What is WWAMI?
WWAMI (Washington, Wyoming, Alaska, Montana and Idaho) is a medical program run by the University of Washington School of Medicine that seeks to provide rural physicians with educational opportunities and experience.
The Idaho Legislature provides 40 spots for Idaho students; from there, students would first attend the University of Idaho, then the University of Washington and finally begin their medical residency. Members of WWAMI would then return to the state of Idaho and practice for four years or more.
If passed, House Bill 176 would dismantle the WWAMI program in favor of the State Board of Education designating “at least two medical education programs within Idaho and adjacent mountain states.”
A timeline of the bill’s effect
A Boise State student pursuing medicine and who hopes to apply for WWAMI this spring shared his concerns regarding the proposed bill. The source wished to remain anonymous.
The source noted the lengthy process of applying for and receiving acceptance into med school post-grad.
“If this bill is passed, everyone after me, so anyone applying after this cycle will not be eligible for this program because it won’t exist,” the source said. “That being said, even if this is passed, and let’s say I am the last incoming class, the damage to the program will be so detrimental because physicians are not going to want to work with the program any longer. The quality of it is going to deteriorate rapidly, even if I were the last class.”
The source also emphasized the importance of being connected to top ranking medical schools like the University of Washington.
“Wyoming is kind of the gold standard for Idaho students because we don’t have a state medical school,” the source said. “It’s pretty undeniable that Idaho needs its own medical school. Most states have their own state-run medical school, and Idaho doesn’t, which is really unfortunate.”
The source said they believe that the dismantling of the WWAMI program is fueled by more than a desire to reassess Idaho’s medical education opportunities. One aspect of the bill cites the University of Washington’s decision not to sign an amendment “restricting the use of Idaho state funds for abortion” as reasoning for dismantling the program.
“The University of Washington teaches abortion care, abortion is healthcare. That’s not going to change. That being said, no one in medical school at the University of Washington is forced to learn about abortion. It’s an elective class you can take your fourth year if you want to take it,” he said. “Furthermore, the Idaho taxpayer dollars that help fund some of those students — none of that goes toward any of the abortion care. Ultimately, that’s what seems to be a big point behind this: Idaho is frustrated that their students even have access to learn about abortion care, even though they’re not funding it.”
During the testimony on Friday, Feb. 14, the source explained that an individual from the University of Utah claimed they would accept 40 students from WWAMI to pair with ICOM (Idaho College of Osteopathic Medicine).
“To which the entire audience groaned because that makes no sense. A very prestigious medical school, the University of Utah, that for one is an MD program, to pair with a medical school that’s an entirely different degree and far lower ranked,” The source said. “There are absolutely ulterior motives at play here, whether that’s abortion, whether that’s who here is invested in private medical schools and invested in private medical school groups, there’s something much bigger going on here.”
Testimony from a WWAMI graduate
“I have the most respect for this program because it afforded me the opportunity to become everything I wanted to be professionally,” Steven Ming, a board-certified dermatologist from Gem State Dermatology, said.
When asked what it was like to study at multiple schools across states, Ming described it as “a rush”.
“The whole thing is just a rush. It’s so awesome. [It’s a] fantastic, wonderful blur of studying harder than you ever thought you had to. You’ve progressed in your medical training, everybody’s getting smarter and smarter,” Ming said.
Ming said that dismantling the program would be a disservice to students studying medicine.
“When I did it [WWAMI], we didn’t have to come back to Idaho. I could go wherever I wanted,” Ming said. “They’re all complaining there’s not enough seats; WWAMI won’t expand enough for us. Can we do a hybrid? Why would you ever, in a million years, drop this fantastic opportunity afforded to the students and citizens of the state of Idaho that literally changed my life?”
Ming explained that the “bar couldn’t get any higher” than the education he received at the University of Washington, even after attending Mass General.
“That’s the beauty of the WWAMI program. You could be in Seattle for the intensity of cardiothoracic surgery for six weeks, and then you’re a family practitioner in Bethel, Alaska who does casting of people’s arm and also delivers babies. It’s just this unique education that I have seen over the years [that] produces fantastic solutions,” Ming said.
How Boise State supports pre-med students
Although Idaho does not have a medical school, the College of Health Sciences works with pre-med students to prepare for medical school post-grad. This includes helping students with applications and the Pathways program, a website designed to help students discover their calling within the medical field.
Lutana Haan, associate dean in the College of Health Sciences, addressed a common misconception — that you have to be a medical-centered major to apply for medical school.
“Medical school really accepts any major as long as the student has met the prerequisites as well as scored well on some of the exams,” Haan said. “What we’ve set up is what we call pre-professional pathways. Through our advising center, students can meet with specialized advisors that work in 13 different areas. We have information that’s fairly clear that ranges from pre-med to pre-dentistry … what the goal is with students is to give them a four year plan of what it would look like each year in preparation for being ready to apply to medical school.”
Applying for medical school is a highly competitive process. With schools receiving thousands of applicants, Haan emphasized the importance of creating an application that doesn’t just depict a student’s academic standing but tells a story.
“We really want to help students genuinely tell their story in that application process, because that’s really what makes a strong candidate is having the individual shine through as well as the coursework that they’ve done in preparation,” Haan said. “And also, how they see themselves in the field of medicine. Some of those we do in a group setting to introduce some of those topics … but other times it is a lot of one on one meetings with students to talk through the process, as well as give them some feedback on what we’ve seen to be successful in the past.”
Despite Idaho not having a medical school, although there are private institutions like ICOM, Lutana said that there are other ways for pre-med students to find community.
“These are such hard working students,” Haan said. “I think more than anything … I’ve been at the University for 20 years and there’s always been dedicated staff. I think the unique thing is that students might be in majors outside of our college, so I really do think having a central group by having a pre-med club and the pre-professional pathways Advising Center, gives students a community to be part of.”
While House Bill 176 has not passed, a new bill regarding medical education was introduced on March 6, 2025. The bill would add 30 medical education seats (unaffiliated with WWAMI), but it was initially unclear where these seats would be allocated.
One of the creators of House Bill 368, Representative Manwaring, shared via email with The Arbiter that “HB 368 outlines a clear plan to add 30 new non-WWAMI medical school seats through partnerships with institutions like the University of Utah School of Medicine.”
The goal, Manwaring said, is to expand medical education opportunities.
Manwaring expressed that the conversation surrounding House Bill 176 highlights the challenges in physician training.
“While HB 368 is an independent piece of legislation, discussions from HB 176 underscored the urgency and need for Idaho to pursue a more diversified approach, which significantly influenced HB 368’s strategic goals and specific provisions for expanding beyond WWAMI to put Idaho first and more in the driver’s seat of the admissions process, clinical placements, and the pipeline of students from undergraduate medical education to graduate medical education,” he said.
