On Saturday, May 20, 2023, Pacific Northwest University of Health Sciences (PNWU) hosted the Twelfth Annual PNWU Commencement Ceremony live from Yakima’s historic Capitol Theatre. The celebration honored PNWU’s Class of 2023, which included 123 Doctors of Osteopathic Medicine and 33 Master of Arts in Medical Sciences (MAMS) graduates.
“We celebrate the incredible achievements of the PNWU graduates who will become healers and bright lights for the communities they serve,” said PNWU President Michael Lawler, PhD.
“We also honor their families who supported them and the faculty and staff who guided them to this moment.”
By the end of the ceremony, 1,376 health sciences students – including 1,303 physicians – graduated from the grassroots non-profit university, which was recently ranked a top-ten medical school in the United States in three major mission-related categories.
“The U.S. News & World Report ranking means the University is doing what it said it was going to do from its inception, and in a sustainable way,” explained Thomas Scandalis, DO, dean of PNWU’s College of Osteopathic Medicine. “This graduating class will only further our impact on medically underserved and rural areas in Washington and the Northwest.”
Since PNWU’s founding in 2008, 45.5% of PNWU-COM graduates have reported practice in a primary care specialty (second in the U.S.), 44.6% in medically underserved areas (third in the U.S.), and 17.9% in a rural area (sixth in the U.S.). Those national rankings reflect the visions of the University’s newest graduates, who were similarly educated and trained under PNWU’s mission, which emphasizes service among rural and medically underserved communities throughout the Northwest.
“The graduation of 33 MAMS students validates the vision of PNWU’s founders, who dreamed of a university with multiple graduate health care degree programs,” added Mark Taylor, PhD, director of the MAMS program. PNWU’s nationally-ranked College of Osteopathic Medicine is joined in mission commitment by Dr. Taylor’s program, as well as a School of Physical Therapy, a School of Occupational Therapy, and a developing School of Dental Medicine.
PNWU graduates, he noted, often go on to provide care at PNWU partner organizations such as MultiCare, Yakima Valley Farm Workers Clinic, Community Health of Central Washington, Yakima Neighborhood Health Services, and Sea Mar – Community Health Centers.
“The graduates are the reason we are here,” said President Lawler. “They bring the lessons learned from our esteemed faculty and staff to communities that need their care. The 2023 graduates will make the world a better place.”