UW med school again ranked first for primary care education

University of Washington’s medical school again tops the U.S. News & World Report ranking of best graduate schools for primary care education. The UW School of Medicine has been ranked first 23 of the past 24 years.

UW’s medical school and Gonzaga University formed a regional health partnership last year to enhance and expand medical education and research in Spokane.

“This honor speaks to the quality, expertise and commitment of our talented faculty, staff and students in Spokane, and our talented clinical partners throughout the state,” said Dr. Darryl Potyk, the partnership’s chief for medical education. “And without decades of support from our state legislators, we would not have a medical education program, much less one that is pre-eminent in the U.S.”

The medical school’s family medicine and rural medicine training also were ranked No. 1 for the 26th consecutive year, and the school continues to be the top recipient among public universities of federal research funding.

The pediatrics program was ranked fifth best in the nation, internal medicine was sixth, geriatrics was seventh best, and drug and alcohol abuse training made the list at No. 8 on the magazine’s Best Graduate Schools 2018 edition.

The medical school’s enrollment is 1,022 students. In-state tuition is $34,476 a year.

The regional health agreement makes Gonzaga a partner in UW’s community-based medical education program, WWAMI, serving Washington, Wyoming, Alaska, Montana and Idaho.

“By educating students in their home states, and for our Spokane students — their home city — our goal is to help provide the physician workforce needed to meet the demand in their communities,” said Dr. Suzanne Allen, vice dean for Academic, Rural and Regional Affairs.