Program Designed To Attract More Doctors To Indiana's Rural Areas

TERRE HAUTE, Ind. More than one-fourth of Indiana's 92 counties have a shortage of primary care physicians according to federal guidelines, despite an increase in the number of primary care graduates in Indiana during the past five years.

The Rural Health Initiative, a new joint degree program announced today involving Indiana State University, Indiana University School of medicine, and administered by the IUSM's Terre Haute Center for Medical Education, is expected to change that.

The pilot Baccalaureate/Doctor of medicine program, which starts this fall, is interested in recruiting students from rural areas who have shown a desire to practice medicine in a similar small-town setting. To aid recruitment efforts, Indiana State University is offering qualified students full-tuition waivers for the undergraduate portion of the program.

"We believe that students from rural communities are more likely to return to rural settings to practice medicine," said Roy Geib, assistant dean of IUSM and director of the Terre Haute Center for Medical Education at ISU. "The goal of this program is to nurture students who have expressed an interest in practicing medicine in rural communities and provide them with career-related experiences throughout their undergraduate and medical school programs."

To help fill gaps in Indiana's rural health care delivery system, collaborators for the Rural Health Initiative plan to recruit approximately 10 students each year. Recruitment efforts will focus on students from rural communities with populations of less than 10,000 or from rural counties having a shortage of medical practitioners.

"For people living in underserved counties, finding medical care can be challenging, especially in emergency situations," said Robert W. Holden, dean of [USN1. "Physicians practicing in underserved areas are often overworked and unable to meet the needs of all of the residence in the areas they serve. We expect this program to provide an answer to this problem for Indiana."

To be eligible for the program, students must achieve at least 1,200 on the SAT and a cumulative GPA of at lease 3.5. Each student must take part in an interview, write an essay about his or her interest in medicine, and submit professional and personal letters of recommendation.

"Among the things that will set this program apart from other physician training programs is that students will begin to study rural medicine early in their undergraduate curriculum," said Joe Weixlmann, dean of ISU's College of Arts and Sciences. "Undergraduate students in this program will have mentoring opportunities, direct access to professionals connected with IUSM and ISU, and contact with active rural health care providers."

The program will offer students the opportunity to work alongside rural physicians, participate in summer internships at rural clinics, take part in a rural health seminar series, and gain patient experience during third-and-fourth-year preceptorships (internships) with rural hospitals or clinics.

Students admitted to the program will have a guaranteed seat in the IU School of Medicine upon completion of their undergraduate degree from ISU, provided they maintain certain academic standards. A minimum undergraduate GPA of 3.5 and an MCAT score equal to the average of that year's entering class will be required.

"We are committed to attracting top-notch students to ISU and to helping prepare them for the challenges and rewards that rural medicine can offer," said ISU President John W. Moore. "The importance of the program is to funnel these graduates into areas that are at-risk as far as health care delivery is concerned."

INDIANA UNIVERSITY
SCHOOL OF MEDICINE

MEDIA
RELATIONS

A STATEWIDE
RESOURCE

Phone
317 274 7722

Fax
317 278 8722