USMLE & COMLEX Tutor in Washington

Washington has three medical schools, in Seattle, Spokane and Yakima (school list). The newest is Washington State University's Elson S. Floyd College of Medicine in Spokane, founded in 2015 and LCME-accredited since 2016 (school list, LCME). It is also the more local of the two MD schools: 100% of its entering class came from Washington in 2025-26, against 51.4% at the University of Washington (AAMC FACTS).

The Spokane college is smaller, with 80 first-year places against 280 in Seattle (AAMC FACTS). The University of Washington's class is also a five-state class: the same curriculum runs at every WWAMI site, so a Washington student in Seattle and a classmate who started in Laramie or Anchorage sit identical exams (University of Wyoming WWAMI curriculum). Seattle holds seven of Washington's 28 teaching hospitals on the CMS list, and Spokane three (CMS list).

Medical schools in Washington

Several of these schools teach students at more than one site: Washington State University Elson S. Floyd College of Medicine also lists Everett, Washington, Richland, Washington, Vancouver, Washington.

School list: LCME and COCA accreditation lists, via the list of medical schools in the United States, checked October 2026.

Teaching hospitals in Washington by city

• Seattle: UW Medicine/Northwest Hospital; Virginia Mason Medical Center; University of Washington Med Ctr; Swedish Medical Center Cherry Hill; Swedish Medical Center; Harborview Medical Center; Seattle Children's Hospital
• Spokane: Deaconess Medical Center; Prov Sacred Heart Medical Center; Valley Hospital & Medical Center
• Yakima: Yakima Regional Medical & Cardiac Center; Yakima Valley Memorial Hospital
• Vancouver: PeaceHealth Southwest Medical Center; Legacy Salmon Creek Hospital
• Tacoma: St. Joseph Medical Center; Tacoma General Allenmore Hospital
• Mount Vernon: Public Hospital Dist No 1 Skagit
• Everett: Prov Regl Med Center Everett
• Centralia: Providence Centralia Hospital
• Olympia: Providence St. Peter Hospital
• Bremerton: Harrison Medical Center
• Kennewick: Trios Health
• Richland: Kadlec Regional Medical Center
• Port Angeles: Olympic Medical Center
• Puyallup: Good Samaritan Hospital
• Renton: Valley Medical Center
• Federal Way: St. Francis Hospital
• Issaquah: Swedish Issaquah

Facts about Washington

Accreditation: LCME directory; applications, places and in-state share: AAMC FACTS, Table A-1.

ABIM internal medicine certification exam by residency program: ABIM residency program pass rates.

• Of the 250 University of Washington School of Medicine graduates who applied to residency in 2025, 243 matched; 42% matched into primary care specialties and 38% will stay in the WWAMI region. (UW Medicine Alumni Association)
• The University of Washington School of Medicine sponsors 128 ACGME-accredited residency and fellowship programs with over 1,550 residents and fellows a year; internal medicine is the largest, with 171 filled positions in 2024-25. (UW Medicine Alumni Association)
• WSU's Elson S. Floyd College of Medicine teaches Years 1 and 2 in Spokane, then moves students to one of four clinical regions, Everett, Spokane, Tri-Cities or Vancouver, for a year-long Longitudinal Integrated Clerkship. (WSU Elson S. Floyd College of Medicine)
• WSU students get dedicated study time for USMLE Step 1 near the end of the second year; the fourth year adds a four-week sub-internship, a four-week emergency medicine rotation, a four-week underserved rotation and 24 weeks of electives. (WSU Elson S. Floyd College of Medicine)
• Pacific Northwest University's College of Osteopathic Medicine in Yakima had 2,264 supplemental applicants for the class entering in fall 2026, which has 144 students; 56.3% of them came from Washington, and the class averaged 500 on the MCAT. (Pacific Northwest University)
• PNWU-COM reports a residency placement rate of 99.3% for 2026, counting eligible fourth-year students who sought a residency. (Pacific Northwest University)
• The University of Washington School of Medicine teaches the same curriculum at every WWAMI site: an 18-month Foundations Phase followed by USMLE Step 1, a 12-month Patient Care Phase of six core clerkships and a 15-month Explore and Focus Phase. (University of Wyoming)
• In the 2025 Main Residency Match, programs in Washington offered 576 residency positions in 25 specialties, the most in family medicine (156), internal medicine (131), and pediatrics (47). (NRMP)

Sources: LCME, directory of accredited U.S. programs (checked October 29, 2026); AAMC FACTS, Table A-1, 2025-2026 (checked October 29, 2026); UW Medicine Alumni Association, New school year, fresh updates (2025) (checked October 29, 2026); WSU Elson S. Floyd College of Medicine, Curriculum by Program Year (checked November 1, 2026); Pacific Northwest University, Fast Facts: College of Osteopathic Medicine (checked November 1, 2026); University of Wyoming, WWAMI curriculum (checked November 1, 2026); NRMP, 2025 Main Residency Match by state and specialty (checked October 29, 2026); ABIM, residency program pass rates 2023-2025 (checked October 29, 2026).

Two MD schools, two different third years

The University of Washington runs the WWAMI curriculum: an 18-month Foundations Phase, then USMLE Step 1, then a 12-month Patient Care Phase of six core clerkships spread across sites in the five WWAMI states (University of Wyoming WWAMI curriculum). Each of those clerkships is a block, so a UW student meets one subject at a time and one shelf exam at a time.

WSU's Elson S. Floyd College of Medicine is built the other way round. Students spend Years 1 and 2 in Spokane, take their Step 1 study time near the end of the second year, and then move to Everett, Spokane, Tri-Cities or Vancouver for a Longitudinal Integrated Clerkship that carries six clinical domains side by side for the whole third year (WSU curriculum).

That difference shapes how we tutor. For a UW student we plan each shelf against the block in front of them and keep the Step 1 basic science alive with a small weekly question set. For a WSU student in an integrated clerkship, the patients rotate through every discipline in the same week, so we keep a running review across all six domains instead of cramming one subject before a block ends, and we time Step 2 CK work so it builds on that year rather than waiting for the fourth.

Where Washington residents train after the MD

Washington's 2025 Match is unusual in one way: family medicine, not internal medicine, offered the most positions, 156 of the state's 576, against 131 in internal medicine and 47 in pediatrics (NRMP). The University of Washington's own graduates leaned the same way: 243 of the 250 who applied to residency in 2025 matched, 42% of them into primary care, and 38% are staying in the WWAMI region (UW Medicine Alumni Association).

The University of Washington is also the state's largest residency sponsor, with 128 ACGME-accredited residency and fellowship programs and more than 1,550 residents and fellows a year; its internal medicine program alone filled 171 positions in 2024-25 (UW Medicine Alumni Association). Those residents are the people who later sit Step 3 and the ABIM exam, both of which we tutor.

Yakima's DO college

Pacific Northwest University's College of Osteopathic Medicine is Washington's only DO school. Its class entering in fall 2026 has 144 students, chosen from 2,264 supplemental applicants; 56.3% of them are from Washington, and the class averaged 500 on the MCAT (PNWU Fast Facts). The college reports a 99.3% residency placement rate for 2026 among eligible fourth-year students who sought a residency (PNWU Fast Facts).

PNWU students work through COMLEX Level 1 and Level 2-CE before graduation, and many add the USMLE for residency programs that compare DO and MD applicants on one scale. We build those two-exam plans so the COMLEX date drives the calendar and the USMLE fits around it, not the other way round.

Which board exams Washington students take

The University of Washington School of Medicine in Seattle and Washington State University's Elson S. Floyd College of Medicine in Spokane grant the MD, so their students take the USMLE. That means Step 1, pass/fail since January 26, 2022, Step 2 CK and Step 3 (USMLE). Pacific Northwest University of Health Sciences College of Osteopathic Medicine in Yakima grants the DO, so its students follow COMLEX-USA: Level 1, Level 2-CE and Level 3 (NBOME).

Internal medicine graduates sit the ABIM exam after residency. In 2023-2025, 85% of 157 first-time takers from the University of Washington program passed, as did 93% of 30 from Virginia Mason Franciscan Health in Seattle (ABIM). In Tacoma, 84% of 32 from Madigan Army Medical Center passed, and in Spokane 85% of 26 from the Spokane Teaching Health Center (ABIM).

Washington licensing rules that affect your exam plan

Washington lists separate rules for its medical and osteopathic boards, so your degree decides which set applies. The medical board allows 3 attempts at USMLE Step 3 and gives “7 years+ to complete USMLE”, and it asks 2 years of training before a first license (FSMB). The osteopathic board allows 3 attempts on COMLEX, sets no time limit on COMLEX and asks 1 year (FSMB).

Washington Medical board

Washington Osteopathic board

Source: FSMB state licensure requirements, checked October 2026; confirm with the board before relying on them.

What Washington's rules mean for how you study

• Washington's medical board caps only Step 3, at 3 attempts. For Steps 1 and 2 CK the FSMB entry lists no cap, so the USMLE program's limit of 4 per Step applies (FSMB, USMLE eligibility rules).
• The medical board gives “7 years+ to complete USMLE”, and the FSMB entry does not say when that clock starts, so ask the board before a research year or leave of absence (FSMB).
• DO graduates follow the osteopathic board: 3 attempts on COMLEX and no time limit on COMLEX. That leaves Level 2-CE and Level 3 free of a Washington clock, though each sitting still counts toward the 3 (FSMB).
• The two boards ask for different training before a first license: 2 years for the medical board, 1 year for the osteopathic board. Build your residency timeline around the board that will license you (FSMB).

Many Washington students rotate, interview or match next door. Washington's neighbors on our list: Idaho (0 MD, 1 DO), Oregon (1 MD, 0 DO).

How much Washington searches for board prep

Washington's best result is “COMLEX” at 31st of 51 (the 50 states plus DC), ahead of all three USMLE terms: “USMLE” 34th, “USMLE Step 1” 37th and “USMLE Step 2” 40th (Google Trends, United States, October 2021 to October 2026). That stands out in a state with two MD schools and one DO college. “Shelf exam” is the weakest, at 42nd.

Source: Google Trends, United States, past 5 years, retrieved October 2026; ranks show relative interest, not student numbers.