Executive Summary 2025

Montana WWWAMI 2025 Executive Summary PDF

WWAMI (Washington, Wyoming, Alaska, Montana, Idaho) Medical Education is a cooperative program of the University of Washington School of Medicine in Seattle that works in partnership to provide regional medical education. WWAMI serves Montana students.

• In its over 50 years in Montana, the program has provided the opportunity for medical education to 1107 Montana residents.
• The entering class of 2024 is comprised of 10 men and 20 women who represent the Montana communities of Belfry, Big Fork, Billings, Box Elder, Bozeman, Cascade, Great Falls, Helena, Kalispell, Missoula, Park City, Phillipsburg, Plentywood, Red Lodge, and White Sulphur
• Of the thirty entering 2024 students, 12 were accepted into the Montana TRUST (Targeted Rural/Underserved Track)
• The return rate of physicians to Montana from the WWAMI Program over the lifetime of the program (includes all 5 states) is 64%.
• WWAMI graduates have also chosen careers which are suited to the regional needs for primary care physicians: Since the inception of the program, 40% of UWSOM grads in Montana have chosen primary care.

New Montana WWAMI Deans

In 2024, Montana WWAMI welcomed Serena Brewer, D.O. to her role as Assistant Dean for Regional Affairs and Assistant Clinical Dean Patient Care Phase, and Brant Schumaker, D.V.M., M.P.V.M., Ph.D. as Director & Assistant Dean, WWAMI Foundations Phase. Brant was hired to replace foundations dean Martin Teintze, Ph.D., who retired in 2024.

                   

                              Serena Brewer, D.O.

             

         Brant Schumaker, DV.M., M.P.V.M., Ph.D.

Foundations Phase

E-24 White Coat Ceremony

On September 13, 2024, MSU welcomed the 52nd Montana WWAMI class at the annual White Coat Ceremony where students received their stethoscopes and white coats.

Montana WWAMI Student Orientation

Orientation for the class of thirty entering students began July 11th at the WWAMI facility at Bozeman Health. The entering students participated in five days of orientation prior to beginning coursework on July 18th. They completed a nine-day immersion experience in September, during which they trained in basic clinical skills and were exposed to patients in a longitudinal clinical setting with a focus on primary care, chronic care, and continuity of care. With only 30 classmates and 18 months spent in Bozeman, the foundations experience is exciting, challenging, and intimate: the beginning of a new “WWAMlLY.”

Foundations Phase students take an intense academic load during their initial year and a half of medical training. The  same curriculum that is offered at the University of Washington School of Medicine is standardized across all regional sites (e.g. same cases, lectures, quizzes, exams, etc). The Founda- tions Phase is built on three key components: 1) an initial period with instruction in basic clinical skills ensures that all students are ready to work with patients during the patient  care portion of Foundations; 2) basic science instruction primarily organized in short blocks of instruction with each block consisting of related, integrated topics; 3) less classroom time, limited lectures, and more use of active learning content. Cross-cutting scientific areas, such as pathology, anatomy & embryology, and pharmacology, are integrated into the Foundations’ blocks. There are 9 blocks: Fundamentals of Medical Science & Research; Infections & Immunity; Cancer, Hormones, & Blood; Muscles, Joints, Bones, & Skin; Cardiovascular System; Respiration & Regulation; Head, Neck, & Gut; Mind, Brain and Behavior; and Reproduction & Development. Students are enrolled for 5 semesters at MSU (Summer, Fall, Spring, Summer, Fall) with approximately 90 total graduate credits.

The Montana WWAMI Program offers the following non-clinical electives: Montana Medical History Conference; Rural Health Care Delivery Systems; Culinary Medicine; and Health Equity & Community Organizing.

Montana State University Faculty

The WWAMI faculty at MSU consists of five faculty with joint appointments in basic science departments at MSU and 23 clinical instructional faculty, including physicians and a pharmacologist. The faculty also have affiliate appointments at UWSOM.

Journal Club and Osler's Evenings

Montana TRUST Director, Lisa Benzel, and Montana Clinical Dean, Jay Erickson, MD, organize Journal Club and Osler’s Evenings presentations. Journal Club reviews articles related to healthcare delivery with a rural and underserved focus and then students participate in lunchtime discussions around the selected topics.

Osler’s presentations are offered to all foundations students and feature speakers who have chosen the road somewhat less traveled in going into rural or underserved medicine. The sessions include presentations by the physicians (and often spouses/significant others) that highlight their journey into and through medicine and some of the choices they have made along the way. Guest presenters in 2024 were Andrew Langfield, MD (IM), and Elena Phoutrides, MD (FM/OB), both with the Blackfeet Hospital in Browning, and Madi Turner, MD (FM) and Julian Thorne, MD, (Psychiatry) from PureView CHC in Helena.

Clinical Phase

During Academic Year 2024-2025, an estimated 200 students from across the WWAMI region, including Montana, rotated  in 390 clerkship rotations in the state for their third- and fourth-year rotations. Of these, 20 students were in the Montana Tracks (third- and fourth-year) and 12 were at WRITE sites. Montana has approximately 590 UWSOM-appointed clinical faculty.

WWAMI third-year clerkship students Jasleen Bain and Matthw Fonte learning about geriatric empathy in Minute-To-Win-It style games. 

Track Coordinators: Jenny Jutz, Billings; Liz Kelsey, Missoula; Judi Sullivan (Montana WWAMI Patient Care Phase office); Ali McInnis, Bozeman

Montana WWAMI Tracks & Clerkships

Each spring, a group of UWSOM patient care phase students embark on their clinical learning. Clerkship rotations are available to WWAMI students in communities across the state including Great Falls, Helena and Kalispell. Montana also offers training tracks in Billings, Bozeman, and Missoula, allowing completion of many third-year required clerkships (internal medicine, family medicine, pediatrics, psychiatry, surgery, and OB/Gyn) within that community. Tracks are a popular option for students who want to stay in their home state as much as possible. Montana also offers a fourth-year Explore & Focus track, which is a state-based track rather than city-based.

• Amy Solomon in Billings, Dr. Chris Jons in Missoula, and Dr. Julie Topping in Bozeman are the track directors and provide direct support and oversight of Track and clerkship activities.
• For AY 2024-2025, there were four third-year track students in Billings and Missoula and six in Bozeman. The fourth-year Explore & Focus Track had six students rotating in it.
• UWSOM clerkship lectures are available via streaming video, with some clerkships offering additional online teaching opportunities.
• WRITE clinical learning occurs at Montana’s TRUST sites in a longitudinally integrated clerkship

Montana Third-Year Required Clerkships:

Montana Fourth-Year Required Clerkships:

Montana WWAMI Rural Programs

Rural Underserved Opportunities Program (RUOP)

As the flagship program for UWSOM, RUOP has been operating for 35 years. RUOP aims to increase and foster student interest in primary care and rural/underserved medicine through a four-week rotation across the WWAMI region during the summer between  the first and second years of medical school. In 2024, 29 WWAMI students (13 of them from the entering 2023 Montana WWAMI class) were placed at RUOP sites throughout Montana. Most of the students participating in RUOP combine their experience with the Independent Investigative Inquiry scholarly requirement. The RUOP program is a wonderful opportunity for the students, preceptors, and the hosting communities.

Targeted Rural Underserved Track (TRUST)

TRUST scholar Kaitlyn Weinheimer with preceptor Mike Surea, M.D., Lewistown, during RUOP. 

Now in its 16th year, the Targeted Rural Underserved Track (TRUST) provides Montana WWAMI students with a continuous connection between underserved communities, medical education, and health professionals

in the state. With admission through a targeted application process, TRUST students are linked to underserved communities and with existing UW courses and programs, including the Underserved Pathway, RUOP and WRITE. These longitudinal linkages promote and support students’ interests in rural and underserved health workforce training.

With the E-2024 class, 12 students were accepted as TRUST scholars. They represent the following communities: Belfry, Billings, Box Elder, Bozeman, Cascade, Helena, Park City, Phillipsburg, Plentywood, Red Lodge, and White Sulphur Springs.

WWAMI Rural Integrated Training Experience (WRITE)

The WRITE Program is a clinical medical education program developed by the University of Washington School of Medicine to help meet the need for rural physicians in the WWAMI region. The success of this unique program is due to the integration of community involvement,  continuity  of experience, and a proven curriculum. The impetus for creating WRITE was to expand primary care and rural training options at the University of Washington; develop additional training experiences in the WWAMI states; foster the primary care mission of the University of Washington; and provide more physicians for rural practice in the Pacific Northwest.

Curriculum-wise, WRITE is designed to give selected third-year medical students an appropriate mix of ambulatory and hospital experience during a longitudinal clinical education experience at a rural teaching site. Throughout the program, the WRITE student can develop a practice style while learning how to treat a broad range of medical, surgical, and psychological problems. Learning experiences emphasize the rural physician’s responsibilities and roles of diagnosing, treating, and managing many health problems on a longitudinal, continuing basis, while calling upon all the health care resources available in the community. All TRUST students participate in WRITE.

There are 13 TRUST sites in Montana, which include the newly approved sites in Helena (PureView Health with lead faculty Dr. Madeline Turner) and Plains (Clark Fork Valley Hospital with lead faculty Dr. Jessica Valentine). Eleven students participated in WRITE in 2024.

Montana WWAMI Events

E-23 Independent Investigative Inquiry (III) Poster Session Awardees:

 

Chelsea Koessel, Fostering an Inclusive Future: Advocating for a United and Equitable Community via the Uptown Business Improvement District (BID) in Butte, MT; Serena Brewer, DO; Butte, MT

 

Ty Running Fisher, The Dangers of E-Cigarette Use in Adolescents in Lake County, MT; Tyler Thorson, MD; Ronan, MT

 

Gabby Spurzem, Financial Toxicity in Cutaneous Lymphoma: A Mixed Methods Study; Chris Su, MD; UW Department of Hematology and Oncology

 

Mackenzie Winters, Work Performance and Quality of Life Among Young Adult Cancer Survivors; Neel S. Bhatt, MD, MPH, MBBS; Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center

 

Western Student and Resident Medical Research Forum

The following E-22 MT WWAMI students presented at WSMRF in Carmel, California in January 2024:

• Taylor Beach – Harnessing Community Strengths: Strategies for Suicide Prevention in Anaconda
• Brayden Crowley – Diabetes Support Groups in Rural Settings
• Dale Hansen – Clinical and Epidemiological Characteristics of Mycoplasma and Ureaplasma Infections
• Verena Lawrence – Changes in the Antiviral Repertoire Associated with Subsequent HIIV Acquisition
• Erin Petersen – Characterizing Psychological Resources and Resilience in Patients with Bladder Cancer
• Alpha Scheel – Antiviral Immunity in the Bacterial Pathogen Pseudomonas Aeruginosa
• Sofia Shomento – Surfactant Component Suppresses Staphylococcus Aureus Toxin Expression
• Karissa Tu – Chronic Pain and Integrative Management Experiences among Asian Individuals

Annual Montana TRUST Student Leadership Retreat

In late June, Montana WWAMI faculty, staff, and students gathered at the picturesque Homestake Lodge just outside of Butte, for the annual Montana TRUST Student Leadership Retreat. Being part of TRUST allows for an enhanced and engaged curriculum covering areas of leadership and rural health awareness. This year’s schedule included legislative advocacy and engagement as well as vertical career advising with recent “local” residents and MS4s.

Match Day 2024: Sage Schiller, Megan Branson, Paige Harris, and Nathanial Sisson. 

Annual Residency Match

Medical students across the nation celebrated Match Day on Friday, March 15, 2024. Of the 31 Montana WWAMI medical students who matched, fifteen went into primary care, three of whom remained in Montana for residency. Out of the full Montana class, 13 were TRUST scholars, six of whom matched into primary care.

Courtney Honken, MD, R2, MFMR (Libby TRUST alum), Kay Cee Gardner, MD, Billings Clinic Miles City (Lewistown TRUST alum), Jay Erickson, MD, Alex Wickens (E-23, Miles City TRUST), Tessa Sawyer (E-21, Dillon TRUST)

MHA Montana Healthcare Conference

In September, Dr. Jay Erickson and team presented on Creating a Rural Physician Workforce for Montana: The Montana WWAMI TRUST Program at the annual MHA Montana Healthcare Conference in Billings.

National Rural Health Association Conference

Montana TRUST students Chelsea Koessel, Olivia Reid, Erin Calkins, and Allie Stevens attended the National Rural Health Association Policy Institute in Washington, D.C. in February 2024. A key focus of TRUST is to educate, encourage, and support students to deepen their understanding and abilities as healthcare advocates, particularly around rural health. The NRHA provides the opportunity for students to explore and engage in healthcare advocacy.

The U.S. Army hosted a table at the Pre-Med Summit and answered students' questions. 

PRE-MED Annual Summit

Montana WWAMI organizes a pre-med summit every year for those interested in finding out more about the medical school application process. The 2024 event was held at Carroll College in Helena on September 28th. There were over 100 attendees, mostly undergraduate students. In addition  to Q&A with current Montana WWAMI students, breakout sessions included information about loan repayment programs, preparing for the MCAT, pre-med research opportunities, and application advice. Also included was a Q&A session about the Montana TRUST program and the combined MD/PhD program.

PRE-MED Advising Sessions

The Montana WWAMI TRUST Director visits campuses regularly to present to pre-med groups. Topics  covered are matched to the needs and each sites’ interests; they include information about Montana WWAMI, Montana TRUST, and loan repayment options. In addition, Montana WWAMI hosts regular live interactive webinars to answer questions that Montana residents might have about attending medical school. Academic Year 2023-2024 webinars were What is WWAMI, 12/6/2023; What to Know Before You Apply to Medical School, 5/1/2024; and The WWAMI Difference: A Behind-the-Scenes Look at the WWAMI Curriculum and Approach, 10/3/24.

Montana WWAMI students (back): Corbin Merchant, Erin Calkins, Nick Johnson, Ben Nalls (front): Emily Entz, Riley Galt, Nate Sisson and Braden Crowley

Montana WWAMI Faculty Development Conference

The annual Faculty Development Conference was April 12-14, 2024, at Chico Hot Springs Resort in Pray. The theme for the spring conference was Rural Medical Education in Montana. There were approximately 80 participants including several Montana WWAMI students. Student participation is valuable, providing an opportunity to connect with faculty and share about their experiences first-hand.

Montana WWAMI hosts a twice yearly (spring and fall) Montana WWAMI All-Faculty Retreat to provide teaching faculty with valuable tools, resources, and teaching tips. The spring retreat is held the Friday afternoon prior to the start of the full annual weekend conference. In 2024, UWSOM CLIME Director, Somnath Mookherjee, M.D. and Vice Dean, Office of Faculty Affairs, Patricia Kritek, M.D., presented on “Teaching Across Differences.”

The autumn faculty retreat was held on November 1st in Bozeman at the WWAMI campus. The theme: Preparing our Students for Success: Exploring Best Practices for Undergraduate Medical Student Mentorship/Residency Guidance in a Time of Shifting Metrics. It was immediately followed by the E-23 Student Poster Presentation.

UWSOM Stern Regional Faculty Educator Sessions

Laura Goodell, M.D.

Montana Stern Regional Faculty Educator Dr. Laura Goodell provides medical education faculty development sessions, ranging from live and in-person to live via Zoom to asynchronous learning. 

Montana Residency Programs

Montana Family Medicine Residency (MFMR)

Established in 1996. Billings: 9 residents per year.

The MFMR program provides education, practice, and lifestyle experiences intentionally designed to prepare graduates to practice medicine in rural/frontier and underserved communi- ties across Montana. Montana has the second highest rate nationally for retaining residency-trained physicians in the state. Over 60% of the residency graduates from the MFMR choose to stay in Montana, contributing around 13% state’s primary care physician workforce. The MFMR’s main location is Billings, with rural clinics in Bridger, Joliet and Worden with rotations across the region.

MFMR has an active role in the workforce pipeline through student rotations and programs coordinated through the Eastern Montana Area Health Education Center. The WWAMI third-year Track and associated sub-internships attract students who work with the residency faculty and other family physicians in the community.

Garth Brand, MD, Program Director, Montana Family Medicine Residency; James Denisar- Green, MD, Associate Program Director, Montana Family Medicine Residency.

Family Medicine Residency of Western Montana (FMRWM)

Established in 2013. Missoula: 7 residents per year. Kalispell: 3 residents per year. A member of the WWAMI Family Medicine Residency Network.

The FMRWM Program is a 10-10-10 program with 30 residents with 24 residents located in Missoula. The curriculum is focused on preparing residents for full-scope rural and underserved practice, but with the flexibility for residents to pursue individual interests. Six residents participate in a 1:2 track and complete their 2nd and 3rd years of residency in Kalispell. Continuity clinics in Missoula and Kalispell are located in federally qualified health centers.

FMRWM has a unique rural training network consisting of 10 core rural sites and an additional 6 elective rural sites. There is a requirement for two months of rural rotations and an additional 1 month rural or underserved rotation. Most residents do a total of three to four months of rural rotations. In addition to family medicine rural rotations, FMRWM offers rural rotations in pediatrics and surgery.

Director is Rob Stenger, MD. Associate Program Directors are Amy Matheny (Missoula), Emma Wright (Missoula) and Saman- tha Greenberg (Kalispell).

Billings Clinic Internal Medicine Residency

Establised in 2014. Billings: 12 residents per year (8 categorical and 4 preliminary). 

Billings Clinic welcomed its 11th class of 12 residents to the Billings Clinic Internal Medicine Residency summer, 2024. The residency strives to provide medical education and to encourage residents’ active participation in the organization and content of their residency experience. This approach ensures that the needs of every patient are best served, helps each resident achieve the goal of becoming a highly competent, well-trained, compassionate internist, and provides a graduate medical education infrastructure to promote excellence and innovation in clinical care, rural medicine, and quality and safety. The Billings Clinic Internal Medicine Residency Program utilizes Hardin and Lewistown as rural training sites.

Dr. Steve Gerstner is the Program Director for the Billings Clinic Internal Medicine Residency.

Billings Clinic Psychiatry Residency Program

Established in 2019. Billings: 3 residents per year.

The Billings Clinic Psychiatry Residency Program is Montana’s first psychiatry residency program. The program got its start as a track within University of Washington and is becoming an independent for program, all within the state of Montana. Its mission, to train psychiatrist-leaders who will become change agents in the rural communities they serve, by uncovering and nurturing their passions, teaching them evidence-based clinical skills, and inspiring innovative approaches to closing gaps in community-based systems of mental health care. Training opportunities include an intimate training experience with three residents per year, or a total of twelve residents across all four years. Its purpose, to promote health and recovery among individuals with mental illnesses and substance use disorders by treating every patient and every colleague with empathy and dignity, while fostering a safe and supportive environment for teaching, learning, and delivering outstanding psychiatric care. It features 44 inpatient psychiatric beds, with about 1/3 dedicat- ed to youth aged 5-17 years and 2/3 dedicated to adults and is the state’s largest outpatient psychiatric practice.

Mariela Herrera, MD, is the interim program director of the Billings Clinic Psychiatry Residency Program.

Montana WWAMI Program Partners

Graduate Medical Education Council (GME)

The Montana Graduate Medical Education Council continues to support the goal of increasing the physician workforce in Montana by developing an infrastructure to support GME within Montana. The GME Council makes recommendations regarding the physician workforce and Montana GME needs; helps coordinate new Montana GME development; seeks financial support to sustain and  expand Montana GME; and advocates and effectively communicates the value and benefit of a robust MT GME effort. The GME Council meets monthly (virtually) to discuss GME policy, finance, advocacy, and workforce, and to share information among the programs. The Council has enacted a sustainability plan to maintain these important engage- ment efforts into the future. GME Council activities include resident and employer networking events in Billings and Missoula, faculty development support, data reports on the physician workforce and documents to share for advocacy and education.

Montana GME Council Executive Committee members  are Rob Stenger, MD, Family Medicine Residency of Western Montana, Chair; Garth Brand, MD, Montana Family Medicine Residency, Vice-Chair; JJ Carmody, Billings Clinic, Secretary/Treasurer; and Michael Bush, MD, Intermountain/St. Vincent Healthcare, Past-Chair.

Additional council members include: Mariela Herrera, MD, Billings Clinic Psychiatry Residency Program; Steve Gerstner, MD, Billing Clinic Internal Medicine Residency; Bill Calhoun, St. Patrick Hospital; Ashley Dennis, PhD, Billings Clinic; Adam Smith, MD, Logan Health; Jennifer Davenport, MD, Intermountain Health, Bonnie Stephens, MD, Community Medical Center; Kailyn Mock, MT AHEC; Amy Unsworth, OCHE; Cindy Stergar, MT PCA; Jean Branscum, MMA; Bob Olsen, MHA; Jay Erickson, MD, MT WWAMI; Steve Todd, St. Luke Community Healthcare; Suzanne Allen, MD, WWAMI; Brant Schumacker, DVM, PhD, MT WWAMI at MSU; Matt Fete, PhD, UM; Margaret Cook-Shimanek, MD, Interim State Medical Officer; Kate Miller, MT PCO; Steven Williamson, MD, IHS; Mike Spinelli, MD, VA; Leesha Ford, RN, Alluvion Health; Mark Lee, MD, Rocky Vista COM, Stephanie Zeszutek, DO, Touro COM; and Paul Dolan, MD, Benefis. Council calls are open for any interested stakeholder. Administrative support and coordination for the Council is provided by Cindra Stahl through the MT AHEC.

Montana Area Health Education Center (AHEC)

The mission of the Montana Office of Rural Health/Area Health Education Center is to enhance access to quality healthcare, particularly primary and preventive care, by improving the supply and distribution of healthcare professionals through community/academic educational partnerships. Some of the activities of the MORH/AHEC include the MT AHEC Scholars Program, which engages health professions students across Montana in interprofession- al didactic and experiential education; supporting K-12 health career pipeline programs, and continuing to provide support for the Montana Graduate Medical Education Council with its goal of increasing the physician workforce in Montana. The Montana AHEC is a statewide program. The program office is located at MSU’s Mark and Robyn Jones College of Nursing in Bozeman, and regional centers are located in RiverStone Health in Billings (Eastern), U of M in Missoula (Western), Montana Hospital Association in Helena (North Central and South Central), and Montana Health Network in Miles City (North Eastern). The Montana AHEC continues as a partner of the UWSOM, supporting students in rural and underserved areas. Of particular interest for this publication, the Montana Office of Rural Health/Area Health Education Center provides its support for the following:

Interprofessional Education—AHEC Scholars

The Montana AHEC initiated the Montana AHEC Scholars Program in 2017. AHEC Scholars is a nationwide certificate program for students in health professions programs who  are interested in enhancing their interprofessional skills in rural and undeserved settings. AHEC Scholars focuses on eight core topic areas that enhance the knowledge of every health student, regardless of profession. The Montana AHEC Scholars Program is considered one of the most successful in the nation. Student activities include monthly seminars with content based on a core topic area along with numerous learning opportunities. There are currently 412 health profes- sions students enrolled in the program from 8 different colleges/universities and more than 20 different academic programs. This is the largest and most diverse group of AHEC Scholars that MT AHEC has had since the program’s inception.

Montana Healthcare Workforce Advisory Committee

The Montana Healthcare Workforce Advisory Committee (MHWAC) continues to provide a forum to discuss, collaborate and strategize in order to strengthen the healthcare workforce landscape throughout our state. The goal of the committee is to enhance the understanding of healthcare workforce initiatives across Montana. MHWAC is hosted virtually on a quarterly basis, following healthcare workforce themes, with an open invitation for partners to share their workforce updates from across the state.

Caring for Indigenous Montanans – Online Education

The Caring for Indigenous Montanans online education is a collaborative effort between the Montana Tribes, Montana DPHHS Office of American Indian Health, and MORH/AHEC. The tribe-specific training program is designed for non-native healthcare workers and students wherein they can learn how to provide culturally appro- priate care to our Montana Indigenous communities. This training combines a traditional module-based self-guided training format with a filmed portion wherein learners can hear directly from Indigenous patients from each nation  in Montana.

Conferences

Montana AHEC helps plan and support the annual WWAMI Faculty Development Conference which was hosted in April 2024. Montana AHEC supported the WWAMI PreMed Summit in October 2024.

Kailyn Mock is the Director of the Montana Office for Rural Health/AHEC.

Calling Montana WWAMI Alum!

We want to hear your stories! Help us highlight the history of Montana WWAMI and its impact through the amazing stories and memories you carry. As an alum, let us know if we can feature you in Montana WWAMI social media channels and/or newsletters. Scan the QR Code below to submit your stories!