Through your generous support of MD scholarships, you can help us:
Support Future Medical Leaders
There is a physician shortage in many communities across the five-state WWAMI region (Washington, Wyoming, Alaska, Montana and Idaho).
And while there are many extraordinary young people who have the potential to become medical leaders in these communities, for many, medical school is financially out of reach.
When you choose to give to scholarships, you help students overcome the financial barriers that might otherwise prevent them from pursuing a medical degree. You also help ensure that once graduated, those who wish to can choose careers in family and primary care medicine and/or work in underserved communities across the WWAMI region.
By giving to scholarships, you are bringing students one step closer to becoming leaders dedicated to improving the health of our communities. Will you join us?
Yes! I want to prepare medical leaders to care for my community.
Give Today!Your Impact

Reduce barriers to medical school
For many students, medical school is out of reach without scholarship support. By giving to scholarships, you help outstanding students to pursue their dreams of becoming doctors.

Bolster our region’s physician workforce
Your support helps address physician shortages in rural and urban communities throughout our five-state WWAMI region since so many of our graduates return to their home states to practice medicine.

Free students to practice where they are most needed
Medical school loan debt can deter students from practicing in specialties or areas that pay less. By giving to scholarships, you help free students to choose careers that align with their personal values.
Partner with a Leader in
Medical Education
The UW School of Medicine is a one-of-a-kind, multi-state medical education program that serves the five-state WWAMI region. The School leads the nation for primary care education and family medicine training, according to the U.S. News & World Report’s Best Graduate Schools. In fact, it has ranked No. 1 in primary care 27 times since 1995 and among the top two schools for family medicine training for 30 years.
Among the 279 School of Medicine graduates who sought residency in 2021, 132 (nearly 50%) matched into primary care specialties, with many matching in WWAMI states, amplifying the impact on the health of the region.
The School is committed to advancing diversity in the field and to helping address the health disparities within the WWAMI region and beyond, from Pathways Programs that train physicians to provide culturally humble care to increasing admissions for students from backgrounds underrepresented in medicine.
Stories

First-year Medical Student Helps Save a Life In-flight
UW School of Medicine curriculum changes give students hands-on experience much earlier, working directly with patients.

Hardship Shaped Me into a Stronger Healer
For Amphone Rasasombath, medical school was a high-wire act. Donor-supported scholarships — and her determination — powered her success.
Read Story
Reducing Barriers to Medical Education
Two recent legacy gifts, totaling $8.5 million, to MD scholarships open pathways for more students.
Read Story
Why I Want to Be a Hometown Doctor
Jordan Baxter shares how scholarships are helping her improve access to medical care in her rural Montana community.
Read Story
Community Drives My Dream
My community supported my dream of becoming a doctor. Now, donor-supported scholarships are helping train me to care for my hometown.
Read Story
Juggling Medical School and Four Young Kids
Thanks to the generosity of scholarship donors and his family’s support, Ian Engerbretson is on his way to becoming a rural physician in Idaho.
Read Story
Studying Medicine to Serve My Community
Arianna Lee, a recent graduate of the University of Washington School of Medicine, knows scholarships are an investment in her future — and the future of diverse healthcare providers.
Read Story
Training the Future of Montana Medicine
Learn how UW School of Medicine alumni have made the journey from Montana to medical school and back to care for their communities.
Read Story
From First Responder to First-Generation Medical Student
How scholarships are helping Kathryne Mitchell, a former firefighter and paramedic, pursue her dream of becoming a doctor and giving back to her Alaska community.
Read Story
How This Small-Town Doctor Is Making a Big Difference
Joan “Mutt” Dickson, MD ’97, invites you to join her in supporting scholarships for Montana medical students at the UW School of Medicine.
Read Story
Discovering the Courage to Pursue My Dreams
Sarah Busch, a medical student at the University of Washington School of Medicine, shares how scholarships are helping her become a doctor and fulfill her passion for public health.
Read Story
Returning to My Community
How scholarships put Wyatt Bowles, a medical student at the University of Washington School of Medicine, on the path to becoming a small-town doctor for his hometown.
Read Story
Keeping an Eye on the Prize: A More Diverse Medical School
Dr. Rayburn Lewis is the 2023 recipient of UW Medicine’s Ragen Volunteer Service Award.
Read Story
Meet Blair Washington, MD ’02, MHA ’97, Alumni Association President
Get to know Dr. Blair Washington, the new president of the UW School of Medicine alumni association, and her passion for increasing representation in medicine.
Read Story
A Chance to Pursue His Passions
From healing patients to publishing stories, Devin Gaskins dreams big. Here’s how scholarships are helping him succeed.
Read Story
Expanding the Circle of Support
How scholarships and chosen family helped Athena Clemens journey from foster care to medical school.
Read Story
Prioritizing Native Health
The Indian Health Pathway at the UW School of Medicine trains physicians to provide culturally humble care for Indigenous people.
Read Story
The Heart of a Healthy Community
Cecelia Villa’s family taught her the importance of education — and giving back.
Read Story
Giving From an Overflowing Cup
Scholarships help students like Christina Gibbs look forward to a future full of service.
Read Story
Magnifying Our Impact
How creating opportunities for underrepresented students like Sam Regalado helps build healthcare equity.
Read Story
Training to Care for Rural Communities
A rural education program prepares Spencer Pecha to care for his Wyoming community.
Read Story
A Journey Interrupted
When the virus that causes COVID-19 sparked a global pandemic, My-Linh Nguyen’s life — and the lives of many medical students across the country — was thrown into uncharted territory.
Read Story
Arndt Scholarships Give a Boost to Montana Students and Rural Medicine
UW School of Medicine students Kiera Bulluck and William French are both from rural Montana, and this fact, perhaps more than anything else, has shaped them as people and as future doctors.
Read Story
The Ripple Effect
UW Medicine medical student Fatima Ali and KING-5 news anchor Jean Enersen commit to equitable healthcare.
Read Story
A Vote of Confidence
Faculty members establish a visionary scholarship.
Read Story
The Big Leap
From the circus to medical school, one student charts his own course.
Read Story
Totem Rising
UW School of Medicine medical student Stephen Ellison is gives back to the people and communities who have shaped and supported him.
Read Story
The Search for the Truth
Alumnus Carl Wigren pieces together lives — after death.
Read Story
Falling in Love With Primary Care
The UW Neighborhood Clinics’ medical director is paying it forward with a primary-care scholarship fund.
Read Story
Musician and Physician
John Nuhn, M.D., reflects on touring, medicine and art.
Read Story
Spurred to Succeed
The UW School of Medicine’s WWAMI program is helping Justinn Lahaye support the rural communities she was raised in.
Read Story
Dreaming High for Montana
The Irene and Norman Erie, M.D., Endowed Scholarship Fund at the UW School of Medicine helps support UW medical students from Montana.
Read Story
Going Back to Klawock
Now a second-year medical student at the UW School of Medicine through the Alaska WWAMI program, Stephen Ellison, MD, grew up in Klawock and plans to return home to practice medicine when he finishes his training.
Read Story
Speaking the Patient’s Language
Growing up in Mt. Vernon, Wash., Raymond Aguilar saw firsthand the challenges that Spanish-speaking patients face. Now a resident in family medicine, he’s ready to help.
Read Story
A Global Impact
“I imagine a world free from the threat of infectious diseases.” — Augustine Ajuogu, third-year medical student, UW School of Medicine “I want to live in a reality where we take vaccines for granted,” says Augustine Ajuogu.
Read Story
Students Who Aim to Serve
Service is central to scholarship students at the University of Washington School of Medicine, and they show caring and compassion […]
Read Story
Going Home
Stephen Ellison’s ancestors have been part of Prince of Wales Island, Alaska, for thousands of years. And Ellison, who left his hometown of Klawock to go to medical school, has no intention of breaking the chain.
Read StoryJoin Us
Your gift creates an enduring impact that will benefit UW School of Medicine students and the communities they will serve for generations to come. Will you help us improve health in communities throughout our region with a gift to MD scholarships?
Would you like to explore making an investment in MD scholarships? We’d love to connect. You can reach us at writemed@uw.edu or 206.543.5686.