Rural doctor program students make small towns home

Spring has technically been here for a while. (It depends, of course, which definition of spring one uses.) But it is now beginning to feel like spring. In celebration of the positive, this month’s column is about the University of Minnesota Medical School’s work to train primary care physicians for Minnesota and particularly for the non-metro parts of our state.

In 1971, the medical school launched a program to place third-year medical students in rural communities for part of their training. The medical students live, work and study in these communities for nine months. The program is called the Rural Physician Associate Program (RPAP).

By Mark Brakke

ticipated. Two out of three of this group practice medicine in Minnesota. Seventyfive percent are primary care physicians. Forty percent practice in rural areas. That is a successful program.

I had the pleasure of recently talking to Dr. Adrianne Moen who practices in Staples, Minn. She personally participated in the RPAP program and now lives and practices in Staples. The hospital and clinic she works at currently host two RPAP students each year. She recalls her rural healthcare experience as a student as being very positive.

sicians in Minnesota and the United States, so this increase in physician supply is much needed. We can be thankful the University of Minnesota Medical School is responding to this need. It is worth mentioning the University of Minnesota Medical School’s program for training primary care physicians (family practice physicians, pediatricians, obstetrician/gynecologists, internists) is ranked as one of the best in the country.

Most of us recognize involvement in a community is a positive experience. The medical students get to meet patients, nurses, hospital and clinic staff, community members and local doctors. It is an opportunity for those students to become enthusiastic about the option of practicing medicine in a non-metro location.

Since 1971, over 1,700 medical students have par-

Another recent development from our University Medical School will be very positive for rural Minnesota. A new medical school campus will open in St Cloud and have a class size of 80.

Currently, the Minneapolis campus has 175 students per year and the Duluth campus has 65 students per year. Fifty-five students at the Minnesota Mayo Medical School makes a total of 295 medical students per year. Adding another 80 in St Cloud will be a 27 percent increase.

There is currently a shortage of primary care phy-

Recalling that we live in a democracy and the government needs our input to make good decisions, consider contacting your Minnesota senator, representative and the governor and let them know you appreciate their commitment to making healthcare work in outstate Minnesota. Just as it is said it takes a village to raise a child, it takes a community to raise a doctor.

Best wishes to all of you for a fine spring. Mark Brakke is a retired family practice physician. He cared for patients in Coon Rapids, Minn. for 41 years during which time he was on the boards of directors of two health insurance companies. He currently is on the board of the educational non profit Health Care for All Minnesota (HCA-MN.org).