Incoming Residents & Fellows
It is our great pleasure to welcome you to the University of Washington GME community! We are excited that you will be joining us for the next step in your training and are committed to providing you with a high-quality learning and working environment.
GME Orientation
GME will hold a live, virtual orientation on June 20, 2025, 8 am-noon. There will only be one live session for ALL trainees onboarding in 2025. Residents and fellows, new to UW, are required to attend GME orientation. For those who cannot attend, a recording of the event will be posted to this webpage following the event. More details about orientation will be posted to this page in the coming months. If an accommodation is needed for this event, please contact uwgme@uw.edu.
Appointment Start Dates
All incoming residents and fellows should contact their training program to confirm their official start date. You will receive your contract signature page in your MedHub onboarding package which will include your appointment dates.
Table of Contents
Onboarding and Appointment Requirements
Incoming residents and fellows will receive an email from MedHub – the UW GME residency management system – starting in late March with a link to our online application portal for completing onboarding requirements with the UW GME Office. Additional onboarding documents may be required by your program.
Responses to frequent questions and topics that have been submitted to the GME Office regarding the onboarding process this year have been added to an Onboarding and Orientation FAQs page for incoming residents and fellows. This page will continue to be updated as questions are received.
Workday: UW HR/Payroll System
Workday is the human resource and payroll system for the University of Washington. You will receive an onboarding email from Workday outlining the steps you will need to take in order to establish your working relationship with the university. This includes setting up your UW NetID and email, completing your I-9 Employment Eligibility Verification, filling out your W-4, and setting up direct deposit. Please keep an eye out for your welcome email and complete the required steps as soon as possible.
- UW IT Service Center: You will receive an email from UW IT with instructions for setting up your UW NetID, your account for accessing your UW information and various online services (including UW email, Workday, MedHub). This email will also include your UW Employee ID (EID) number. Please setup your NetID as soon as you have received your email from UW-IT!
- Contact UW ITS with questions.
- Workday (UW HR/Payroll system): Includes instructions for enrolling in Duo two-factor authentication (2FA) (required for accessing Workday), completing your I-9 Employment Eligibility Verification, filling out your W-4, and setting up direct deposit. It is critical that you complete all Onboarding tasks in your Workday inbox as soon as possible as this information is used by many systems that affect your employment and benefits.
- Contact UW ISC with questions.
If you are a returning UW employee or current UW medical student with employee status, you will have slightly different steps to complete in Workday as part of your onboarding process.
UW Medicine EHR Training
Residents and fellows rotating at a UW Medicine training site will be required to complete UW Medicine electronic health record (EHR) training before their appointment start date. Depending on specialty, residents and fellows will complete training on the Epic EHR in an online, instructor-led, or hybrid format.
- Online Training: Available starting in June, registration details will be sent end of May.
- Instructor-Led Training: If you are required to attend instructor-led training for your specialty, you will receive training dates from your program administrator in May.
Residents and fellows based at Seattle Children’s Hospital should contact their Program Administrators for EHR training schedule.
eLearning
Incoming residents and fellows will be required to complete online training via the UW Medicine Learning Hub. These will be deployed at the beginning of June.
Benefits
The UW Human Resources website provides a Summary of Benefits for Residents and Fellows.
You will have 31 days following your eligibility date to enroll in the health coverage and other insurance plans available to you. Your eligibility begins on the first day of the month following your date of appointment, or on the first day of appointment for those of you starting on the first business day of the month.
• Benefits Information: Modules will be posted on our webpage during UW Medicine Orientation.
• Address Reporting: To ensure you are offered accurate benefit plan options, you must update your home address and other personal information in Workday prior to your Hire/appointment start date.
• Benefits Eligibility Notice Letter: You will receive your benefits eligibility notice via email to your UW email address in Workday after your Hire date.
• Benefits Enrollment: Benefits enrollment will be managed through Workday.
GME Wellness Support
As you begin your internship, we understand balancing professional responsibilities and personal well-being is essential for your fulfillment. At UW GME, we prioritize wellness and offer a range of wellness services and resources.
Our Wellness Team can provide you with tools and support your emotional well-being throughout your medical training. Our counselors offer free, confidential support to you and your partner/spouse. We can lend an ear, offer strategies and resources to you as you navigate stressors including burnout, personal challenges, stress, test anxiety, imposter syndrome etc.
You can get more information about our Wellness Service here.
To schedule a wellness check-in, click here. We look forward to supporting you in your journey.
Disability Accommodations
The University’s disability accommodation process is designed to explore reasonable accommodations for employees with medical conditions or disabilities. The process is intended to be interactive and collaborative, relying on open communication and active participation between the employee and the University. The primary goal of this process is to help the employee to perform all of the essential functions of their current position, with or without accommodation.
If you are concerned that a medical condition may affect your ability to perform your job, you may want to begin the accommodation request process by discussing your needs with your Program Director and/or the GME Office. We want to emphasize that you are not required to disclose the medical need for an accommodation. Please contact the GME HR Manager, Bre Smith, smitbre@uw.edu, with questions.
RFPU-NW Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA)
Residents and fellows joining accredited UW training programs will be represented by the Resident and Fellow Physician Union – Northwest (RFPU-NW). The RFPU-NW Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) informs your salary, benefits, and working conditions. You can find the current CBA and additional information on the UW Labor Relations website.
Housing
Some of you with plans to visit the Seattle area to find housing may have had your plans disrupted or delayed. In the meantime, you may find the following resources helpful:
External Resources
Anything else?
Our programs are eagerly preparing for your arrival. In the meantime, the GME Office would welcome the opportunity to answer any questions you might have about your transition to residency or fellowship in Seattle. We do hope you will acquaint yourself with our resources on the GME website. Please reach out to uwgme@uw.edu with any questions you may have.
Congratulations on your accomplishments, and we look forward to welcoming you in-person to our community!