UW School of Medicine adds new faculty in Spokane

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UW School of Medicine adds new faculty in Spokane

Eight new faculty recruited from Eastern Washington join expansion efforts

07/31/2015

The University of Washington is growing in Spokane. On August 10, the UW School of Medicine (UWSOM) welcomes 8 new physician faculty members recruited from in and around Spokane to its medical school teaching team. These individuals join 12 returning UWSOM faculty who teach first- and second-year medical students in Spokane.

In addition to these 20 UWSOM faculty, 40 primary care physicians in the Spokane area have volunteered to mentor medical students and more than 360 physicians teach clinical clerkships and electives for UWSOM students in their practices in Spokane and across Eastern Washington.

The expanding team in Spokane builds on UWSOM’s long-standing commitment to growing medical education opportunities in Spokane and Eastern Washington. The new team will welcome returning second-year students back to Spokane in September, as well as a new class of first-year medical students to be taught under the UWSOM’s innovative new medical school curriculum.

The UWSOM faculty will teach a new, basic science curriculum that has been designed by hundreds of faculty across the WWAMI (Washington, Wyoming, Alaska, Montana and Idaho) region. The faculty will also be preparing medical students through ‘on-the-job’ clinical training that lets them spend less time in the classroom, and will make permanent UWSOM’s commitment to providing medical students the opportunity to attend all four years of medical school in and around Spokane and Eastern Washington. The eight new Spokane based faculty members are profiled below.

“We are grateful to be represented in Spokane by such a dedicated, knowledgeable group of faculty members and teaching physicians,” said Dr. William Sayres, assistant dean of the Foundations Phase for UWSOM Spokane and UW clinical assistant professor of family medicine. “Through their expertise and commitment to teaching the next generation of doctors, the UW School of Medicine will be able to prepare many medical students to practice as primary care physicians and serve the people of Eastern Washington communities, providing them the better access to the medical care everyone deserves.”

UWSOM’s continued commitment to educating medical students in Spokane was made possible by the Washington State Legislature’s decision to continue funding that supports Spokane students.

“We are extremely grateful for the support from our legislators to continue UWSOM’s first rate medical education efforts in Eastern Washington,” Sayres added.

Having educated medical students in Eastern Washington for over 45 years with its No. 1 ranked primary care, family and rural medicine education program, the UWSOM will continue its efforts to produce and retain more physicians to help address Washington state’s shortage of primary care providers. Rural and underserved areas are particularly affected by this shortage.

Returning UWSOM Spokane faculty:

Dr. Bruce Abbotts, pediatrics
Dr. Janelle Clauser, internal medicine and pediatrics
Dr. Alisa Hideg, family medicine
Dr. Matt Hollon, internal medicine
Dr. Geoff Jones, family medicine
Dr. John McCarthy, family medicine and UWSOM central and eastern Washington assistant clinical dean
Dr. Darryl Potyk, internal medicine, geriatrics and UWSOM Spokane assistant clinical dean
Dr. William Sayres, family medicine and UWSOM Spokane assistant dean for Foundations Phase
Dr. Nan Smith, family medicine
Dr. Judy Swanson, internal medicine
Dr. Cicely White, pediatrics
Dr. Karen Wildman, family medicine.