Madeline Suppiger graduates medical school

Sandpoint native, Madeline Suppiger, graduated from University of Washington School of Medicine on May 22, 2021, and is beginning her career as a physician.

She began medical school in the fall of 2017 as part of the WWAMI (Washington, Wyoming, Alaska, Montana, Idaho) program. As an Idaho medical student at the University of Washington School of Medicine, Maddie spent her first two years at the University of Idaho in Moscow. She was one of 40 Idaho WWAMI students in her class. Her third year was spent doing clinical rotations in Idaho, Alaska, Wyoming, and Washington. The fourth year was spent doing specialized rotations, primarily in Seattle. University of Washington School of Medicine is a premiere medical school serving the five-state, WWAMI, region. It is currently ranked as the number one medical school in the country for preparing doctors in primary (patient) care.

Madeline has decided to practice medicine as an obstetrician/gynecologist and was accepted into a four-year residency program in St. Louis. She will work and study at St. Mary’s Hospital, part of St. Louis University hospital and medical school system. St Mary’s is primarily a woman’s hospital and was recently recognized by a national panel of experts as one of the “Best Maternity Hospitals 2020 in America”. This elite group of hospitals was selected for demonstrating excellence in maternity care including high risk maternal – fetal medicine. The evaluation included low rates of c-section deliveries or early elective deliveries.

Maddie began her residency training in June 2021. She is very busy working 14 hours per day caring for women and often delivering multiple babies per shift.

Madeline is the daughter of Sally and Gary Suppiger of Cocolalla. She was born in Bonner County and attended schools in Lake Pend Oreille School District from K-12. As a 2013 graduate of SHS she chose healthcare as a career while participating in the school’s Heath Occupations program. She also was active in academic competitions and athletics. As a high school athlete, she participated in track, soccer, and volleyball, advancing to state competition eight times. Her varsity soccer teams won the state championship in 2009 and were runners up twice.

As an undergraduate, Suppiger attended Washington University in St. Louis on a full scholarship. At Washington University she majored in Global Heath and Biology and had the opportunity to study overseas in Madagascar and South Africa. Maddie participated in medical research projects at Washington University Medical School and spent a summer studying at Harvard in Boston, Mass.

Madeline received many academic and professional awards during her academic career. She was valedictorian of her high school class at SHS in 2013, graduated with Honors at Washington University in St Louis, and received Honors and High Honors distinctions on her medical school work at University of Washington School of Medicine.

After four years of residency Suppiger hopes to return to her Idaho roots and practice medicine in obstetrics and gynecology, helping women, and their unborn children.