The University of Wyoming's WWAMI Medical Education Program has capitalized on UW's partnership with Cardiff University in Wales to build an exchange program that already has enriched the education of four Wyoming medical students.

UW and Cardiff began their strategic partnership in 2023 to bolster collaborative research projects, education programs and meaningful interdisciplinary work. Spearheaded through a joint effort by the Office of the President and the Global Engagement Office, the partnership aims to create and expand opportunities for faculty and student exchange.

Dr. Robert Monger, associate clinical dean of Wyoming WWAMI, developed an exchange with Drs. Katie Webb and Bethan Stephens, of Cardiff's School of Medicine, with a vision of figuring out the best way to structure longitudinal integrated clerkships. These are an alternative model of medical clerkship, in which medical students stay six months in one location, as opposed to moving more quickly between facilities.

It's a model that has proven effective in Wyoming, giving WWAMI students the ability to develop strong relationships at their locations, as well as unique opportunities for hands-on learning.

Monger, Webb and Stephens brought the exchange to life this summer, with financial support from UW and Cardiff collaborative seed fund. Faculty and students from UW and Cardiff took part in reciprocal exchanges in June and July.

"It was important from the get-go to have students involved," Monger says.

The students selected from Wyoming WWAMI included Chantelle Barr, of Worland; Franklin Powell, of Jackson; Matthew Rasmussen, of Burlington; and Bradford Burns, of Story. Iphieroho Oneyibo, Morgan Nash, Jasmin Blight and Niamh Thomas were selected from Cardiff.

Wyoming to Wales

The first leg of the exchange occurred at Cardiff in mid-June. The students all stayed in the same house, which allowed them to build relationships beyond academic interests. The exchange group toured several rural clinics and hospitals, learning about the benefits and intricacies of the United Kingdom's National Health Service (NHS) system, the centralization of medical technology in Welsh hospitals and cultural factors considered by providers.

"Not only do I understand the NHS more completely than I did before, but I also feel like I understand the U.S. health care system better," Rasmussen says.

Of note was the focus on language preference, as many patients preferred to speak Welsh. Hospitals provided lanyards to indicate Welsh-speaking patients, and all the signs were in Welsh and English. Students and faculty also had the opportunity to speak to a patient about his satisfaction with being able to communicate with his doctors in Welsh.

An additional highlight for the Wyoming WWAMI participants was a visit to a transfer site created for refugees from Afghanistan.

"Although only a few hours long, this visit was an incredible experience," Burns says. "Observing medicine done with the aid of an interpreter was a novel experience for me. I will never forget how thankful and humble the patients were with the physicians -- and how welcoming and interested they were in us as students."

"This opportunity opened my eyes and allowed me to see some of the very real and devastating challenges that we face as a global community today," Rasmussen says. "It also reminded me of why I wanted to go into medicine in the first place -- to help individuals who are in need."

Wales to Wyoming

In July, the Cardiff group visited Wyoming. In contrast to the June visit, which stayed relatively central to Cardiff, the exchange group hopped in a van to visit longitudinal integrated clerkships across Wyoming. They visited clinics in Powell, Thermopolis and Fremont County, including a stop on the Wind River Indian Reservation.

Cardiff students appreciated seeing the access to medical technology -- such as MRI machines and CT scans -- available at each clinic and hospital, as well as the hands-on roles WWAMI students were expected to take. At Wind River Family and Community Health Care, the group also discussed the cultural aspects of delivering health care to Native people.

Participants also took part in cultural activities at their respective sites, including a cricket match and a night of darts in Wales. The Cardiff group completed its trip with a final stop in Laramie, well-timed to coincide with Laramie Jubilee Days. The group met with UW President Ed Seidel and attended the Jubilee Days rodeo.

One goal for the exchange included comparing cultural differences and learning different perspectives not just on rural health, but on the idea of rurality.

"Rural in Wales is a 30-minute drive from downtown Cardiff," Monger says. In contrast, when participants from Cardiff visited UW, they commented on the impression made on them by traveling such great distances by vehicle. Experiencing this firsthand allowed them to see how far some Wyomingites must travel to access health care.

The students and faculty plan to continue their working relationships.

"This collaboration is allowing sets of students the opportunity to experience rural health care delivery in other countries," says Michelle Hilaire, interim dean of UW's College of Health Sciences. "It can spark ideas and relationships that can foster driving innovation and excellence in future health care delivery. What a wonderful experience for all."

Reflecting on her experience in the exchange, Barr adds: "This has changed the way I see health care and caring for people from different cultures, and it will definitely make me a better provider."

About the Wyoming WWAMI Medical Education Program

The WWAMI Medical Education Program -- Wyoming's medical school -- is a partnership between the University of Wyoming and the University of Washington School of Medicine. WWAMI is an acronym for the five states that participate in the program: Washington, Wyoming, Alaska, Montana and Idaho.

WWAMI reserves 20 seats each year for qualified Wyoming residents. Students accepted to the program spend 18 months on the University of Wyoming campus. The third and fourth years are spent at selected clinical sites throughout the WWAMI region. To learn more about Wyoming-WWAMI, go here.

About the UW-Cardiff Collaboration

The University of Wyoming Global Engagement Office invites faculty members from UW and Cardiff University to submit proposals for funding from a Strategic Partnership Collaborative Seed Fund to develop collaborative teaching, professional services projects or research projects that have clear outcomes and clear pathways to build and sustain the collaborations. The next call for proposals opens Monday, Sept. 9. For more information, email the Global Engagement Office at [email protected].

About the University of Wyoming College of Health Sciences

UW's College of Health Sciences trains health and wellness professionals and researchers in a wide variety of disciplines, including medicine, nursing, pharmacy, speech-language pathology, social work, kinesiology, public health, health administration and disability studies. The college also oversees residency and fellowship programs in Casper and Cheyenne, as well as operating a speech/hearing clinic in Laramie and primary care clinics in Laramie, Casper and Cheyenne.

With more than 1,600 undergraduate, graduate and professional students, the college is dedicated to training the health and wellness workforce of Wyoming and conducting high-quality research and community engagement, with a particular focus on rural and frontier populations.