January 20, 2000
Pediatric training unit marks 25th anniversary in Spokane
The University of Washington (UW) School of Medicine’s pediatric training unit in Spokane will be honored Jan. 24 for more than a quarter century of teaching UW medical students and pediatric residents about children’s health care.
The Spokane pediatric training site is part of the WWAMI Program, the UW School of Medicine’s regional medical education program. WWAMI is an acronym for the participating states of Washington, Wyoming, Alaska, Montana, and Idaho, where medical students and residents train in communities away from an urban university medical center and are encouraged to consider practices in mid-size or small towns.
Spokane joined the pediatric WWAMI program in its second year of operation. Great Falls, Mont., and Pocatello, Idaho, were the first training sites for the pediatric WWAMI program. Pediatricians and other health professionals in Spokane teach the required third-year clerkship (clinical training course) in pediatrics, as well as elective courses for fourthyear medical students seeking more experience in pediatrics.
Pediatrician Dr. Mike Donlan was the founder of the Spokane pediatric training site for the UW School of Medicine, and was the first coordinator of the Spokane pediatric clerkship. He is a member of the Rockwood Clinic and has served as director of medical education at Sacred Heart Medical Center, where the administrative offices of the program are located. Dolan has been a continuous supporter of the program. The second coordinator was Dr. Frank Reynolds, followed by Dr. Mike Kraemer and then Dr. A. Chris Olson. The current site coordinator is Dr. Craig Stucky. Jane Phillips has been the site administrative assistant since 1984. She has nurtured and helped students with schedules, housing and activities of daily living.
Currently, 28 community pediatricians from Spokane are clinical faculty for the UW. These pediatricians provide lectures to students, offer preceptorships in their practices to expose the students to outpatient care and serve as role models and mentors for the students.
“The community pediatric medical education provided in Spokane has been a model for development of similar programs elsewhere in the country,” said Dr. Thomas W. Pendergrass, associate professor of pediatrics and associate chair for educational affairs in the Department of Pediatrics. “The leadership and commitment of the Spokane pediatricians over the past 25 years have been extraordinary.
“Their legacy is the critical and formative training of more than 365 medical students. Each has become a better physician through interaction with faculty in Spokane,” he said. Pendergrass and Dr. Bruder Stapleton, professor and chair of pediatrics, will visit Spokane on Jan. 24 for presentations recognizing the contributions of the clinical faculty to the education of new physicians.
