Most of the Washington State University Elson S. Floyd College of Medicine’s inaugural class of doctors are choosing to practice in Washington as they complete their post-graduate training in residency programs across the country and decide where to go as fully qualified physicians.
According to a recent alumni survey, 74% of respondents plan to go into practice, with 94% planning to practice in Washington or considering it. Nearly a third plan to practice in eastern Washington or other rural areas, bringing more primary care physicians to underserved regions of the state.
“This is the realization of what we were founded to do,” said Leila Harrison, vice dean for Admissions, Student Affairs, and Alumni Engagement.
For Dr. Brent Conrad, the choice was an easy one. Raised on a small wheat farm near Colfax, Washington, he knew he wanted to be a doctor from an early age after performing basic first aid on an elementary school classmate with a skinned knee and shadowing doctors as a high school student at a Colfax clinic.
He’ll now be practicing at that same clinic as a physician. After earning his medical degree at WSU and completing Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center’s Family Medicine Residency in Spokane, Dr. Conrad will practice at Whitman Hospital and Medical Clinics in Colfax and Tekoa.
“I used to daydream about walking around those halls and being one of the docs, and now it’s actually happening,” he said. “I’m excited to be back, and I think the community is excited too. I wouldn’t have made it this far if it wasn’t for the people of Colfax and Whitman County who really encouraged me and supported me all along the way.”
After earning a medical degree, doctors complete an additional three to seven years of training in their chosen specialty through a residency program as part of the process to become a licensed physician. Approximately half of WSU’s inaugural class of 60 medical students chose the primary care specialties of family medicine, internal medicine, and pediatrics, which require three years of training. With their residencies complete, they can now practice medicine independently or pursue additional specialized training.
The WSU College of Medicine was established in 2015 after the Washington State Legislature authorized WSU to create an accredited medical school with the aim to train more physicians to serve the state. The MD program uses a holistic admissions process that considers applicants’ ties to Washington and commitment to serving the state’s medically underserved and historically marginalized communities.
That holistic admissions process is working. Graduates will practice in communities across Washington where they have strong personal or professional ties.
Seattle native Dr. Michaela Fallon plans to continue serving the patients she established relationships with while completing the Swedish Cherry Hill Family Medicine Residency’s rural training track, working and volunteering in Port Angeles and nearby towns.
“I was born and raised in Washington. This is my home, and these are the communities I want to give back to,” she said.
While many graduates leave the state for residency and may not return immediately, most report planning to return in the future. Dr. Charlotte Cronenweth completed her internal medicine training at Oregon Health and Science University in Portland this year and plans to practice in the area as a hospitalist while her husband, who she met as a medical student at WSU, completes his residency there.
“We’re both looking forward to eventually making our way back to Washington,” she said. “Our ultimate goal is to serve the communities that trained us.”
Successive alumni classes are also in the process of completing their training and will eventually join their peers in the health care workforce.
“I hope to see each and every one of our graduates here practicing in Washington state,” said Vice Chair of Pediatrics Dr. Chris Anderson, “but my hope is that wherever they do land that they always keep our mission close at heart, our commitment to the care of underserved and rural communities.”
Media Contact:
- Stephanie Engle, WSU Elson S. Floyd College of Medicine Communications and Marketing, 509-368-6937, stephanie.engle@wsu.edu