Real Life

CU SCHOOL OF MEDICINE’S RURAL HEALTH TRACK

Under The Colorado Trust's Health Professions Initiative, students at the CU School of Medicine have the opportunity to gain experience in rural communities statewide.With 51 of Colorado’s 64 counties carrying the federal designation of “Health Professional Shortage Areas,” a number of rural communities have few or no doctors, dentists or mental health providers to serve their residents.

In response, the School of Medicine at the University of Colorado at Denver and Health Sciences Center launched its rural health track program to encourage and support health practice in these isolated, underserved areas of the state. The first such program in Colorado, it is modeled after the Jefferson Medical College in Pennsylvania – regarded by many as having the best rural health track program in the country – and “beefed up tenfold,” according to Jack Westfall, CU’s Associate Professor of Family Medicine and Associate Dean of Rural Health. The program was started with support from The Colorado Trust through its Health Professions Initiative.
 
All students at CU’s School of Medicine are now required to complete a month-long rural rotation, as well as a one-day community health volunteer service. And some students choose the more in-depth four-year rural health track; currently, there are 15 students enrolled in the rural health track for the Class of 2009 and 25 students enrolled in the Class of 2010.

“Among our goals in the rural health track is to debunk such myths as the lower earnings potential in a rural practice, or that rural doctors are somehow less skilled than those who practice in urban areas,” said Westfall. “One of the most effective ways to correct such preconceived notions is the school’s new requirement that all students spend some time in a rural rotation and get involved in rural communities.”
 
According to Westfall, students have always shown an interest in rural health, but there have been no opportunities for students to focus on this specific area of care for which there is a tremendous need in Colorado.

“One of our main goals is to de-mystify rural health care practice,” he said. “So we provide one-on-one time with rural docs and we teach the students about rural clinical issues, financial issues and cultural issues … we try to provide insight into what it means to succeed as a person and as a professional in a rural community. We also do workshops on the financing of health care, and we explore the differences and similarities between rural and urban health care.”
 
Under The Colorado Trust’s Health Professions Initiative, the school’s rural health track also helps coordinate students’ hands-on experience with rural health care providers.

For additional information, contact Laurel Petralia, Program Officer, 303-837-1200, laurel@coloradotrust.org