For Alaska WWAMI TRUST student Mauri Butzke, getting to Kodiak was her first lesson in rural medicine. Now she's learning how providers care for patients across Kodiak/remote Alaska communities; hoping to return home to practice medicine after training. https://bit.ly/4wTZlD0

Finding Her Way Home: Mauri Butzke Explores Rural Medicine in Kodiak Through TRUST - UWSOM Intranet

For Alaska WWAMI medical student Mauri Butzke, arriving at her TRUST community in Kodiak was more than the start of a clinical placement, it was her first lesson in rural medicine. Reaching Kodiak req...

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Montana WWAMI students Mikayla Bullman & Lucy Corbett spent 25 days in rural Mongolia this summer: 376 patients, soum to soum, built on "One Health." Both came home thinking about the communities back in Montana. Read their full story: https://bit.ly/4cjEFwq

Meet Blake Unger, a junior Public Health major at @GonzagaU spending his summer in a UW neuroscience lab. Through the UW–Gonzaga Summer Biomedical Research Program, he's building Python tools that map receptive fields—pinpointing which parts of visual space fire specific neurons.

Gonzaga biochemistry major and Seattle native Michael Martin spent his 2nd summer in UW Medicine's Simpson Lab, studying the rare skin disease Hailey-Hailey and testing whether existing FDA-approved drugs could treat it. Read more: https://bit.ly/4zfKoxe

From Gonzaga to the Simpson Lab: Michael Martin's second summer in the Lab - UWSOM Intranet

Michael Martin grew up in the Seattle area with two things in mind: get to medical school, and get there by way of a smaller Jesuit college away from home. He found that at Gonzaga University, where h...

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Congratulations to Idaho WWAMI alum Dr. Michael Wheaton, recognized as Athletic Club Boise's Community Impact STAR! Dr. Wheaton, Saint Alphonsus Primary Care Medical Director in Canyon County and a board-certified pediatrician, was honored on July 11. https://bit.ly/4wHKXO7

Dr. Michael Wheaton Named Athletic Club Boise Community Impact STAR - Athletic Club Boise

At Athletic Club Boise, the Community Impact STAR — Service, Teamwork, Accountability, and Responsibility — is symbolized by a single purple chair inside our stadium. The chair reflects both the […]

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Congratulations to MS3 Parveer Kaur on presenting her research at the 2026 American College of Radiology Annual Meeting in Washington, DC! Parveer also represented medical students on Capitol Hill alongside the Washington State Radiological Society.

Meet Dr. Kara kuntz, an Idaho WWAMI graduate, geriatric medicine specialist, and physician preceptor helping prepare the next generation of physicians to care for Idaho's aging population. Read more about her mission to help her community here: https://bit.ly/3REYx68

Medical student Ruby Gawarkiewicz called her RUOP rotation at Northern Montana Health Care the most hands-on experience of her training. Focused on family medicine and obstetrics, she assisted in 10 deliveries in four weeks in Havre. https://bit.ly/4wha0qT

Med student loves hands-on training at NMHC

Medical student Ruby Gawarkiewicz recently completed a four-week rotation at Northern Montana Health Care, gaining hands-on clinical experience and exploring different fields she could pursue as a phy...

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What does humanities make possible in medical education? Rehabilitation medicine PhD student Alissa Smith transformed the sounds of the hospital into an immersive reflection on communication, environment and patient experience. #HumanitiesInMedicine https://bit.ly/4eVjrpp

What Humanities Makes Possible in Medical Education - UWSOM Intranet

In medical school, students spend years learning how to diagnose illness, interpret data and perform increasingly complex clinical tasks. The Humanities & the Arts Pathway at the University of Washing...

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The University of Washington Network of Underrepresented Residents & Fellows (UW NURF) cordially invites prospective residents to participate in our Virtual Recruitment Town Hall on Tuesday, August 25, from 6:00 – 8:00pm PT. Register here: https://bit.ly/4bni02

Meet Cherol Minton, WY WWAMI + TRUST student! A former rural RN of 4 years, Cherol was inspired to pursue medicine by the county's only physician. Goal: full scope family medicine in WY. This summer's RUOP: learning to build and communicate care plans as part of the team!

Delivering healthcare on the Moon may sound like science fiction, but it's become a reality for Alaska WWAMI first-year student Joren Bowling. Read his story at the link below: education.uwmedicine.org/blog/2026/06...

To best protect yourself from wildfire smoke, limit your outdoor activity as much as possible. If you must go outside, check the air quality index beforehand, and consider wearing an N95 mask. If you can wait until the smoke clears — your body will thank you.

Protect Yourself From Wildfire Smoke

Try these 4 tips.

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Starting med school: UW School of Medicine @uwsom-wwami.bsky.social & its #WWAMI university sites across a 5-state region (WA, WY, AK, MT & ID) welcome the 2026 entering class of medical students with orientations & other events.

The UW WWAMI Network won the @aafp 2026 Excellence in Community Engagement Award for our student-led Family Medicine Interest Group. Recognized among 21 FMIGs nationwide at the FUTURE conference. Congratulations to our students and faculty advisors! https://bit.ly/45rfMLl

AAFP Honors 2026 Family Medicine Interest Groups

The AAFP announced recipients of its 2026 Program of Excellence Awards today, recognizing 21 Family Medicine Interest Groups (FMIGs) and one outstanding faculty advisor for their exceptional contribut...

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What does arts and humanities make possible in medical education? Spokane Student Avery Carbajal's three-part visual art series explores grief as something ongoing, layered and inseparable from love. Read more: https://bit.ly/4eVjrpp #HumanitiesInMedicine

What Humanities Makes Possible in Medical Education - UWSOM Intranet

In medical school, students spend years learning how to diagnose illness, interpret data and perform increasingly complex clinical tasks. The Humanities & the Arts Pathway at the University of Washing...

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What does arts and humanities make possible in medical education? Fatima Al-Shimari's handmade book combines journal entries, sketches and reflections created in medical school into an exploration of medicine, identity and human connection. Read: https://bit.ly/4eVjrpp #HumanitiesInMedicine

Meet Riley Hayes, an Idaho WWAMI student spending four weeks this summer with the Rural Underserved Opportunities Program (RUOP) in Sheridan, Montana!

That's a wrap on a big week in the WWAMI region. 🩺 Our E26 MD class officially began medical school, with orientation across all five states: WA, WY, AK, MT & ID. In Seattle, the cohort received stethoscopes gifted by alumni. Welcome, E26!

Born in Boise and raised in Kuna, Idaho WWAMI student Kenya Morales-Luna grew up interpreting for her parents at medical appointments, an early window into the barriers many families face in the U.S. healthcare system. Read her full story: https://bit.ly/4fkWOL6

Idaho WWAMI Student Kenya Morales Pursues a Future in Community-Based Care - UWSOM Intranet

Born in Boise and raised in Kuna, Idaho, Kenya Morales grew up as the daughter of immigrant parents from Guanajuato, Mexico. From a young age, she often served as an interpreter during her parents’ me...

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The Humanities and Arts Pathway has provided opportunities to reflect, create, and connect. For Spokane student Audrey Eidt, her project uses embroidery, anatomy and art history to explore the relationship between medicine + visual art. Read more: https://bit.ly/4eVjrpp #HumanitiesInMedicine

Meet Brooklyn Prince, a Wyoming WWAMI student spending her RUOP summer in Sheridan, WY! Inspired by her younger brother's diabetes diagnosis at age 10, Brooklyn is drawn to the impact compassionate physicians have on families and hopes to return home to practice in Wyoming.

Wyoming WWAMI TRUST/RUOP student Jordan Moore is still exploring which specialty is the right fit, making every hands-on clinical experience count. Training in Powell, he values the TRUST program's long-term connections with patients, physicians and community

Meet Jeremy Gries, spending his RUOP summer at the Red Lodge Clinic in Montana. Inspired by his mother, an Army physician, this HPSP student plans a career in Family Medicine; first in uniform, then back home in the Northwest.

On the first day of orientation, we welcomed our newest Idaho WWAMI Targeted Rural Underserved Track (TRUST) scholars with a luncheon celebrating the start of their medical education journey. TRUST connects medical students with rural and underserved communities across Idaho.

What does humanities and arts make possible in medical education? Gillian Soo's mixed-media project reflects on professional identity formation and the uneasy transition from "playing doctor" to becoming one. Read more: https://bit.ly/4eVjrpp #HumanitiesInMedicine

A 3rd grade book sparked Dr. Megan Ritter's interest in medicine. More than 20 years after moving to Alaska, she's helping educate the next generation of physicians through Alaska WWAMI while serving as a pathologist + medical director of Blood Bank of Alaska. Read more here: https://bit.ly/4eWCwZv

Congrats to Suzanne Allen, recipient of the David B. Thorud Leadership Award! Her equity-centered leadership has shaped WWAMI — the nation's largest, most geographically complex medical education program serving five states & hundreds of partners. Thank you, Suzanne! https://bit.ly/4fqy3hF

Meet Yi Chan, MS1 & TRUST student, doing her RUOP in Soldotna! 🩺 Raised in Utqiagvik, AK — she's set on family medicine + OB, drawn especially to following patients through pregnancy. Off duty: volleyball + Music in Medicine. Goal: return home to give back to the community that raised her.

PhD student Adrià Robert Gonzales, who is also a physical and occupational therapist, is helping lifelong musician Keith McKenzie build back hand function after a stroke as part of a trial for new device that stimulates the brain: https://ow.ly/KMmS50Zn6mq

Hope is renewed for participant in brain-implant trial - UW Medicine | Newsroom

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