“Medical school students learn through rural placements in Northwest Colorado”
-Steamboat Pilot & Today, March 4
Mark Deutchman, MD, Rural Program Director, Associate Dean for Rural Health, and
Professor of Family Medicine, commented on the incredible work the medical students are doing, how it benefits the community, and the opportunities this program provides.
“We have students who apply to the CU School of Medicine because of the Rural Program because they know that we will foster and support their goals,” Deutchman said. “Our job is to give them experience and training so that they can figure out if it’s right for them. If they never lived or worked in a rural area, how do you decide if you are going to work there?”
“We have relationships with rural communities and preceptors all around the state, so we tell these rural communities that our program is their farm team for their future medical staff, and they really embrace that,” Deutchman added.
Learn more about the Rural Program at the University of Colorado School of Medicine.
Medical students in this program weigh in on the skills and experience they’ve learned along the way.
“It really gives you incredible hands-on experience and the opportunity to actually practice medicine rather than just observing,” explained second-year medical student Mason Bliss, “We may not be able to see things that are as extreme such as organ transplants, but we get a lot more hands-on experience.”
(Header photo credit: University of Colorado School of Medicine)
