Emina Gulbis: Idaho WWAMI plays vital role in Idaho’s health care infrastructure

As a fourth-year medical student at the Idaho WWAMI/University of Washington program, I’m compelled to address a major issue affecting the health of Idahoans: the proposed defunding of the Idaho WWAMI program being considered by the Idaho Legislature in House Bill176.

Idaho WWAMI in partnership with the University of Washington School of Medicine has been providing medical education and health care to Idahoans for 53 years. This partnership between Idaho and the University of Washington allows aspiring medical students to pursue their education at an academic center of excellence while remaining in Idaho.

As I went through the medical school admission process in 2021, the drive to learn, train and return to practice in Idaho remained at the forefront of my decision. As a first-generation college graduate, I wanted to ensure I received the best medical education training I could and that I gave back to the community that supported my dream of becoming a well-trained physician. Idaho WWAMI was the clear choice in this regard.

As a student who has gone through the WWAMI program and who is set to graduate in three months, I can attest that attending the University of Washington/Idaho WWAMI was the best decision I’ve made. It allowed me to receive a top-tier medical education and build connections with many local physician leaders while remaining in my home state. I have elected to pursue OB-GYN residency and plan to return to Idaho and serve Idahoans after residency training. My clinical exposures in Idaho and the WWAMI physician network has further instilled a passion to return and serve Idahoans. In fact, the retention rate for physicians who train within Idaho WWAMI is 70%. This physician retention rate is among the highest across the country. HB 176 jeopardizes our ability to retain and recruit physicians to Idaho, which has disastrous impacts on the already strained health care network in Idaho.

Idaho ranks 50th among U.S. states in physicians per capita. I have had the honor to serve in various leadership roles in free clinics in Idaho that provide care to some of the most underserved patient populations in the state. In every patient interaction one trend remains clear: accessibility to physicians is scarce. For decades, Idaho WWAMI has served as the major source of physicians in Idaho. HB 176 will sever this source of well-trained physicians leading to an exacerbation in the physician shortage. This shortage will lead to major impacts on health care accessibility across the state. Reduced health care access will in turn lead to worsening health outcomes for Idahoans.

Funding Idaho WWAMI is essential and any loss of funding of the program will have detrimental impacts to public health in Idaho, especially because the proposed legislation does not describe an actual plan for a future program. Ensuring the continuation of Idaho WWAMI is necessary to continue to recruit and build upon the current physician workforce.

Let us work together to continue funding a well-established recruiting network of exceptionally trained physicians that aim to ensure every Idahoan has access to the health care they deserve.

Emina Gulbis is a fourth-year medical student at the University of Washington/Idaho WWAMI. She was an Idaho track student during her third year and has done most of her pre-clinical and clinical training in Idaho. She plans to pursue OB-GYN residency and return to Idaho after completion of her training.