Available
to U of L Medical School M-2 students only.
The Rural Medicine Elective is a one credit-hour (16
contact hours) course offered by the University of Louisville
School of Medicine for M-2 students. This elective meets
3 hours per month, mostly during evening hours. Dr. Bill
Crump is the course director, and the goal of this elective
is to provide regular exposure to issues of rural practice.
The Kentucky Academy of Family Physicians assists with
providing speakers to address common issues of rural
medicine. Occasional site visits to a rural practice
sometimes replace the monthly sessions. Topics discussed
include the future of Medicaid, school-based clinics,
residency training options to prepare for rural practice,
women's health in rural practice, making a rural practice
financially successful, working with rural health departments,
balancing personal and professional life, mental health
care issues, working with nurse practitioners and physician
assistants, children's health care, physicians as leaders
in rural areas, the future of rural hospitals, rural
scholarship and loan forgiveness options, and how to
find and what to look for in a rural practice. Since
2000, 61 students have completed the M-2 elective.
At the beginning and end of the nine-month course, a
survey of attitudes and knowledge provides insight into
the students' understanding of rural practice. Overall,
students showed favorable impressions about physicians'
practice in a rural area. Students believe that physicians
in rural areas have the ability to make a positive impact
in their communities both in health care and social leadership. The results were recently published in Family Medicine. (1)
Rural Practice Topics
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Rural scholarship and loan forgiveness programs
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Rural reimbursement issues
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Residency training for rural practice
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Maternity care in rural practice
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Rural Health Departments
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Rural mental health issues
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Rural Nurse Practitioners and Physician Assistants
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Rural hospital issues
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Emergency care in rural areas
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Crump WJ, Fricker RS, Ziegler CH. Outcomes of a preclinical rural medicine elective at an urban medical school. Family Medicine 2010; 42(10):717-722.
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