ROE Past Participant Comments

Students who participate in the ROE are surveyed upon returning, and a majority find the experience to be very beneficial. Here are some comments from students who participated:

"I saw how important and effective it is to spend enough time with patients and to take every opportunity for education and preventive care. I also saw how a rural MD is able to balance a lot of things that demand time—patients, administration, family, and community involvement."

"This experience was very inspiring. I had the opportunity to see a wide variety of cases and it made me excited to start medical school."

"It's made me more interested in rural medicine than I was beforehand. I really gained a lot of respect for how skilled the physician was and how broad her skill set was. I'm really glad this experience was available to me before my first year."

"I saw the doctor thoroughly enjoyed her job and had time for family. She had lots of friends and a full life."

"It made me think more about the characteristics I want to have as a physician."

"It solidified my choice to enter medical school. The ROE also greatly heightened my interest in both rural medicine and general family medicine."

"It has many aspects of how I want to practice."

"I was able to see so much during this experience and learn a great deal about life in a rural setting as well as the life and practices of a physician on a daily basis."

"I thought the ROE was so valuable—first of all, to have some medical setting experience prior to the start of our classes, and secondly to have a first-hand experience living and observing medicine in a rural setting."

"So much variety, relating to all kinds of people in many different (and similar) situations. It was fun to see a different part of Minnesota, especially as an out-of-state student.

"I felt very privileged to have this opportunity to see a fantastically accurate view of what rural medicine is like for these doctors."

"It was an amazing experience. It gave me a great indicator of the variety that family medicine offers."

"I developed more of an appreciation for small town physicians."