UW’s New WWAMI Graduates Recall Medical School During Pandemic

Graduation for a class of medical students is always a time for celebration. This is especially true for the most recent graduating class of medical students from the Wyoming WWAMI Medical Education Program on the University of Wyoming campus. Their graduation recently took place at the University of Washington School of Medicine (UWSOM).

That same group of students -- the entering class of 2020 in Wyoming’s medical school -- began studies during circumstances not experienced by many: a global pandemic.

With the outbreak of COVID-19 in March of that year, business and education sectors immediately started the uncharted path of trying to remain open and survive.

All classes on the UW campus at the start of the fall 2020 semester were held remotely, using what would become a staple in ways to communicate at that time: Zoom. As for the 2020 class of first-year medical students, meeting remotely proved vital in decreasing the spread of COVID, although in-person classes began taking shape as hybrid learning was embraced.

Wyoming WWAMI (Washington, Wyoming, Alaska, Montana and Idaho) followed all university protocols for safety during the pandemic, including wearing masks and social distancing, as some aspects of the medical school curriculum needed to be in person.

“The support of the University of Wyoming to be able to safely accomplish as much as we could meant so much to the students and the program,” says John Willford, assistant director of Wyoming WWAMI. “I have spoken to other medical education programs who have noted that their entering class of 2020 felt like their ‘lost class.’

“Fortunately, that was not our experience in Wyoming WWAMI, as we got to know our students quite well, watching them find success in life and their education, despite the circumstances,” he continues. “I could not be prouder of how our entering class of 2020 navigated an uncertain landscape with professionalism and grace to develop into wonderful physicians who I cannot wait to see return to take care of Wyoming.”

Joseph Keating, a native of Casper, recalls the pandemic’s impact on his class of medical students and the reliance on one another and WWAMI personnel who helped that class overcome the especially difficult challenges of that time.

“When I think about starting medical school, I remember a unique blend of emotions and uncertainty,” Keating says. “It is one thing to be staring down the barrel of medical school -- this mythical, impossibly difficult feat. On top of that, in August 2020, we didn’t even know if we'd be in person to start medical school.”

Keating notes the important support given to the class by WWAMI staff and faculty members in enabling in-person and hybrid learning.

“The first year and a half of medical school was really special,” Keating says. “Thanks to the WWAMI front office advocating for the students, the WWAMI first-year class was one of the only groups to have some in-person activities at the University of Wyoming. We were all we had every day -- all in the same classroom, enduring the same stressors, insecurities, wins and losses. We got to be exceptionally close.”

Maison Furley, of Sheridan, says the difficult circumstances helped the medical students learn not only self-reliance, but also teamwork.

“Entering WWAMI in the fall of 2020, few of us knew anyone in our class,” Furley says. “Fortunately, being part of Wyoming WWAMI allowed us to have much of our content in person, when possible. Over the last four years, I’ve come to appreciate Wyoming’s unique emphasis on ‘immersion week,’ where students spend dedicated time getting to know one another.

“Within the first weeks before classes began, we met as a cohort, learned basic medical principles, practiced together and participated in an immersive team-building hike through the Snowy Range,” Furley continues. “Despite being split into two groups during our hike due to COVID policies, we bonded deeply over three days, supporting and advocating for one another.”

The group also traveled to Pinedale for basic life support and wilderness first responder training while participating in games, late-night bonfires and team-building exercises.

“These experiences were pivotal in forming our tight-knit cohort, a sentiment echoed by other cohorts whose local programs did not organize such an experience,” Furley says.

Each new WWAMI class spends its first two years in the “foundations” phase of learning on the UW campus, with classrooms located in the College of Health Sciences. It was during the two years after COVID-19 arrived that UW, the state of Wyoming and the nation adapted to pandemic restrictions, the welcoming of new vaccines and, finally, a steady reduction in infection cases.

After completing the foundations phase of the medical curriculum, the medical students leave Laramie and spend their remaining education across the five-state WWAMI region for the clinical phase of their learning, interacting with and caring for real patients.

Following his graduation, Furley will begin his residency at Duke University. Looking back with gratitude for the support of his classmates, WWAMI faculty and staff, and the many preceptors throughout Wyoming, despite the many challenges brought by the pandemic, Furley says: “My training in Wyoming and across the WWAMI region has shown me how fortunate we are to be part of this program. We receive high-quality education that sets the foundation for earning prestigious and respected residency placements, ultimately benefiting Wyoming’s population. With an ongoing doctor shortage, continued physician education is vital to avoiding a health crisis in the Equality State.”

“As a cohort, we are deeply grateful for the state’s support, and many of us look forward to returning to serve our home,” Furley says. “I hope for ongoing support of the WWAMI program, as it has been pivotal in my education and that of many generations of Wyoming physicians.”

Echoing a similar sentiment and speaking to his graduation and future plans, Keating says, “Stepping across that stage was surreal. I had been working toward that moment for almost a decade. It was hard to not get choked up, to be honest. It still doesn't quite register that I am now a physician. As for my future plans, I am starting my anesthesiology residency at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Tenn.”

Members of the 2024 graduating class of Wyoming WWAMI medical students, listed by hometown, are:

Byron -- Austin Ellis.

Casper -- Bret Andrew, Joseph Keating and Dane Patey.

Cheyenne -- Jacob Kennedy, Jackson McCue and Bryce Snow.

Cody -- Taylor Kennedy and Grace Nicholas.

Gillette -- Holly Huber and Ariel Kirk.

Green River -- Daniel Lancaster.

Laramie -- Madeleine Isler and Sierra Levene.

Pinedale -- Luiza Bosch.

Sheridan -- Drew Adriaens, Tom Fenn and Maison Furley.

Thermopolis -- Cody Abbott.

Wheatland -- Audrey Lucas.

To learn more about Wyoming’s medical school, go to www.uwyo.edu/wwami/index.html.

About the University of Wyoming 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.