Enhancing the Physician Workforce in Rural Areas
As the state's leading educator of physicians practicing in Missouri, the MU School of Medicine is in a key position to improve the supply and distribution of physicians in rural Missouri. Although it cannot single-handedly solve Missouri's rural health problems, the school has the unique potential to enhance the physician workforce.
In response to the challenge, Dean Lester R. Bryant requested the creation of the MU Area Health Education Center (MU AHEC) program office in 1994 to address the shortage of physicians in rural areas of the state. The MU AHEC Rural Track Pipeline Program was then designed to encompass five distinct but related curriculum and clinical components. The sequential programs provide students with ongoing exposure to rural medicine. Programs include the AHEC Career Enhancement Scholars program, the Bryant Scholars Pre-Admission Program, the Summer Community Program, the Rural Track Clerkship Program and the Rural Track Elective Program.
Learn more about the MU Rural Track Pipeline Program by reading the Academic Medicine article published in November 2011 and cited below.
Quinn KJ, Kane KY, Stevermer JJ, Webb WD, Porter JL, Williamson J, Hosokawa MC. Influencing residency choice and practice location through a longitudinal rural pipeline program. Academic Medicine. 2011;86(11):1397-1406.
