Rural citizens face a unique combination of economic, social, educational, and geographic factors that create disparities in health care and isolation from health-related resources. The Rural Outreach Initiative (ROI) at Tulane University School of Medicine, is a comprehensive plan to address community health needs in rural areas of Louisiana and make a positive difference in both the alarming dearth of physicians and the poor health indicators found in rural Louisiana.Read More
ROI recognizes that one of the most significant ways of improving the number of physicians practicing in rural communities is by encouraging and supporting the “workforce pipeline”. In the Fall of 2008 the Dean created two full scholarships for medical students who come from rural Louisiana communities and want to practice in rural communities.
ROI has worked to expand the current rural clerkship options available to students to include new sites and preceptors in Family Medicine, Internal Medicine, Pediatrics, OB/GYN, Psychiatry and General Surgery. These clerkships will give students an opportunity to have one-on-one experiences with physicians, have more of a hands on way of learning, develop a strong relationship with the physician, and community, have experience practicing in different cultures and with different cases.
Rural Rotations – Expand 3rd and 4th year medical student clerkship and elective opportunities in community-based rural practices.
Rural Preceptor Recruitment and Support – Recruit rural preceptors, prepare and sustain their teaching role, and offer adjunct faculty benefits.
Program (TRuMEd) – The Tulane Rural Medical Education (TRuMEd) program is designed to promote a primary care rural workforce through scholarships designed to support Louisiana residents intending to pursue a career in primary care medicine and to establish a clinical practice in a rural or small-town community in Louisiana. TRuMEd scholars may receive a full tuition waiver for up to four years of medical school at Tulane.
Community Projects – Explore and develop opportunities for medical and public health students to work with partnering rural communities in developing assessments and/or programs that meet the health needs of the community.
