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WSU, Pullman Hospital To Open New Medical Residency Program

Courtesy of Pullman Regional Hospital

In about a year, Pullman Regional Hospital will begin training new doctors interested in practicing rural medicine.

The hospital and WSU have earned accreditation for a new medical residency program.Many of the post-medical school physician training programs in the U.S. are integrated into big-city hospitals, so it’s notable that a city Pullman’s size will soon join that group.

Beginning in July 2022, three new medical school grads a year will come to the Palouse for a three-year training program to begin their careers. The hope is that most or all of them will then move on to small towns to practice.

The new residency program will be administered by the WSU College of Medicine.

“I’m really excited to see and let the residents learn first hand what it’s like to serve a smaller community and to get the education and the clinical knowledge they’re going to need as family medicine physicians," said Jonathan Espenscheid, the college's associate dean for graduate medical education.

The program will accept applications from prospective medical school graduates next fall. The three chosen will start work the following summer.

This is the second medical residency program affiliated with the six-year-old WSU medical school. The other is in Everett. Its first group of residents will report to work in June and serve the north Seattle metropolitan area and the rural counties north and east of that.

Espenschied says WSU is also exploring other rural medical residencies.