Training the next generation of primary care doctors in Spokane

For many people, primary care is often the first stop when a health need arises. We turn to primary care for screenings, annual checkups, chronic disease management, health advice and referrals to specialists.

Yet accessing primary care has become increasingly difficult in Washington and across the nation. This challenge is felt acutely in Spokane County, which is designated as a health professional shortage area (HPSA) for primary care. HPSA is a federal designation that identifies areas of greatest need for particular health care services.

To help address this shortage and expand access to physician training, MultiCare is launching an internal medicine residency program in Spokane.

“The leaders of this program are all practicing primary care physicians,” says Matthew Hollon, MD, a board-certified internal medicine specialist who also serves as the program’s director. “We’re passionate about creating a culture that will attract residents interested in practicing outpatient internal medicine locally.”

Expanding the physician pipeline through residency training

Residency is a critical step in every physician’s journey after medical school. Aside from being a requirement for medical licensure, residencies allow aspiring doctors to gain hands-on experience providing patient care under the supervision of an attending physician.

While medical school enrollments in recent years have increased — growing by 33 percent between 2002-2019 and hitting a record high in 2025 — the number of residency training programs has not kept pace.

“A lack of residency training slots creates a bottleneck in the physician pipeline,” Dr. Hollon says. “This contributes to ongoing critical shortages in adult primary care and other specialties.”

In Washington as of 2023, there were only 12 primary care medical residents per 100,000 people, lower than the national average of 17 per 100,000 people, according to analysis by the Milbank Memorial Fund.

The lack of residency training opportunities, particularly in internal medicine, is not distributed evenly across the state. While there are several internal medicine residency programs in Western Washington, there is only one in the Spokane area. Once launched, the MultiCare Spokane Internal Medicine Residency program will be the region’s second.

Through this three-year program, residents will develop expertise in providing primary care to a wide range of adults. Internal medicine training also includes an emphasis on managing complex chronic conditions and caring for those who are acutely ill and may require hospitalization.

A distinguishing feature of the program is its focus on physician leadership development.

“Beyond the practice of internal medicine, we want to prepare residents to take on leadership roles in their community, their workplace or in professional organizations,” Dr. Hollon says. “Physician leaders have an important part to play in shaping the culture of medicine and improving care delivery.”

A major milestone on the path to launch

While the first class of residents won’t begin until June 2027, the program reached an important milestone in 2025: MultiCare secured $500,000 in state capital funding to support the renovation of the residency teaching clinic.

Once fully renovated, the space will include 22 exam rooms, a dedicated procedure room, and a modern, patient-centered design to support both care delivery and medical education. A skybridge also connects the clinic to MultiCare Deaconess Hospital, making it easy for residents move between clinical and hospital settings.

In the short term, the program is expected to increase access to primary care through the residency teaching clinic — each resident will see a full panel of patients — and over time as program graduates set up practices in the region.

In addition to expanding access to care in the greater Spokane area, this program also paves the way for the development of additional physician training opportunities at MultiCare.

“To train physicians in subspecialties such as cardiology, oncology or pulmonology, organizations must first have an internal medicine residency program,” says Jennifer Knowles, MD, chief academic officer at MultiCare. “That’s why this program is such an important stepping stone as we grow graduate medical education across our organization.”

MultiCare will begin recruiting residents for the program in September 2026. Once launched, the MultiCare Spokane Internal Medicine Residency will be MultiCare’s fourth residency program. Others include:

• Tacoma Family Medicine
• East Pierce Family Medicine
• Omak Rural Training Program in Family Medicine (residents train at Tacoma Family Medicine and a clinic in Omak, Washington)