KUMC has a rich tradition introducing students to rural medicine. The Rural Preceptorship was begun through legislation in 1949 establishing the Kansas Rural Health Program and the Kansas Rural Preceptorship Program. The first students began their Rural Preceptorship in 1951. In the 58 years since that time hundreds of KUMC medical students have been hosted by volunteer faculty preceptors across the state.
The four-week rural preceptorship is designed to allow fourth-year medical students the opportunity to integrate and apply the knowledge and skills of a generalist physician acquired during the third-year clerkships. Application of these skills will take place in a rural setting, which provides optimum opportunities for student learning from integrated, multiple sites. Preceptorships are offered in the primary care medicine disciplines of internal medicine, pediatrics, and family medicine.
The emphasis of the Rural Preceptorship is to introduce students to the challenge of practicing primary care medicine in areas away from the influence of the tertiary care medical center and urban living. Many rural populations are considered to be underserved and through this preceptorship students gain an understanding of issues facing physicians and their patients. Practicing medicine in rural areas is often done with limited resources and students will need to rely on their previous medical education experiences. Students are expected to function more independently than on other rotations in their clinical years.
Students involved in this program are also exposed to the various roles of a rural physician in his/her community, both medical and non-medical. This gives the student an opportunity to understand and appreciate the fully integrated personal and professional life of the rural physician as they participate in many community leadership activities. Through this program it is hoped that the student, regardless of their ultimate career choice, will gain an appreciation of how a primary care physician practicing in a rural setting balances their professional and personal responsibilities in a way that serves their community as a whole.
Course details can be found at: http://classes.kumc.edu/som/fapr900
Contact Debra Lea, Senior Coordinator, for further information.
dlea@kumc.edu
913.588.8221
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The University of Kansas Medical Center