NEOMED’s Rural Medical Education (RMED) Pathway leaders, Alex Heintzelman, M.D. (’11), clinical assistant professor in the Department of Family and Community Medicine, and Michael Appleman, M.A. Ed., director of primary care education integration, represented the University at the first Ohio Rural Pathway Summit: Rural Education and Training Group, held Thursday, Dec. 12, at Ohio University (OU).
The Office of Rural and Underserved Programs at the Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine at OU convened the event.
The group discussed current practices in rural medical education, including challenges in student pipeline and recruitment, curriculum development and program evaluation, as well as the challenges for students who choose to practice in underserved rural communities.
The participants represented the five medical schools with rural programs in Ohio:
- Northeast Ohio Medical University – Rural Medical Education (RMED) Pathway: Dr. Heintzelman and Michael Appleman.
- Ohio State University College of Medicine – Rural Health Scholars Program/Retreat: Nwando Olayiwola, M.D., Department of Family Medicine chair; Randy Longenecker, M.D., adjunct professor and director, Rural Health Scholars
- Ohio University Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine – Rural and Urban Scholars Pathways (RUSP): Sharon Casapulla, Ed.D., director, Rural and Urban Scholars Pathways Program; and Randy Longenecker, M.D., assistant dean of Rural and Underserved Programs
- University of Cincinnati College of Medicine – Pathways in development: Sharron DiMario, M.H.A., director, University of Cincinnati AHEC and developer of Rural and Urban Pathways Program
- Wright State University Boonshoft School of Medicine – Wright Rural Medical Scholars (WRMS –Wright Rural Health Initiative and Celina campus 2012): Lori Martensen, M.S., director, Wright Rural Medical Scholars, Wright State University AHEC; Jayna Vossler, M.S., Rural Health coordinator
Picture from left to right: Alex Heintzelman, Michael Appleman, Sharon Casapulla, Lori Martensen, Sharron DiMario, Jayna Vossler, Nwando Olayiwola, and Randy Longenecker
— Michael Appleman, M.A. Ed., director of primary care education integration, contributed this submission.