TRUST Program in Ellensburg
The Central Washington Family Medicine Residency Program (CWFMR), a service of Community Health of Central Washington, a funded Teaching Health Center, provides a rich experience for students seeking opportunities for service to rural populations. Students learn to provide community based comprehensive and continuous ambulatory care to medically underserved patients representative of the cultural, socio-economic and demographic diversity of the Kittitas Valley.
The TRUST program provides full spectrum Family Medicine training including OB, integrated behavioral health, osteopathic medicine, procedural training and inpatient pediatric and adult medicine.
CWFMR has been preparing physicians and students for service to rural and underserved populations since 1993 and is proud to partner with the UW’s Targeted Rural/Underserved Track (TRUST) program.
Curriculum – Linking TRUST Students with the Community
- Participation in rural/underserved community activities
- RUOP clinical experience with exposure to a rural population (Ellensburg)
- Elective rotation with senior residents learning about evidenced based medicine, cultural competency, and community oriented primary care research
- Third year Family Medicine clerkship and fourth year Family Medicine sub-internship in Ellensburg to experience clinic and hospital care in an underserved or rural setting
- Exposure to outpatient clinical procedures typically performed by rural family physicians including OB procedural training during the student’s OB clerkship
- Fourth year electives with sub-specialists working as referral physicians for the rural and underserved communities to learn about skills and knowledge needed for care delivery in rural (Ellensburg) settings
- EHR training in both hospital and community clinic settings to minimize learning curve in future practice settings
- Participation in team based care using the medical home model with integrated behavioral health, group visits for chronic disease management, and on-site ancillary services, e.g., lab, x-ray, and pharmacy (Ellensburg)
- TRUST experience may provide a pathway to early acceptance into the CWFMR program with the final medical school rotations completed in either Yakima or Ellensburg
- Early acceptance into residency outside of the National Resident Matching Program (NRMP) by a TRUST scholar is by request of the UW and by sole approval of the NRMP
Quality of Life
Ellensburg and Kittitas Valley are great places to live. They’re “family friendly” with affordable housing, stable economy, progressive educational opportunities for children and adults, and many days of sunshine per year.
The changing seasons create an ever-changing panorama of sights and colors. The irrigated lands produce a cornucopia of fruits, vegetables and other agricultural products including apples, mint, hops, hay, and cattle.
Enjoy Life in Ellensburg
Ellensburg, population 12,000, is located in the heart of the beautiful Kittitas Valley which is framed by rugged mountains, rolling hills, wide open spaces and a river. The Ellensburg Rodeo, the Farmers’ Market, Jazz in the Valley, Winter Hop BrewFest, Whiskey Dick Triathlon, and Ellensburg Film Festival offer year round community activity. Warm sunny summer days, sweet powder on the mountains and endless forested trails make the Kittitas Valley an outdoor enthusiast’s dream. Every kind of sportsman will find activity here.
