The idea of pursuing a career in healthcare wasn’t in the realm of Guillermo Verdin’s imagination while in high school. 

Born in Sunnyside, Verdin said he got caught up in a bad environment and fell victim to addiction.  

“You just derail your future,” Verdin said. “I actually had college scholarships to play soccer but I just didn’t stay on the right path. It took me years before I managed to put myself back on the rails.”  

Now enrolled at Yakima Valley College, Verdin is on a pre-medical pathway with hopes of helping other people in the community who face challenges similar to his own. 

“Once I achieved sobriety, I believed that I could use my past experiences with substances to help in the community,” he said. “What better field to go into than to be an addiction psychiatrist or addiction psychologist. That’s where this dream came out of.” 

Verdin and other students who hope to enter healthcare professions in the years to come will find their journeys easier thanks to a series of new articulation agreements between YVC and Pacific Northwest University of Health Sciences that aim to address severe shortages in the Yakima Valley’s medical workforce. 

YVC student Guillermo Verdin sitting at desk with laptopABOVE: YVC student Guillermo Verdin. TOP: YVC alumna Vanessa Soto.

Smoothing the path 

The articulation agreements, signed in late summer, will help YVC students more easily transition into PNWU’s College of Osteopathic Medicine, School of Occupational Therapy, School of Dental Medicine, School of Physical Therapy, and Master of Arts in Medical Sciences (MAMS) program by clearly outlining what classes they need to take at YVC. 

Kerrie Cavaness, interim vice president for instruction at YVC, said the articulation agreements will help the college’s advisors work with students in refining their educational plans.   

“Many students start college knowing that they want to pursue some career in health care, but they’re not sure what all of the options are,” said Cavaness. “With the articulation agreements, we can let students know there’s an option that’s close to home and exactly what steps they need to take.”   

Partnering with PNWU to create those clear pathways is a huge benefit for YVC students. 

“This will help students save time and money on their journey to entering healthcare professions that are in high demand here in Central Washington,” said Cavaness. “YVC has a strong tradition of preparing skilled healthcare professionals, both through our own healthcare degree and certificate programs, as well as future dentists, doctors, pharmacists and other fields. These articulation agreements expand and strengthen that tradition.”

"To stay close to home would mean a lot to me because my support system is here." — Guillermo Verdin, YVC pre-med student 

Dr. Wayne C. Miller, provost and chief academic officer at PNWU, noted that enhancing opportunities for YVC graduates to enter all five of PNWU’s health sciences programs will be especially beneficial for local communities given the school’s mission of addressing the healthcare needs of rural and medically underserved areas.  

“PNWU and YVC have a history of working together to educate healthcare professionals that will serve the communities in the Yakima Valley,” Dr. Miller said. “These new agreements solidify our common goals and strategies to accomplish this mission.”   

The agreements also benefit non-traditional students in the Yakima Valley, like Verdin, who face additional obstacles in pursuing their education and career goals. Since more than two-thirds of YVC students are students of color and approximately 75% are first-generation college students — two populations underrepresented in the current healthcare workforce — the agreements could prove an especially large leverage point in diversifying the region’s medical community and fostering socio-economic mobility. 

“These new agreements remove some of those obstacles, which will ultimately result in a more diverse healthcare workforce in our communities,” said Dr. Miller. 

Serving communities 

A career in healthcare had been on Vanessa Soto’s mind for some time, even though she had doubts early on in her educational journey. After completing her Associate of Arts degree at YVC in 2020, she transferred to Central Washington University to earn her bachelor’s degree.  

YVC alumna Vanessa SotoDuring her junior year at CWU, Soto applied to medical school and had an admission interview, but she hadn’t acquired enough medical experience and her MCAT score was not initially competitive enough for PNWU’s Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine (DO) program. Instead, she was able to enroll into the school’s MAMS program and, after completing it, reapplied and was granted admission into the DO program. Soto is now in her second year as a DO student.   

“What was attractive to me about PNWU was the location as well as their mission serving rural and underserved communities,” said Soto, who grew up in Boise and has been living in Selah for about 10 years. “I just really like the smaller communities and, after I get out of residency, I plan to go to a community like that to practice in. I see it here, there’s just such a shortage of professionals in these positions and it’s really challenging for those communities.” 

She believes the new articulation agreements could give more students from the region an opportunity to follow their dreams into medical careers. 

“I definitely feel like there needs to be more people from the community and PNWU loves students who are from this area to be represented,” Soto said. “There are a lot of underserved individuals in this area and so making PNWU’s programs more accessible by having this agreement with YVC is amazing."  

"Medical programs are selective, so YVC is continually looking for opportunities to support the aspirations of our students both in the classroom and beyond the classroom." — Cristy Rasmussen, YVC STEM Director

Soto also believes YVC is an ideal place for students to start their pathway to entering into a medical career. 

“There were so many faculty and staff who were encouraging and made me believe in myself,” she said. “I enjoyed the smaller classes, which helped me feel more connected, and so many programs that support you and get you engaged with your classmates.”  

STEM Director Cristy Rasmussen says YVC has built a holistic system of supports to help students on a pre-medical path become well-rounded candidates for medical school. Those include: 

  • Tailored advising on coursework, co-curricular activities and other steps individual students can take to increase their competitiveness for medical school admission. 
  • Opportunities to build leadership skills and connect with transfer institutions in a meaningful, efficient manner through participation in STEM Club. 

“Medical programs are selective, so YVC is continually looking for opportunities to support the aspirations of our students both in the classroom and beyond the classroom, from additional grant support to developing new partnerships like these agreements with PNWU,” Rasmussen said. “Our goal is to remove as many barriers and challenges as possible.” 

That support can make a world of difference for students like Verdin, who values the opportunity to pursue his medical school dream close to home. 

“I was part of the problem at one point, but now being able to step back from that I would like to try to make an impact here in the community,” he noted. “To stay close to home would mean a lot to me because my support system is here. Medical school is very competitive, so guarantee of an admissions interview would be a great opportunity.” 

In the end, Verdin sees the entire Yakima Valley as gaining from creating pathways for more YVC students to PNWU.  

“Seeing the partnership of PNWU and YVC, it’s a really good fit. Developing the homegrown talent we have, that’s how I see it.”  

YVC-PNWU Pathways 

The articulation agreements provide YVC with pathways into the following PNWU programs:  

  • Dental Medicine – Each year, up to two seats in the School of Dental Medicine will be designated for students who complete prerequisites at YVC and meet PNWU’s other admission requirements.  
  • MAMS – Each year, up to six seats in the MAMS program will be designated for students who have earned 30 or more college-level credits from YVC and meet PNWU’s other admission requirements.  
  • Occupational Therapy – Each year, up to two seats in the School of Occupational Therapy will be designated for students who have earned 30 or more college-level credits from YVC (including Biology 160, Biology 241, Biology 242, English 204, Philosophy 120 and Psychology 200) and meet PNWU’s other admission requirements.  
  • Osteopathic Medicine – Students who have earned 30 or more college-level credits from YVC and meet PNWU’s other admission requirements will be guaranteed an admission interview with the College of Osteopathic Medicine. 
  • Physical Therapy – Students who have earned 30 or more college-level credits from YVC (including Math 146, Chem 161/162/163 and labs, Physics 114/115/116 and labs, Biol 160, Biol 241/242, Biol 260, and either Psych 100 or Psych 200) and meet PNWU’s other admission requirements will be guaranteed an admission interview with the School of Physical Therapy. 

Story by Dustin Wunderlich, director of community relations. Photos by Wunderlich and Matt Barton, graphic designer/multimedia content producer.