St. Luke’s Health System is establishing a scholarship endowment that supports Idaho medical school students interested in pursuing careers caring for rural and underserved populations.
“The St. Luke’s endowment helps Idaho WWAMI medical students earn their M.D. and benefits the state by supporting the physician pipeline,” said Jeff Seegmiller, director of WWAMI at the University of Idaho. “Our medical students are Idahoans, train in clinical settings across Idaho and many of them intend to practice in Idaho. To keep these bright and talented future physicians at home, offsetting their medical school debt is critical.”
The WWAMI Medical Education Program is a multi-state partnership between the top-ranked primary care medical school, the University of Washington School of Medicine (UWSOM), and Washington, Wyoming, Alaska, Montana and Idaho (WWAMI).
Idaho WWAMI students are Idaho residents and spend the first two years of medical school at the University of Idaho, followed by two years of clinical training; most of their required clinical rotations can be completed in 13 communities across the Gem State.
St. Luke’s pledge of $500,000 to the University of Idaho Foundation will create the endowment. Scholarships will be awarded to full-time Idaho WWAMI students who demonstrate financial need and academic achievement. Preference will be given to students who are participating in the Targeted Rural and Underserved Track (TRUST) program.