Upstate Medical University students gained a better perspective on how medical care is delivered in a rural community, as part of a Rural Education Medical Program, which local healthcare providers recently hosted.
Spending five days exploring rural medicine and Oswego County itself were five, second year medical students. “The goal of the program is of course, to expose these medical students to rural medicine in hopes that they make it a career path,” said Oswego Health Chief Medical Officer Renato Mandanas, MD. “We developed rotations that provide the students with insight into how rural medicine is delivered.”
The students took part in rotations over a four-day period at locations that included the Pulaski Health Center, several primary care offices, numerous departments and services offered by Oswego Health, among others. The students commented that during these rotations they learned the importance of good communication skills, integrating education into physician visits and why local physicians find rural care rewarding. They also discovered that there are barriers to provide care and how providers work to solve those challenges.
“What I appreciated the most was being able to gain an understanding of what it is like to practice medicine in a rural community,” wrote one student in their program evaluation. “I am also grateful for being given the opportunity to identify first hand some of the barriers to care which healthcare providers are faced with when providing care to their patient populations.”
Another wrote in an evaluation, “I think this program showed me that I really do want to practice in a rural community.”
Along with their rotations, the program offered social opportunities with local physicians and time was also devoted to sharing local history and the local lifestyle, giving the students an understanding of both delivering care and residing in a rural area. “This is a comprehensive program exposing the students to all aspects of providing care in a community such as ours,” said Senior Director of Physician Services Christopher Mitchell. “We think we have a lot to offer in terms of practicing medicine and lifestyle and it’s important that we highlight both.”
Along with Oswego Health, other participating healthcare providers were Northern Oswego County Health Services Inc. and the Rural Health Network. The program is coordinated by Upstate’s Rural Medical Education Program.
Upstate Medical Students Learn About Rural Medicine During Immersion Program
Five Upstate Medical University students spent several days in Oswego County gaining a better perspective on how medical care is delivered in a rural community, as part of a Rural Education Medical Program, which local healthcare providers recently hosted. Seated from left are Colleen Feeney and Breanna Felldin. Standing are Carrie Roseamelia, of the Rural Medical Education Program, James Mattson, Laura Rein and Konstantinos Hantzidiamantis and Christopher Mitchell, Oswego Health’s Senior Director of Physician Services.