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MU RURAL SCHOLARS PROGRAM

Pre-Admissions Program
Summer Community Program
Rural Track Program

AHECs IN MISSOURI

MAHEC / KCOM AHEC
MIDMO AHEC
MU—AHEC
NWMO AHEC
SWMO AHEC
WCMO AHEC

The Summer Community Program

The Summer Community Program is an exciting experience for MU's first year medical students to receive part of their medical training in a rural medical practice. During this eight-week program students may experience firsthand the benefits and rewards of practicing medicine in a rural area.

Through the Summer Community Program, 20 to 30 students may apply during their first year of medical school to participate in a summer clinical program. Students work in a rural practice with a rural practitioner and are sponsored by a participated rural hospital. The students receive compensation for room and board and other expenses. Some of the students have experienced:

  • The opportunity to work with a rural physician role model.
  • Improve clinical skills in history-taking, physical examination, assessment and medical management.
  • Learn about common acute and chronic clinical problems.
  • Live and work in a rural community.
  • Understand how medical practice in a community setting differs form practice in an academic health center.
  • Familiarize students with the joys and challenges of rural practice.

The program contributes to the overall goal of the MU Rural Scholars Program by providing students the opportunity to live and learn in a rural community and to better understand the community's health through a community project.

Application and Selection Process

In December, students will receive information about the program. Students complete a brief application form on which they are asked to express their reasons for wanting to participate in the program and to select three locations of preference. In addition, students are required to attach a current curricula vitae (see sample) to the application form.

Students must be in good academic standing. Students with an expressed interest in rural practice are given preference, as are those with a likelihood of returning to the sponsoring hospitals' area.

Students are asked to sign a brief statement of commitment regarding participating in the program with the designated hospital and the appropriate preceptor(s).

Student Responsibilities
Consistent with the program goals, the students' responsibilities include an active participation in the medical practice of the preceptor. Students are expected to identify learning issues based on their clinical encounters and to address these learning issues during the course of the eight weeks. Students perform appropriately focused history and physical exams under the supervision of the preceptor. Other experiences, such as simple procedures, are sometimes done under the direct supervision of the preceptor.

Clinical experience documentation cards and pre- and post-questionnaires document student experiences and assess the program's success at meeting its goals. At all times, MU medical students are expected to conduct themselves in a manner consistent with professional standards and norms.

Evaluation and Grading
During the eight-week period, preceptors provide the students with frequent feedback incorporating personal observations and comments from patients, office staff and hospital personnel. A brief evaluation is completed by the preceptor when the student finishes the eight-week experience. At a site where multiple preceptors participate, the group meets to discuss the student's progress and one cumulative evaluation is returned to the School of Medicine.

Students are graded on a satisfactory/unsatisfactory basis. The grade is based on the evaluation form and the completion of the community project. Since the experience is recorded on the students' transcripts, students are covered under the University of Missouri's malpractice plan.

For more information about the MU Rural Summer Community Program, call (573) 884-2024.