Please join us on Saturday, October 25th from 8:00am to 5:00pm for the 2025 Montana WWAMI Pre-Med Summit at Missoula College in Missoula. This summit is provided at a minimal cost of $15 to attendees and includes breakfast/snack bags and lunch. Registration is limited and available on a first-come, first-serve basis. Registration will be available around mid-August, and registration-Info and fees are due by October 17th, 2025!


For questions contact Lisa Benzel at lisabenz@uw.edu, or Judi Sullivan jasulliv@uw.edu or call 406-660-0246.

Register 

 

2025 Agenda 

7:30 a.m.                Registration (and breakfast snack bags)

8:00 a.m.                Welcome and Overview, Jay Erickson, MD & Brant Schumaker, DVM, MPVM, PhD                                                             with University of Montana representative

8:15 a.m.                Components of the Medical School Application, Stella Yee, Admission Director, University of Washington School of Medicine

9:15 a.m.                Creating Your Personal Statement,Mike Geurin, MD

10:15 a.m.              Break to switch to Breakouts

10:30 a.m.              Breakout Session# 1 (Please choose one of the following):

 Nuts & Bolts of MCAT                                                   Hilary Becker (MSU) & Laurie Rodriguez (Carroll)

Application/Interview Process Advice                      Jim Guyer, MD& Stella Yee, UWSOM

Financing Medical School                                             Jay Erickson, MD

Loan Repayment Programs                                        Amy Unsworth, OCHE & Serena Brewer, DO

TRUST (Targeted Rural UnderServed Track)                          Lisa Benzel & Sara Houston, MT TRUST Directors

11:05 a.m.                Break to switch sessions

11:10 a.m.               Breakout Session # 2(Please choose one of the following):

Nuts & Bolts of MCAT                                                 Hilary Becker (MSU) & Laurie Rodriguez (Carroll)

MT WWAMI Students Q&A                                        Current MT WWAMI students

Financing Medical School                                         Jay Erickson, MD

Loan Repayment Programs                                     Amy Unsworth, OCHE & Serena Brewer, DO

MD PhD Program                                                        Brant Schumaker, DVM, MPVM, PhD

11:45 a.m.               Break to go to next session

11:50 a.m.               Breakout Session # 3(Please choose one of the following):

MT WWAMI Students Q&A                                       Current MT WWAMI students

Job-Shadowing Connections                                   Liz Kelsey & Lisa Benzel, MT TRUST Director

TRUST (Targeted Rural UnderServed Track)                       Jay Erickson, MD & Sara Houston, MT TRUST

Pre-Med Research Experience                             Mark Pershouse, PhD & Brant Schumaker, DVM, MPVM, PhD

MCAT Tips from Students                                     Q&A students from UM, MSU & Carroll

12:25 p.m.            Break to move to buffet line (and eat)

12:40 p.m.            Lunch - Table Breakout Discussions– (12:40-12:55; 1:00-1:15; 1:20-1:35)

1:45 p.m.              Break to switch to Breakout Session #4

1:50 p.m.              Breakout Session # 4 (Please choose one of the following):

 MT WWAMI Students Q&A                                       Current MT WWAMI students

Application/Interview Process Advice                  Jim Guyer, MD& Stella Yee, UWSOM

Loan Repayment Programs                                    Amy Unsworth, OCHE & Serena Brewer, DO

MD PhD Program                                                       Brant Schumaker, DVM, MPVM, PhD

TRUST (Targeted Rural UnderServed Track)                       Jay Erickson, MD & Sara Houston, MT TRUST

 2:25 p.m.               Break to switch sessions

 2:30 p.m.              Breakout Session # 5 (Please choose one of the following):

 Nuts & Bolts of MCAT                                            Hilary Becker (MSU) & Laurie Rodriguez (Carroll)

Application/Interview Process Advice              Jim Guyer, MD& Stella Yee, UWSOM

Job-Shadowing Connections                                Liz Kelsey & Sara Houston, MT TRUST Director

Pre-Med Research Experience                           Mark Pershouse, PhD (UM) & Grant Hokit, PhD (Carroll)

MCAT Tips from Students                                   Q&A students from UM, MSU & Carroll

 3:05 p.m.                Break

 3:20 p.m.                Medical School Interview Preparation  Stella Yee, Admission Director, University of Washington School of Medicine

 3:45 p.m.                Mock Medical School Interviews Serena Brewer, DO

4:50 p.m.                 Closing Session - drawing for Grand Prize and door prizes

 

 MUST BE PRESENT TO WIN

Resources for PreMed Students 

Medical residency is post-graduate training after completion of medical school.  Residency provides more focused, in-depth training in one area of medicine

Before graduating medical school, typically between third and fourth year, most students research and apply to residency programs in their chosen specialty area. Residencies vary in length from 3-7 years depending on the specialty area. Below are several residency options, although there are more that could be added:

Three-Year Residencies:

Internal Medicine

Family Medicine

Pediatrics

Emergency Medicine

 

Four-Year Residencies:

Obstetrics-Gynecology

Psychiatry

Neurology

Dermatology

Ophthalmology

 

Five-Year Residencies:

General Surgery 5 years

Urology 5 years

 

Greater than Five-Year Residencies:

Neurosurgery 7 years

 

Additional helpful links for more information about residency:

https://students-residents.aamc.org/premed-navigator/whats-journey-residency

https://sites.uw.edu/uwgme/prospective-residents-and-fellows/

https://www.ama-assn.org/medical-students/preparing-residency/which-factors-do-applicants-weigh-most-when-picking-residency

Job-shadowing will give you a better understanding of what a doctor's typical day is like, allows you to get a clear sense of what it’s like to be a practicing physician, and gives you good experience to talk about in your applications and interviews for medical school. It's also a great way to gain familiarity with different specialties and medical environments. For this reason, many medical schools across the U.S. have a minimum requirement for shadowing hours. This may vary widely; some schools require 12–24 hours, while others require more than 75 hours. WWAMI sits in the middle with a strong recommendation of at least 40 hours.

 

If you don’t already have a personal connection with a physician, we can usually assist with making those connections, if you have flexibility in scheduling, locations, preferred specialties, etc. Feel free to reach out to the below contacts for assistance:

 

Ali McInnis, Montana WWAMI TRUST Assistant   

alij@uw.edu or (208) 699-4134  

Rural shadowing opportunities available. 

 

Liz Kelsey, UM Pre-Med Job Shadow Program Manager

 elizabeth.kelsey@umontana.eduor (406) 243-4763  

 Robotic shadowing and/or webinar-based shadowing also available.

See below for a few suggested current event topics to be up to date on when interviewing for medical school (Note-this is not a complete list):

 

  1. COVID-19 and Effects on Health & Society
  2. Vaccinations
  3. United States Health Insurance and Affordable Care Act (ObamaCare)
    1. Cost of healthcare versus outcomes in the US and other developed nations
  4. Mental Health & Physician Burnout
  5. Gun Violence & Mass Shootings
  6. Abortion & Contraception
  7. Cultural Curiosity in Patient Care and Diversity in Healthcare
  8. End-of-Life Care
  9. Opiod Crisis
  10. Artificial Intelligence & Applications to Healthcare
  11. Differences in health care outcomes based on socioeconomic status

 

Locations to look for up-to-date articles and information include:

New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM)

Journal of American Medical Association (JAMA)

Annals of Internal Medicine

New York Times

Washington Post

Wall Street Journal

  • Drew Babcock, American Indian Outreach & Project Coordinator

 

Loan Repayment Information

NHSC Loan Repayment Program (LRP) Fact Sheet

NHSC Scholarship Program Fact Sheet

NHSC Student-to-Service (S2S) Fact Sheet

NHSC Substance Use Disorder Workforce Loan Repayment Program Fact Sheet