Rural Medicine 2009

Medical and Pharmacy Students Experience Professional Life in Rural Communities

September 3, 2009 -- Sixty new first-year students from the University of Minnesota Medical School -- Duluth Campus and 60 first-year students from the College of Pharmacy at Duluth today took part in the first phase of a special 20-hour course that introduces them to the role of family physician or pharmacist working in a small community. Students loaded onto buses to visit hospitals, businesses and community groups in six rural communities in Northern Minnesota: Aitkin, Cloquet, Grand Rapids, Hibbing, Moose Lake and Two Harbors. Called “Introduction to Rural Family Medicine,” the course is designed to expose new medical and pharmacy students to rural communities and to the leaders most knowledgeable about rural health care and community issues. 
Pictured: Bonnie Peterson and Paul Ranelli

"We are very grateful to all of the physicians, pharmacists, business and community leaders who spent time with our students today. An experience like this inspires these students to follow through on their commitment to rural family medicine and pharmacy, and we all know that it's crucial to do so because our rural areas face shortages in healthcare professionals," commented Ruth Westra, D.O., Chair of the Department of Family Medicine and Community Health, Duluth campus.

Gary Davis, senior associate dean of the University of Minnesota Medical School – Duluth Campus, added: “Innovative team care and partnerships among doctors, pharmacists and other health care professionals will be critical to serving patients well. In fact, we believe that more integrated professional education like this will be very important to the future of this campus.”