The University of Idaho announced the beginning of a partnership with the University of Utah on Feb. 11—the two universities will begin initial development of a regionally based undergraduate medical education program in Idaho’s Treasure Valley.
“This initiative represents an exciting opportunity for Idaho to expand medical student education right here at home,” Rayme Geidl, interim co-director of the UI School of Health and Medical Professions, said in the press release. “By building another strong partnership and training students in Idaho communities, we can help meet the state’s growing need for physicians.”
The “Train Here, Stay Here” undergraduate medical program plan, which aims to solve Idaho’s physician shortage, was developed by the Undergraduate Medical Education Committee and Idaho State Board of Education and submitted to the governor’s office on Dec. 31 for approval.
The previous legislative session passed House Bill 368, which called for 30 additional medical school seats over the next three years and created a task force that would study the medical education issue and make recommendations for the 2026 legislature.
Currently, Idaho is ranked no. 50 in physicians per capita and no. 44 in terms of total physicians in the state, according to Idaho Ed News, due to rapid population growth and high physician turnover. It is estimated that the state would need 1,500 doctors today to meet the national average.
HB 368 specifically targets Idaho residents who are more likely to stay in state after graduation and seeks to develop pipelines to encourage graduates to stay in Idaho. It specified a desire to create a program other than the Washington, Wyoming, Alaska, Montana and Idaho partnership program at the University of Idaho, which was previously expanded in 2016.
According to the UME plan, each year approximately 190 Idaho residents apply to allopathic MD programs and 213 to osteopathic DO programs, with around 70-75 Idaho applicants enrolled into each type of program annually.
Of these, 50 students receive state support through a long-standing medical education partnership with the UW WWAMI program (40) and the UU School of Medicine (10). Idaho invests an annual $10.7 million into subsidizing the $50,000 per student tuition fees for these programs.
As UI and UU move forward with the planning process, the two universities will have equal representation on a joint steering committee, the announcement said, which would be responsible for admissions, curriculum development, student support, clinical training and overall program management.
If fully approved, the program would have certain features to specifically serve Idaho’s needs: All students will be Idaho residents; students will attend classes and most clinical rotations in Idaho; students must sign a “Return to Practice” agreement committing to at least four years of medical practice in Idaho following residency or repayment of the state’s investment; and participants will contribute to the Rural Physician Incentive Program, which supports rural communities and their needs.
“The University of Utah is fully committed to this partnership and to expanding high-quality medical education opportunities in Idaho,” Kristina Callis Duffin, M.D., interim dean of UU’s medical school, said in the press release. “We are dedicated to working alongside the University of Idaho every step of the way to ensure this program succeeds and strengthens the state’s physician workforce.”
Another school identified in the UME report is the Idaho College of Osteopathic Medicine, established in 2016. ICOM is a private, for-profit medical school in Meridian that trains 220 students per class, including an average of 34 Idaho residents, though it does not have any seats funded by the state.
The UME report identified four possibilities for the legislature to move forward with development, which included cost benefit analysis. These possibilities include:
- The creation of a new UME program between UI and UU which would establish a regional MD campus in the Treasure Valley partnering with Idaho State University lab facility use.
- Expanded state-supported seats at UU.
- Purchase of seats at ICOM.
- Purchase of ICOM, which would be a five-year transition costing an estimated $250,000.
Also included in the report was an ISU proposal to create an Idaho Health Education Collaborative, which would be housed at ISU.
The state subsidization aims to offset the financial burden placed on Idaho students enrolled in medical programs which can attract students from rural communities, where medical practitioners are most needed. The UME report stated that without subsidization, WWAMI graduates carried $208,418 in average debt, UU graduates $196,875 and ICOM graduates $227,072.
While the institution at which the 30 seats are to be placed is among the recommendations, the report also identified the need to develop postgraduate pipelines, especially in state residency programs. Residency is an important postgraduate training that takes three to seven years and costs approximately $210,000 per resident, according to the UME report. Idaho currently funds a little less than $60,000 per year of this cost, which the report says is showing of the state’s commitment to developing medical practitioners.
A decision has yet to be made by the state legislature or the governor, but is likely to be made during the 2026 legislative session.
Joshua Reisenfeld can be reached at [email protected].