Frank M. Batcha, Jr.

In November, Idaho WWAMI will be hosting their annual Faculty Development Workshop where physicians, physician assistants, and nurse practitioners will continue their education by learning the latest practices on teaching medical education.

The need for teaching our next generation of doctors is growing as fast as Idaho, and there’s already a doctor shortage, especially in rural areas.

Idaho WWAMI is working to reduce that shortage through training top medical students in Idaho, as well as by providing educational development opportunities to physicians, physician assistants, and nurse practitioners who teach medicine. As the need for doctors grow, so too does the need for advancing medical education. I applaud Idaho WWAMI for teaching our future Idaho doctors as well as for providing tools to those who are already teaching medicine.

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A 21st century medical school is a lot more than bricks and mortar. While Idaho WWAMI just completed a brand new state of the art anatomy lab in Moscow, WWAMI represents much more than a building.

It’s an army of alumni physicians, faculty, and medical students that reaches roughly 80 percent of the state as Idaho WWAMI students spend much of their time training in clinical settings from Sandpoint to Orofino to Cambridge and Rexburg, providing hands-on care in rural communities that are most in need. In these clinical rotations, they receive one-on-one mentorship from volunteer physician preceptors, many of whom are leaders in their communities and in the Idaho Medical Association. This workshop provides those volunteer preceptors with skills on guiding their medical students to success.

Idaho WWAMI is providing a service to the medical community of Idaho by hosting this event. While many physicians learn how to practice medicine, they don’t learn how to teach in medical school. This workshop provides medical professionals with guidance, tips and practices on teaching medical education.

Known as Idaho WWAMI because it serves the rural states of Washington, Wyoming, Alaska, Montana and Idaho, Idaho WWAMI has been Idaho’s medical school for the past 47 years. With up to 80 University of Idaho medical students in Moscow each year, and as many more doing clinical rotations, Idaho WWAMI has more than 100 student-doctors involved with WWAMI and affiliated programs throughout Idaho. WWAMI is providing an invaluable service to our state, which is evident in their production of talented medical school graduates as well as their fifth year of providing this professional development workshop.

Idaho WWAMI medical students are embedded into communities throughout Idaho, learning directly from physicians, physician assistants, and nurse practitioners. That is why these development workshops are so valuable. Where so many graduate medical students learn how to practice medicine directly from preceptors (practicing physicians throughout Idaho), the workshop gives these preceptors and others the skills necessary to teach up-and-coming doctors in their own communities.

Thank you Idaho WWAMI for the service you provide our medical community, and for your impact on the health of the people of Idaho.

Frank M. Batcha, Jr., M.D. is Idaho WWAMI Assistant Clinical Dean, Regional Affairs and Idaho TRUST co-chair.




This story was originally published November 05, 2018 12:00 AM.