R/UOP sites are communities in any of the 5 WWAMI states: Washington, Wyoming, Alaska, Montana, and Idaho. These sites are developed by our Area Health Education (AHEC) partners. All R/UOP clinic sites provide primary care to rural or urban-underserved communities. Students are strongly encouraged to experience as much of the community life as possible during their R/UOP stay. Exposure to the community's cultural, social and recreational opportunities provide context for patients seen in clinical encounters.

The key to a successful placement is flexibility!

Individual site requests cannot be guaranteed.

In the application process, students rank list six geographic WWAMI regions in their order of preference. Once the applications are received, the placement coordinators will complete the complicated process of matching student requests and time-lines to the availability of preceptors.

Most students are matched to one of their top 3 choices. Placement priority is given to the student's home state. Therefore, Alaska students have first option on Alaska sites, Montana students on Montana sites, etc.

Rural placements frequently work best if you have some sort of transportation (car, bicycle, etc). R/UOP does not provide transportation for students.

Bringing family members along with you during your R/UOP may limit your placement since housing is dependent on community volunteers.

Sites change from year to year depending on the availability of preceptors.

View the RUOP Site Map (pdf)