Rural medical schools?

[briskknight]

Hello. I am posting this in the MD section but this question is for ALL medical schools. Are there any in a more rural area? I know cities provide amazing resources and opportunities, but I am from a city, currently living in a more rural community and love it. I plan to practice medicine in a rural area if I get to become a physician, and I would just prefer a rural learning environment (although I don't care that much about it, I am just wondering). I tried looking it up but didn't really get any results. If all medical schools are in cities or suburbs I understand.

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[LizzyM]

You might find these interesting:

They Enrolled In Medical School To Practice Rural Medicine. What Happened? - KFF Health News

Eight years ago, a new medical program opened in Salina, Kan., as an experimental way to promote rural medicine. Hailed as a solution to the rural doctor shortage, only three of its eight newly minted doctors are now working in the most rural communities.

khn.org

Office of Rural Medical Education

The Office of Rural Medical Education fosters educational experiences in rural settings to give students a comprehensive understanding of practicing rewarding, high-quality health care in rural Kansas.

www.kumc.edu

Rural Scholars Program - MU School of Medicine

As the state's leading educator of physicians practicing in Missouri, the MU School of Medicine is in a key position to improve the supply and distribution of physicians in rural Missouri.

medicine.missouri.edu

MD Program - Wisconsin Academy for Rural Medicine - School of Medicine and Public Health

Learn about the Wisconsin Academy of Rural Medicine which focuses on ultimately helping to improve the health of rural Wisconsin communities.

www.med.wisc.edu

 

[Blueprint Med School]

Most Med schools especially MD are in more suburban and urban areas but if you like rural make it a habit to look for Med schools that have multiple rotation sites, which a lot of the DO schools and what I like to call nomadic schools (think Drexel was their half dozen sites spread around multiple States). DO schools in general often end up in more rural areas because most of the major cities already have one if not more MD schools, not that there aren't exceptions. To borrow Drexel as an example again, they just opened up a pre-clinical campus in Berks County Pennsylvania which is pretty rural for a med school site.

Even major schools if you query them oftentimes have a rural and underserved program or pathway especially if there are school that is big in primary care.

David D MD - USMLE and MCAT Tutor
Med School Tutors

 

[WOWM]

Rural and Urban Underserved Program | School of Medicine

All students do a intensive 4 week rural shadowing rotation the summer after MS1 and are required to do at least one rural medicine rotation during MS4. Rural rotation sites include IHS clinics in Arizona and New Mexico.

 

[briskknight]

You might find these interesting:

They Enrolled In Medical School To Practice Rural Medicine. What Happened? - KFF Health News

Eight years ago, a new medical program opened in Salina, Kan., as an experimental way to promote rural medicine. Hailed as a solution to the rural doctor shortage, only three of its eight newly minted doctors are now working in the most rural communities.

khn.org

Office of Rural Medical Education

The Office of Rural Medical Education fosters educational experiences in rural settings to give students a comprehensive understanding of practicing rewarding, high-quality health care in rural Kansas.

www.kumc.edu

Rural Scholars Program - MU School of Medicine

As the state's leading educator of physicians practicing in Missouri, the MU School of Medicine is in a key position to improve the supply and distribution of physicians in rural Missouri.

medicine.missouri.edu

MD Program - Wisconsin Academy for Rural Medicine - School of Medicine and Public Health

Learn about the Wisconsin Academy of Rural Medicine which focuses on ultimately helping to improve the health of rural Wisconsin communities.

www.med.wisc.edu

Thank you so much! I'm glad there are opportunities for students interested in working in rural areas.

 

[briskknight]

Most Med schools especially MD are in more suburban and urban areas but if you like rural make it a habit to look for Med schools that have multiple rotation sites, which a lot of the DO schools and what I like to call nomadic schools (think Drexel was their half dozen sites spread around multiple States). DO schools in general often end up in more rural areas because most of the major cities already have one if not more MD schools, not that there aren't exceptions. To borrow Drexel as an example again, they just opened up a pre-clinical campus in Berks County Pennsylvania which is pretty rural for a med school site.

Even major schools if you query them oftentimes have a rural and underserved program or pathway especially if there are school that is big in primary care.

David D MD - USMLE and MCAT Tutor
Med School Tutors

Thanks for the information! I will look into all the DO schools and clinical sites at all schools I am interested in.

 

[briskknight]

Rural and Urban Underserved Program | School of Medicine

All students do a intensive 4 week rural shadowing rotation the summer after MS1 and are required to do at least one rural medicine rotation during MS4. Rural rotation sites include IHS clinics in Arizona and New Mexico.

That sounds awesome! I will look into it for myself maybe. I have to check for out of state friendliness.

 

[briskknight]

If you're looking in the Midwest - Michigan State has a rural track, University of Illinois-Rockford has a rural program that produces OUTSTANDING graduates (at least I've been super impressed with the handful of their grads/students I've worked closely with during residency). Some schools I know of that are located a ways out of the city or in smaller cities with nearby rural areas that I imagine would have some rural rotation sites available would include NEOMED, Ohio University (the DO school, main campus in Athens particularly), Western MI, Central MI, and several of the Indiana University local branches.

I actually am from the Midwest and love the Midwest (I am not sure if I am allowed to say what state I am from) so this is right up my alley. The only part of the country I love more is northeast (I like rural NYS, etc).

 

[deleted555445]

Colorado seems to have a really awesome rural program that spans the entire state from the plains to the mountain communities

 

[briskknight]

Colorado seems to have a really awesome rural program that spans the entire state from the plains to the mountain communities

That sounds awesome! I will have to look into it.

 

[deleted1017120]

University of Minnesota - Duluth is also a well-regarded program that places strong emphasis on rural/Native American family medicine.

 

[briskknight]

University of Minnesota - Duluth is also a well-regarded program that places strong emphasis on rural/Native American family medicine.

Thank you!

 

[wholeheartedly]

University of MN has rural track (not just the Duluth option) and University of North Dakota, well most of the state is rural and while there’s strong in state preference for admissions, you might still have a shot if you’re living in a rural place and convince them you want to stay that way.

 

[LizzyM]

The reason you won't find a really rural medical school is that having students in the middle of nowhere and needing to drive an hour in one direction or the other to encounter patients (to learn physical exam skills, etc) is not a good use of anyone's time. You can learn those skills far more easily and with less time commitment in a more densely populated area. Rotations where you go out to a rural area for a 2-6 week stay as an M3 or M4 is a different situation and one that you might be looking for.

 

[LunaOri]

Dartmouth is pretty rural. UVM and UMass both have rural medicine tracks.

 

[briskknight]

Guess it's based on your definition of rural. Two in Pennsylvania....Geisinger Commonwealth and Temple's St. Luke's Campus. Both are in and near a few large towns, but go 15 miles in any direction and you quickly are surrounded by forests and cornfields.

Thanks!

 

[Go2Mars]

If you have any ties to West Virginia or are a WV resident, I would look into the West Virginia University School of Medicine (public school). Their mission and goals are specifically focused on serving underserved and rural populations in West Virginia.

They also have a “Rural Track Program” with rural immersion trips and rural volunteer experiences: WVU School of Medicine Rural Track Program | School of Medicine | West Virginia University

 

[voxveritatisetlucis]

northeast ohio
North dakota
South dakota

 

[briskknight]

The reason you won't find a really rural medical school is that having students in the middle of nowhere and needing to drive an hour in one direction or the other to encounter patients (to learn physical exam skills, etc) is not a good use of anyone's time. You can learn those skills far more easily and with less time commitment in a more densely populated area. Rotations where you go out to a rural area for a 2-6 week stay as an M3 or M4 is a different situation and one that you might be looking for.

That makes sense! Thank you

 

[briskknight]

Dartmouth is pretty rural. UVM and UMass both have rural medicine tracks.

Thank you for the suggestions! I will look into them

 

[briskknight]

If you have any ties to West Virginia or are a WV resident, I would look into the West Virginia University School of Medicine (public school). Their mission and goals are specifically focused on serving underserved and rural populations in West Virginia.

They also have a “Rural Track Program” with rural immersion trips and rural volunteer experiences: WVU School of Medicine Rural Track Program | School of Medicine | West Virginia University

Thank you so much, I wish I had ties to West Virginia, it's a great state.

 

[briskknight]

northeast ohio
North dakota
South dakota

Thank you!

 

[theendisnigh]

UVA has a Generalist Scholars Program for those looking to go into primary care, particularly serving rural and underserved communities in the Appalachian region.

 

[Dral]

Back when I went to UVA they had rotations all over the state. I was in a very rural area just north of the Tennessee border for ambulatory rotation (was originally slated to go to appalachia/coal country) and my family med rotation was in a small rural town in the middle of nowhere where the doc was a really prominent member of the community and took care of everyone (think of the vibe of being a primary care/family doc back in the 50s and 60s)

I know you said you are more comfortable in the rural environment, but even if you are in med school in a more urban area, imo, the more important part of your training will be to find a residency training program that focuses on rural medicine.

Virginia gets very rural. When I was there, there was a county in southern Virginia that still didn't have a hospital in the whole county.

 

[hellskitchenkid]

ETSU's goal is to produce rural primary care docs for its region

 

[briskknight]

UVA has a Generalist Scholars Program for those looking to go into primary care, particularly serving rural and underserved communities in the Appalachian region.

Wow, great suggestion, thank you. It looks pretty good!

 

[briskknight]

Back when I went to UVA they had rotations all over the state. I was in a very rural area just north of the Tennessee border for ambulatory rotation (was originally slated to go to appalachia/coal country) and my family med rotation was in a small rural town in the middle of nowhere where the doc was a really prominent member of the community and took care of everyone (think of the vibe of being a primary care/family doc back in the 50s and 60s)

I know you said you are more comfortable in the rural environment, but even if you are in med school in a more urban area, imo, the more important part of your training will be to find a residency training program that focuses on rural medicine.

Virginia gets very rural. When I was there, there was a county in southern Virginia that still didn't have a hospital in the whole county.

Thank you so much for sharing your experiences. You're right, I guess where the school is really doesn't matter as much as what I would learn if I got in for future practice in rural areas.

 

[briskknight]

ETSU's goal is to produce rural primary care docs for its region

That sounds awesome! Unfortunately the reddit thread on medical schools says that it is not OOS friendly . Thank you so much for the suggestion!

 

[hellskitchenkid]

That sounds awesome! Unfortunately the reddit thread on medical schools says that it is not OOS friendly . Thank you so much for the suggestion!

I believe it's generally friendly to OOS students who are from neighboring states, but yeah if you're from outside the South East it may not be worth your time unless you have a really compelling reason to want to practice nearby

 

[MD-PhD-NonTrad]

Not mentioned are Tufts Maine Track (a little less than half the students are OOS with no ties to Maine) and Columbia Bassett track. Also, if you are from the Intermountain West, Utah has their STARS program (and if not then they are generally rural friendly too). There is also UVM that is pretty rural.

 

[Cornfed101]

University of MN has rural track (not just the Duluth option) and University of North Dakota, well most of the state is rural and while there’s strong in state preference for admissions, you might still have a shot if you’re living in a rural place and convince them you want to stay that way.

North Dakota doesn’t offer interviews unless you are a resident or immediate family are residents. In laws don’t count (my in laws are from there and I was not even eligible to get a secondary)

 

[wholeheartedly]

North Dakota doesn’t offer interviews unless you are a resident or immediate family are residents. In laws don’t count (my in laws are from there and I was not even eligible to get a secondary)

That might be newer then. Historically it was resident of ND, former resident, close ties, or some other really, really compelling reason to want to be there (exceptionally rare), or MN resident with the same, usually MN students from the western part of MN.

Best thing for the OP would be read relevant schools’ websites and if there isn’t an outright exclusion for them, to contact schools, explain what they are interested in doing and why and see if that opens any doors. Worst case they say no and you move on. But if OP seems truly sincere then some doors might open because these schools do want to really want to find/place folks to practice in rural settings.

 

[theendisnigh]

North Dakota doesn’t offer interviews unless you are a resident or immediate family are residents. In laws don’t count (my in laws are from there and I was not even eligible to get a secondary)

I believe North Dakota also offers interviews for indigenous peoples.

 

[Angus Avagadro]

If you have any ties to West Virginia or are a WV resident, I would look into the West Virginia University School of Medicine (public school). Their mission and goals are specifically focused on serving underserved and rural populations in West Virginia.

They also have a “Rural Track Program” with rural immersion trips and rural volunteer experiences: WVU School of Medicine Rural Track Program | School of Medicine | West Virginia University

WVU used to have a VERY strong commitment to WV residents. OOS admissions were unusual. Pretty sure it is the same today.

 

[Cornfed101]

That might be newer then. Historically it was resident of ND, former resident, close ties, or some other really, really compelling reason to want to be there (exceptionally rare), or MN resident with the same, usually MN students from the western part of MN.

Best thing for the OP would be read relevant schools’ websites and if there isn’t an outright exclusion for them, to contact schools, explain what they are interested in doing and why and see if that opens any doors. Worst case they say no and you move on. But if OP seems truly sincere then some doors might open because these schools do want to really want to find/place folks to practice in rural settings.

I think you’re right, not sure exactly what “close ties” is but marriage isn’t close enough I guess!

 

[shezadeh]

WVSOM and Pikeville are two schools in rather rural areas

 

[shezadeh]

WVU used to have a VERY strong commitment to WV residents. OOS admissions were unusual. Pretty sure it is the same today.

I know of a few people who went there and were from cities. I guess it does not hurt to apply

 

[Jett24]

Thank you so much! I'm glad there are opportunities for students interested in working in rural areas.

Salina, Kansas is my hometown! The city has ~42,000 and is the regional hub.

 

[burrito-consumer]

I actually am from the Midwest and love the Midwest (I am not sure if I am allowed to say what state I am from) so this is right up my alley. The only part of the country I love more is northeast (I like rural NYS, etc).

Just skimmed the thread and saw nobody talked about Quinnipiac's rural program. If you like the rural northeast, they have an option to spend your entire 3rd year at a rural hospital at the very northern tip of Maine.

 

[Proudfather94]

If you're looking in the Midwest - Michigan State has a rural track, University of Illinois-Rockford has a rural program that produces OUTSTANDING graduates (at least I've been super impressed with the handful of their grads/students I've worked closely with during residency). Some schools I know of that are located a ways out of the city or in smaller cities with nearby rural areas that I imagine would have some rural rotation sites available would include NEOMED, Ohio University (the DO school, main campus in Athens particularly), Western MI, Central MI, and several of the Indiana University local branches.

If op is not from Ohio NEOMED and especially OU will be donations.

 

[deleted895369]

I would second the University of Illinois recommendation. In fact, both the Peoria and Rockford campuses have great rural training programs. Those two campuses are particularly great because you have small school feel with big school resources. Also, U of I takes a decent amount of OOS students. Feel free to PM with questions