Student embraces rural setting for medical training

Samantha Michelena, a student at the University of Washington School of Medicine, grew up in a small town, so it was natural for her to choose a rural setting like Libby to receive medical training.

“Some of the great things I love about medicine I think are lost in the city,” Michelena said, explaining that the human element – treating people, not diseases – is why she is pursuing a medical degree. “I think those things will come out when I’m here.”

Michelena is part of the WWAMI (an acronym for Washington, Wyoming, Alaska, Montana and Idaho) Rural Integrated Training Experience, or WRITE program, which sends third-year medical students to hospitals and doctor’s offices in rural communities throughout the northwest states.

She began working Monday under Dr. Greg Rice at Libby Clinic and will conclude the program in mid-June. Her training in Libby will integrate different areas of medicine – such as pediatrics, psychiatry and internal medicine – and allow her to follow patients over time. 

Michelena’s classmates will receive equivalent training but through hospital rotations that separate out and focus on individual areas of medicine. In an actual doctor’s office setting, medicine is not so compartmentalized, Michelena said, so she believes that her program will offer a more realistic look into general medicine.

Michelena grew up in Buffalo, Wyo., and received her undergraduate degree at the University of Wyoming in kinesiology and health promotion. She spent her free time doing many of the same outdoor activities offered in the Kootenai Valley – fishing, snowmobiling, camping, boating and snowboarding.