University of Washington School of Medicine – Montana WWAMI/TRUST

The TRUST (Targeted Rural UnderServed Track) program, started in 2008, provides Montana WWAMI students with a longitudinal continuity connection between rural/underserved communities, TRUST preceptors and their patients. After completing the TRUST admission process, the 12 Montana TRUST scholars are matched with continuity communities in Montana and benefit from the expertise of physician preceptors over the course of their medical school career. 

TRUST helps generate a physician workforce specifically trained for underserved areas. Involvement with existing UW programs, such as the Rural Underserved Opportunities Program (RUOP) and the WWAMI Rural Integrated Training Experience (WRITE), in addition to unique curricular elements, allow TRUST scholars to immerse themselves in the care of the rural and underserved.

Montana has eleven TRUST communities starting with our small-city underserved location in Butte, to two American Indian communities in Hardin and Ronan/Polson, to the eight rural training sites located in Anaconda, Dillon, Glasgow, Hamilton, Lewistown, Libby, Livingston, and Miles City. TRUST contains several TRUST community/clinical components during the medical school training, that provides opportunities to reinvigorate the students during the robust didactic training:

• FSE (First Summer Experience) is a two-week community-orientation experience that introduces the student to their TRUST Continuity Community and allows them to build a base for their future experiences prior to starting medical school.
• Intersession visits – allows the TRUST Scholars to reconnect with their sites 3x during the Foundations Phase for a week each time.
• RUOP (Rural Underserved Opportunities Program) occurs in the summer during the Foundations Phase (between 1st and 2nd year) and is a 4-week rural summer clinical experience, with the opportunity for a community project as well.
• WRITE (WWAMI Rural Integrated Experience) occurs during the Patient Care Phase (3rd year) and is a 4-6 month clerkship training in a longitudinally integrated fashion.
• Additionally, TRUST students can return to their site for an APC (Advanced Patient Care) clerkship; are encouraged to enroll in pathways (Underserved, Global, Native American, Hispanic, LGBTQ); attend local, regional, national, and international conferences; and participate in student leadership roles.

The pipeline is long, but we are starting to see returns with MT TRUST physicians returning to rural and underserved locations in our state – 3 in Miles City, 1 in Hardin, and 1 in Ronan.

Jay Erickson, MD                                                          
Assistant Dean for Regional Affairs, Assistant Clinical Dean, WWAMI Montana. Clinical Professor
jerick@uw.edu 
Tel: 406-862-3810

 Lisa Benzel           
Montana WWAMI TRUST and RUOP Director
lisabenz@uw.edu
Tel: 406-660-0246

A TRUST class on the Blackfeet Indian Reservation during the American Indian Medical Experience (AIME)

Orin Hansen, MD, is a former TRUST Scholar in Hardin, who returned to practice at his TRUST site

Kena Lackman, MD, is a former TRUST Scholar in Miles City, who recently signed to practice at St. Luke’s in Ronan