Gov. Mark Gordon meets with WWAMI students in his ceremonial chambers at the State
Capitol. Front row, from left, are: Anh Huynh, of Cheyenne; Tatiana Smith, of Casper;
Annaliese Fitzsimmons, of Greybull; Sabrina Gay, of Pinedale; Gordon; Brandi Carreau,
of Laramie; Chantelle Barr, of Worland; Dean He, of Casper; Anna Ujvary, of Green
River; and Hyrum Ruby, of Buffalo. Back row, from left, are: Sai Kit Ng, of Laramie;
Matthew Rasmussen, of Burlington; Riley Pilon, of Gillette; Victoria Toscana, of Gillette;
Kaden Moore, of Powell; Quinton Brooks, of Sheridan; Emma Miller, of Lander; Aaron
Nichols, of Cody; Bradford Burns, of Story; Rafael Homer, of Laramie; and Clara Bouley,
of Sheridan. (Courtney Garrison Photo)
First-year medical students from the Wyoming-WWAMI (Washington, Wyoming, Alaska, Montana
and Idaho) Medical Education Program in the University of Wyoming’s College of Health
Sciences met state leaders -- as well as the program’s alumni, preceptors and faculty
-- last week in Cheyenne.
Those in attendance at the annual WWAMI Medical Education Program legislative luncheon
included U.S. Sen. John Barrasso; a representative of U.S. Sen. Cynthia Lummis’ office;
UW Provost and Executive Vice President Kevin Carman; WWAMI Assistant Clinical Dean
Dr. Robert Monger; Wyoming WWAMI Assistant Director John Willford; University of Washington
School of Medicine Dean Dr. Tim Dellit; and Dr. Suzanne Allen, vice dean for academic,
rural and regional affairs at the University of Washington School of Medicine.
The keynote speaker at the luncheon, Barrasso, an orthopedic surgeon, also spent time
getting to know the WWAMI students.
“You can’t find better patients than folks in Wyoming,” he said. “As patients of yours,
folks here are going to look to you to be competent and caring, and they are going
to have confidence in you.”
Later in the day, when Barrasso spoke in both chambers of the Wyoming Legislature,
he highlighted the importance of the Legislature’s longtime support of the WWAMI Medical
Education Program. During his speech to the Senate, he said, “Some of (these students)
have had Hathaway Scholarships, as well. One young woman I had lunch with today said,
‘The state of Wyoming’s been investing in me from the beginning … You bet I want to
come back to practice in Wyoming.’”
Barrasso, who had just returned from visiting the Wyoming Air National Guard in the
Republic of Djibouti, introduced the legislators to Brandi Carreau, a first-year medical
student from Laramie. Carreau served in the Republic of Djibouti, a country in East
Africa, as an aeromedical evacuation technician providing in-flight medical care to
service members with the Wyoming Air National Guard before becoming a medical student.
All WWAMI students were introduced by legislators in each chamber.
The WWAMI students also met with Gov. Mark Gordon, who took the time to hear the reason
each student chose to go into medicine before asking about their most pressing needs
and concerns. Students, faculty, staff and WWAMI administrators toured the State Capitol,
along with residents from UW’s Family Medicine Residency Program.
“Legislative Day is a great opportunity for our Wyoming WWAMI medical students to
come to the Wyoming State Capitol and meet with legislators and the governor,” Monger
says. “They learn about the legislative process, health care policy issues that affect
all of us, and how important it is for physicians to become involved in advocacy.”
Members of the first-year class of WWAMI medical students, listed by their hometowns,
are:
Buffalo -- Hyrum Ruby.
Burlington -- Matthew Rasmussen.
Casper -- Dean He and Tatiana Smith.
Cheyenne -- Anh Huynh.
Cody -- Aaron Nichols.
Gillette -- Rylie Pilon and Victoria Toscana.
Green River -- Anna Ujvary.
Greybull -- Annaliese Fitzsimmons.
Lander -- Emma Miller.
Laramie -- Brandi Carreau, Rafael Homer and Sai Kit Ng.
Pinedale -- Sabrina Gay.
Powell -- Kaden Moore.
Sheridan -- Clara Bouley and Quinton Brooks.
Story -- Bradford Burns.
Worland -- Chantelle Barr.
About the Wyoming-WWAMI Medical Education Program
The Wyoming-WWAMI Medical Education Program -- Wyoming’s medical school -- is a partnership
between the University of Wyoming and the University of Washington School of Medicine.
The Wyoming-WWAMI Medical Education Program reserves 20 seats each year for qualified
Wyoming residents. Students accepted to the program spend 18 months on the University
of Wyoming campus. The third and fourth years are spent at selected clinical sites
throughout the WWAMI region.
About the UW College of Health Sciences
UW’s College of Health Sciences trains health and wellness professionals and researchers
in a wide variety of disciplines, including medicine, nursing, pharmacy, speech-language
pathology, social work, kinesiology, public health, health administration and disability
studies. The college also oversees residency and fellowship programs in Casper and
Cheyenne, as well as operating a speech/hearing clinic in Laramie and primary care
clinics in Laramie, Casper and Cheyenne.
With more than 1,600 undergraduate, graduate and professional students, the college
is dedicated to training the health and wellness workforce of Wyoming and conducting
high-quality research and community engagement, with a particular focus on rural and
frontier populations.
