UW medical school graduates placed in Spokane for residencies

A handful of new University of Washington Medical School graduates will spend their residencies in Spokane, fulfilling the school’s goal of bringing more doctors to Eastern Washington.

On Friday, medical school graduates across the country were matched with residency programs to earn real-world experience and hone their physician skills in their chosen specialty.

UW announced that of the 36 fourth-year medical students who spent their first 18 months of medical school in Spokane, five will return to the city for their residency along with two others in Idaho.

All will work in the areas of family, internal and rural medicine.

Another four of the 36 will stay in Washington for their residencies.

“This is a significant milestone for both our students and our community, as these students become physicians,” Darryl Potyk, chief of medical education for the UW-Gonzaga Regional Health Partnership, said in a statement. “New physicians who have been trained in Spokane will now serve patients here and that’s what we’re all working to accomplish.”

UW partnered with Gonzaga, where the students have taken classes since 2016. There are 60 first-year and 60 second-year UW medical students taking classes on the Gonzaga campus.

Another 60 third-year and 40 fourth-year students rotate throughout the region in clinical clerkships.

After the students complete their fourth year, they graduate and become physicians. They are then matched with a residency program for several years.