the entire WWAMI region, from legislators to hospitals, physicians, community health centers and medical educators.

Washington’s Legislature will be faced with solving the state’s enormous revenue deficit problems. Yet both Washington State University and the University of Washington will be asking for new spending as an immediate investment for the future to keep medical student education and residency training at the forefront and growing in Eastern Washington.

The need for doctors is great. The need for primary physicians serving rural areas is even greater. The UW and WSU are uniquely poised to increase the number of doctors serving our region. Thanks to the WWAMI program, patients have a bright future in Spokane and Eastern Washington. The time is now to lay the foundation that will offer tremendous benefits for the health of our community.