Let us start with finding common ground. That’s the proper way to diffuse a rumble over a particular piece of turf, isn’t it?
So, with Washington State University granting approval for the creation of a new medical school in Spokane, and with the University of Washington scoffing at the idea, let us find that common ground: The state is in dire need of expanded medical school facilities. According to a study commissioned by WSU, a total of 17 counties in the state have fewer than 10 doctors per 10,000 people, while the national average is about 27 physicians for that amount of population.
There, that wasn’t so hard, was it? We’re reasonably certain the state’s education officials can agree on a need for more doctors, yet the WSU study has raised the hackles of its cross-state rival. The Cougars and the Huskies started talking about medical schools, and an Apple Cup football game broke out. You see, UW officials looked at the study and declared that it contained “faulty assumptions, omissions and erroneous data,” adding that “These flaws raise significant concerns about the actual feasibility of a WSU medical school.”
UW officials might be correct; WSU officials might be correct. But for the state to move forward and prepare for the future, it will be crucial for that common ground to remain the focal point. Outside of the state’s metropolitan areas, there is a shortage of doctors that threatens to be exacerbated by an aging and growing population, an aging roster of physicians, and increased demand for health care as more people acquire insurance. For rural areas — especially those east of the Cascades — the shortage is particularly acute. That is where the University of Washington comes in. UW has the only public medical school in the state, and it runs a five-state consortium called WWAMI (Washington, Wyoming, Alaska, Montana, Idaho) to train and provide doctors for those mostly rural states.