PROFESSIONAL ISSUES

Admissions process aims to boost rural doctors

Medical students in a Tulane University program are picked based on their likelihood to practice in rural Louisiana.

By Myrle Croasdale, AMNews staff. Feb. 7, 2005.

Margeaux Coleman Walker, MD, would like to return to her hometown of Church Point, La., when she finishes her family medicine residency in Baton Rouge.

"I have always had hopes of going back to a rural area," Dr. Walker said. "I know a lot of medical students are looking at dermatology, radiology, that rural areas are not too appealing, but I know there's a need."

If the Tulane Rural Medical Education program had been up and running when she was applying to medical school, Dr. Walker would have been an ideal candidate.

The program aims to increase the number of rural doctors the school produces. Next fall, program director Richard Streiffer, MD, chair of Tulane's family and community medicine department, will welcome the first students to the rural medical education track, based on a model that's proven to have one of the best success rates turning out rural physicians.

Only seven other medical schools have such a program, although there is a range of rural health options offered at other medical schools, an expert in the field said.

At first glance, Tulane's program may not seem that big of a deal, yet it holds great promise, according to Dr. Streiffer.

"We're targeting six to eight students at our peak," Dr. Streiffer said. "If we place just four or five students in rural practice year after year, that's a significant impact. We can make a difference."

The Assn. of American Medical Colleges reports that nationally, fewer than 3% of U.S. medical school graduates say they want to practice in rural areas. Those who do go to rural areas don't stay long -- just seven years on average.

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