Beefs set aside but rivalries still intact, the competing medical schools in Spokane are doing much of what was promised when the respective programs began to take shape 10 years ago. Both should be lauded for their efforts to address a pervasive physician shortage and improve access to care.

To the benefit of the Inland Northwest's health care sector and the region as a whole, the University of Washington-Gonzaga University Health Partnership has grown the number of physicians, dentists, and other medical professionals educated and trained in Spokane. At the same time, the Washington State University Elson S. Floyd College of Medicine has ramped up its MD program, dovetailing it with its nursing school, pharmacy school, and other programs. 

Collectively, the two medical school programs are graduating about 130 new physicians this year, compared with 40 new doctors coming out of Spokane annually prior to 2015. 

The UW-GU partnership formed in 2015 as part of the WWAMI program, through which UW provides medical education beyond its Seattle campus, in Eastern Washington, Wyoming, Alaska, Montana, and Idaho. Shortly after the unusual public school-private school collaboration coalesced, the partnership increased the number of physicians trained here to 60 from 40. In the past decade, about 600 physicians have been graduated through the partnership. 

As has been well documented, WSU had been UW's WWAMI partner for 40-plus years previously, but the two universities parted ways when WSU pursued establishment of its own medical school program. Having graduated its first class in 2021, the WSU program is now taking 80 MD students a year. 

Both programs market an emphasis on rural medicine and boast training physicians who stay in Washington state. Over half of UW's new physicians stay in state. At WSU, a survey of its first graduating class showed that the vast majority expressed an intent or desire to stay in state. In recent years, about 40% are garnering residencies in the Pacific Northwest. 

It should be noted that each program has invested tens of millions of dollars in new facilities to accommodate increased health care education in Spokane's University District to train those students.

While the debate about whether a second medical school was needed in Spokane has long been put to rest, a Tripp Umbach study commissioned by UW in 2014 made the case for expanding that program, rather than starting a second one. While that component of the study is no longer relevant, outgoing UW President Ana Mari Cauce points out that UW is providing a greater economic impact than that study projected. 

"All of the predictions have been exceeded," she says. 

That's encouraging. Moving forward, the progression we'd like to see is more economic impact involving research activities that spin off into private companies, creating private-sector jobs in innovative new enterprises. That's because at the most basic level, there are two reasons for a business community to champion education: filling the workforce pipeline and creating new jobs with innovative new initiatives. 

That's the future that we'll expect and anticipate. For now, we'll appreciate just how far we've come in 10 years.