SPOKANE, Wash. (March 17, 2023) – For Washington State University Elson S. Floyd College of Medicine and Pullman Regional Hospital, the 2023 Match Day has been circled on calendars for years as contracts were signed, accreditation was earned and clinical space was built. Friday, the celebration reverberated across the Palouse as they learned the names of the first three residents who will begin providing patient care this summer as part of the new three-year WSU Family Medicine Residency Program – Pullman.
The three residents selected are Bolu Olawuyi, MD, a graduate of Windsor University School of Medicine from Leduc, Alberta; Jeffrey Ward, a medical student at William Carey University College of Osteopathic Medicine from Twin Falls, Idaho; and Mohammed Younes, a medical student at Saba University School of Medicine from Edmonton, Alberta.
“We are absolutely delighted to fill all three of our residency positions with the level of talent and passion for rural communities that these individuals have,” said Dr. Stephen Hall, program director for the WSU Family Medicine Residency Program – Pullman and Pullman Regional Hospital Chief Medical Officer. “We have been planning for this moment for many years and are ready to welcome our residents to the Palouse this summer. Our medical community is eager to partner with our residents and launch a legacy of training exceptional family medicine physicians who will serve our local communities.”
Residents were selected from more than 570 applicants representing 238 medical schools from across the country and the world. Of the applications received, 68 individuals were interviewed for the three available positions. Both the WSU College of Medicine and Pullman Regional Hospital learned who the residents would be on Friday morning as part of the national Match Day process.
“Match Day is not only one of the most exciting moments of a medical student’s career, it’s one of the most exciting days for medical schools as we get to celebrate both where our students are going and which talented students from across the nation and world will join our residency programs,” said Dr. Jim Record, interim dean for the WSU College of Medicine. “For Washingtonians, particularly in eastern Washington where we have far fewer residency programs, this marks what we hope to be one of many Match Days in which we welcome new residents into underserved communities where their enthusiasm, passion, and care for patients will make a tremendous impact.”
Match Day is a major milestone for graduating medical students in which the National Resident Matching Program matches applicants with a residency program in their preferred specialty. For several months, students apply and interview for these coveted spots in their medical specialties of choice. At exactly 9 a.m. PDT on the third Friday in March, every medical student across the nation learns where they will spend the next three to seven years of their medical training.
The residency program, which earned accreditation in May 2021 and began receiving applications for the three residency positions in September 2022, is the college’s first rural residency. Focused at Pullman Regional Hospital, sub-specialty clinics with area physicians, and in the new residency primary care clinic that opened in February 2023, the program will host three residents per year for a total of nine residents when fully implemented.
“This is history in the making,” said Pullman Regional Hospital CEO Matt Forge. “Because of the commitment of many, many people, this is one of the first residency programs to partner with a critical access hospital. Our partnership with WSU is helping us help rural communities thrive through better access to primary care.”
For more information about the WSU Family Medicine Residency Program-Pullman or to learn more about the Elson S. Floyd College of Medicine, visit medicine.wsu.edu.