FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

UW Medicine is an integrated health system that is made up of seven entities including:

1. Airlift Northwest
2. Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center – clinical enterprise
3. Harborview Medical Center
4. UW Medical Center – Montlake Campus and Northwest Campus
5. UW Medicine Primary Care
6. UW Physicians
7. UW School of Medicine
8. Valley Medical Center

All faculty are a part of the UW Medicine community since they have appointments within the School of Medicine (one of the entities of UW Medicine).  This includes faculty who work at affiliated institutions such as VA Puget Sound and Seattle Children’s Hospital.

UW Physicians (UWP) and Children’s University Medical Group (CUMG) are partner practice groups.  UWP is the practice group for more than 2,000 providers who care for patients across the UW Medicine clinical entities . CUMG is the non-profit pediatric group practice group for faculty who practice at Seattle Children’s.

Visit the following links for more details on UW Medicine, UWP, CUMG, and the School of Medicine.

WWAMI is the UW School of Medicine’s one-of-a-kind, multi-state medical education program. The acronym, WWAMI, stands for the states served by the UW School of Medicine: Washington, Wyoming, Alaska, Montana and Idaho. UW medical students have access to a variety of settings for clinical training: from a busy Level I trauma center in Seattle, WA, to a small primary care clinic in Libby, MT, to working with Alaska Natives in Anchorage, AK. Community-based clinical faculty volunteer their time to educate our medical students.  We also have residency programs across WWAMI and engage in collaborate research across the region.

Find out more about WWAMI here.

The University of Washington has well-defined academic tracks, ranks, and titles. The appointment process and definition of academic ranks and titles can be found in the Faculty Code, Chapter 24 Appointment and Promotion of Faculty Members, Section 24- 34 Qualifications for Appointment at Specific Ranks and Titles. Both basic science and clinical departments recruit individuals through a national search as regular or research faculty. Research faculty do not have clinical responsibilities and, unlike regular faculty, may or may not have formal teaching responsibilities.

More details can be found in the faculty appointments and promotions guide here.

For information on WWAMI faculty appointments, click here.

ID cards

1. Husky Card: A Husky Card is the official identification card for members of the UW community. To qualify for a UW ID card (Husky Card), you must either have a faculty appointment or a permanent staff position with at least 50 percent full-time equivalency and have completed UW employee orientation. UWMC and HMC medical staff may obtain their Husky Cards at the same location as medical center ID badges as noted below.
2. Medical Center Photo ID
   1. UWMC Photo ID
      • UW Public Safety Office – BB-120, (206) 598-4909, request submitted by authorized staff
      • Prox cards for after-hours access
   2. HMC Photo ID
      • HMC Photo ID/ Parking Office – 1 CT 153, (206) 744-3386, request submitted by authorized staff

User IDs

1. UW NetID: In order to access course materials, library services, and other network programs, you will need a University of Washington personal network identification code.
   • Learn about the UW NetID here
2. UW Medicine Account: A UW Medicine account allows access to a variety of EMR systems and the Learning Management system (LMS): EPIC, Mindscape, etc.  Full activation (with access to EMR systems) will not occur until after all appointment processes have been finalized.  Please be aware that it may take up to 3 days to activate an account.  Appropriate instructions to establish user names, passwords and access codes will be provided via email by User Access Administration (UAA). Requests for access should be directed to the hiring unit’s administrator or designee. Information needed to set up a UW Medicine account includes full name, anticipated title, date of birth, place of birth, EID or SSN and email address (UW if available). For assistance with UW Medicine accounts or inbox setup, contact User Access Administration/ IT Services Help Desk at (206) 543-7012 or mcsos@uw.edu or https://services.uwmedicine.org

The UW Benefits office has resources across the board including insurance, childcare, retirement, self-care, and more.

For information on UW/UW Physicians or VA benefits, click here.

If you have questions about CUMG benefits, contact the appropriate representative from this page.

Find a PCP on the UW Medicine “find a provider” page. Please check with your insurance company to verify if a provider is covered under your plan.

For those looking to purchase a home

• Hometown Home Loan Program
• Washington State Housing Finance Commission makes home ownership possible for those with an annual household income of up to $145,000. Their programs include specialized home loans, down payment assistance, energy incentives, and home buyer education.

For those hoping to live near work

• The Affordable Rental Housing webpage shares housing opportunities that offer UW employees affordable housing opportunities.

A wide variety of parking facilities are available. Please note that your parking costs are not covered by UW Medicine; they are strictly self-pay and costs vary by location. You have the option of having parking charges deducted via automatic payroll deduction. Parking privileges are not fully reciprocal between sites, so it is important to inform parking office staff if you will be parking at more than one location on a regular basis. You may find that a pay-per-use option or use of the shuttle between campuses will be more beneficial than a full-time pass.

• Information from the Department of Medicine on multiple sites, including shuttles
• UW Medical Center, Montlake Campus
• Harborview: Parking and Commuter Services, 8CT70, hmcpark@uw.edu, 206-744-3254
• SLU (South Lake Union): Through the UW Transportation Office
• UW Medical Center, Northwest Campus patient/ visitor parking
• Seattle Children’s Hospital
• Valley Medical Center
• Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center
  • SLU
  • UW Medical Center, Montlake Campus
  • UW Medical Center, Northwest Campus
  • Proton Therapy Center
  • EvergreenHealth
  • Seattle Children’s
  • Peninsula

The Health Sciences Express shuttle goes between UW Medical Center Montlake, Roosevelt, the UW Tower, and Harborview Medical Center.

The UW/ Fred Hutch/ South Lake Union shuttle

Seattle Children’s shuttle system

The mission of the Health Sciences Library (HSL) at University of Washington (UW) is to advance scholarship, research, education and healthcare by anticipating information needs, by providing essential resources and services, and by facilitating learning for the greater health sciences community. The HSL has links to clinical systems, toolkits, databases, and more.

Through the UW library you can subscribe for free to various newspapers. Visit this page and click the links to follow instructions for any publications you’d like to read.

The Li Lu Library in the Health Sciences Education Building (HSEB) offers several lounges and spaces for studying or meeting, as well as larger rooms for conferences and events. Contact lilulibrary@uw.edu or visit https://hsl.uw.edu/lilulibrary/ for more information.

UpToDate is a clinical decision support resource that allows clinicians to make informed decisions on care using contemporary, evidence-based recommendations.

UW IT offers information on several options based on the needs of your group. We recommend OneDrive but you can view all options at their website here.

IT Connect is UW’s information technology hub. You will find resources here ranging from email and phone support to password and software access assistance.

Jake Kulstad, PhD, Manager of Instructional Technology and Support with UW-IT Learning Technologies, has a webpage with helpful information and resources for UW employees. This site provides links to Canvas, Catalyst, Google sites, and other resources.

For all other questions, contact your department IT, if applicable.

The Learning Management System (LMS) houses all compliance trainings and modules.

What resources are there to help me set up my lab? How do I find potential collaborators?

• Check with your department chair or administrator to find space and resources
• ITHS (Institute of Translational Health Sciences) also has a tool to find collaborators throughout WWAMI. ITHS is is dedicated to speeding science to clinic practice for the benefit of patients and communities throughout Washington, Wyoming, Alaska, Montana, Idaho, (WWAMI) and beyond. ITHS promotes this translation of scientific discovery to practice by fostering innovative research, cultivating multi-disciplinary research partnerships, and ensuring a pipeline of next generation researchers through robust educational and career development programs.

How can I recruit undergraduates for my lab?

• Contact advisors for undergraduate majors in biology, biochemistry, or whichever major you wish to recruit from. They can send out emails to their advisees.

Where can I learn about grant writing and other research resources?

• ITHS has several tools, lectures, and workshops for investigators
• See our Research Skills page for more resources

What is my liability coverage?

• The University of Washington’s self-insurance program provides protection from professional liability claims arising from the negligent acts or omissions of the University of Washington and its employees, students, and agents acting in the course and scope of their University duties.
• You can find out more details by contacting someone in the Clinical Risk Management office (AMC login required).

Who do I talk to about my pager?

• Click here if you work at UW Medical Center or Harborview Medical Center

Where do I access the clinical toolkit?

• Access the clinical toolkit here