Past Student Comments

The following comments are taken from essays written after students' RPAP experiences:

"The best part of the RPAP experience is the one-on-one teaching with attending physicians. My preceptor was an amazing teacher and mentor. She was someone that I can learn so much from just by watching how she interacts with patients. Being able to develop a relationship with my preceptor allowed me to get more hands-on experience. She developed trust in me knowing that I would take good care of her patients." RPAP student in Buffalo, 2006-07

"One of the best things about RPAP is that it is flexible. As a student you are able to mold your experience into what you want it to be. I found that being assertive and speaking openly with your preceptors about skills you want to develop and your strengths and weaknesses can open many doors. After discussing with my OB preceptor that I didn’t think I knew what I was feeling on cervical exams, I spent an entire day of my OB experience doing all the cervical checks on the OB floor. Your experience on RPAP is what you make it." RPAP student in Fergus Falls, 2006-07

"Ultimately, what I gained from this experience was a very good understanding of what the daily life of primary care is like, perspective into the business aspects of running a clinic, confidence to approach any situation even if I haven’t done anything like it in the past, development of a personal style for relating to patients, eliciting a history, and providing a sensitive exam. More than anything, I loved the fact that I would see patients in multiple medical settings—as a primary care clinic patient, and then as an orthopedics or general surgery patient, and then as a hospital employee, or as a pregnant woman and then as a new mom. RPAP student in Brainerd, 2005-06

"Working in my RPAP community has been fantastic. I have felt like a member of the health care team almost since I started. I have gotten to know the doctors, nurses, and other staff who deliver care to patients in Detroit Lakes. I have enjoyed being a part of the medical community and not just a passing student. I also feel that I had a good balance of autonomy and direct teaching." RPAP student in Detroit Lakes, 2005-06

"Seeing the unbroken continuity of care for a large portion of patients here is another of the wonderful advantages of RPAP. For example, I saw a 26-year-old male present to the ER with abdominal pain. After diagnosing acute appendicitis with the radiologist, I was able to first-assist in the OR with the general surgeon. After rounding on the patient during the hospital stay and follow-up visits, I saw the same patient for a well exam with his primary care physician. Never again will I have the opportunity to follow a patient from start to finish uninterrupted, and my place in the process as a family physician might never have been this clear if I had not participated in the other specialist aspects." RPAP student in Staples, 2005-06