30 Alaskans started medical classes in Anchorage this week, in the biggest cohort to date for the state’s only med school program, Alaska WWAMI, a partnership between the University of Alaska Anchorage and the University of Washington School of Medicine.
Dr. Kathy Young, a family practice physician and assistant dean for the program, said they recruit and support students from rural and remote areas of Alaska.
“They understand what it's like to practice in Alaska,” she said. “I don't know that there's anywhere else that has such a population that is off-road and rural in comparison to other states.”
WWAMI aims to increase the number of physicians practicing in rural and underserved areas and the program also serves four other states: Washington, Wyoming, Montana and Idaho.
Alaska WWAMI started in 1971 with nine students and Young said now about 12% of Alaska’s physicians are program graduates. Students study for two to four years in Alaska, then continue to medical residency, either in- or out-of-state.
She said physicians in Alaska typically practice a wider range of medicine than in other states, and she said studying medicine in-state allows doctors to deeply understand how Alaska’s geography factors into care.
“It's very expensive to medevac,” Young said. “Also, people tend to do better when they're in their own home, but you have to get the timing right, and you have to get the resources matched, and I think that is something you really only learn by seeing within Alaska.”
WWAMI has weathered budget cuts and uncertainty, but Young said state funds helped expand the program starting in 2023. Last year 25 students were in the program, and moving forward, Young said they’ll continue to have 30.
