University of Washington School of Medicine

Founded in 1946, the University of Washington School of Medicine is a regional resource for Washington, Wyoming, Alaska, Montana and Idaho - the WWAMI states. It is recognized for excellence in training primary-care physicians and for advancing medical knowledge through scientific research. The school's students, staff, faculty and alumni demonstrate commitment to community service through volunteer activities.?

The UW School of Medicine is consistently recognized as one of the nation's top physician-training sites. In 2015, U.S. News & World Report ranked UW as the No. 1 primary-care medical school – recognition it has earned 20 of the past 21 years. The school also continues to rank No. 1 in teaching family medicine and No. 1 in rural-medicine training for the 24th consecutive year. The UW was ranked No. 10 among research medical schools; it was second, after Harvard, in research funding received from the National Institutes of Health.

Graduates of the UW medical school - physicians, scientists, allied health personnel, or scholars in medical history and ethics - go on to serve in a wide variety of capacities. Many M.D. and physician assistant alumni practice in areas of need, such as rural towns, inner cities and in developing nations. One distinguishing characteristic of the UW medical school is interdisciplinary collaboration. Scientists, educators, and clinicians are dedicated to helping each other reach the common goals of improving people’s health and alleviating suffering from disease.

The undergraduate medical curriculum at the University of Washington, which serves five states via the WWAMI program, has undergone many innovative changes over the past twenty years. The first two years of the medical student curriculum is identified as the Basic Curriculum. The current structure represents a combination of "discipline-oriented" courses and "organ system" courses. Education in the clinical curriculum--the third and fourth years--utilizes the case study method. Students gain clinical knowledge and gradually increase their clinical problem-solving abilities while working as junior members of a medical care team. Each team is led by a faculty clinician working in one of the medical school-affiliated hospitals or practice units.

The full-time physician faculty members of the UW medical school staff UW Medical Center and Harborview Medical Center, as well as the Puget Sound Veterans Affairs Health Care System and Children`s Hospital and Regional Medical Center, all in Seattle. UW medical faculty members also staff the UW Medicine Neighborhood Clinics in King County, Wash. The physician faculty provides expert consultation to practicing physicians throughout the region.