UMD Hosts a Rural Pre-Med Workshop
Posted at: 02/13/2010 6:05 PM
| Updated at: 02/13/2010 10:45 PM
By: Katie Lange
Klange@wdio.com
Trends in the field of medicine are changing according to the Associate Dean for UMD's Medical School, Lillian Repesh.
"Medical School debt which is reaching about $180,000 per student is difficult for primary care physicians who are out in rural communities and are not able to pay it (their loans) back as quickly," said Repesh.Leaving rural communities with an inadequate number of family physicians and in a state like Minnesota or Wisconsin, that impact can be quite large. Michelle Juntunen, the schools Communication and Development Director, says this isn't something new, as it was a crisis years ago and still is today.
"This school was started by legislation 40 years ago expressly for the purpose of supplying and trying to fill the shortages in primary care and family medicine physicians out in rural communities," said Juntunen.UMD's School of Medicine focuses specifically on training students for rural or Native American health care. Allison Homstad was at the workshop and said she's considering working in a small community.
"I've become a lot more interested in rural medicine and I think that was another reason why I wanted to come to the summit to learn more about what rural medicine is like and how to get more involved," said Homstad.A 2010 article by the American Academy of Family Physicians, states that government action is needed for the decline of rural health care. "Rural health care services are still under-paid, threatening the viability of rural training programs as well as physician recruitment and retention.
The article also suggests ways to keep physicians in the rural communities. One idea is to pay those who work in the areas a hefty bonus.
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