Two Medical School Students Get First-Hand Experience in Rural Health Care Through UA’s Term Program

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Two third-year University of Alabama School of Medicine students are getting enhanced training in rural medical practice through TERM – the Tuscaloosa Experience in Rural Medicine, a program of UA’s College of Community Health Sciences.

The students are Sara Beth Bush of Clay and Charlton P. Dennison of Coosada. Bush will be working at Primary Care of Monroeville in Monroe County with Dr. Angela Powell and Dr. Alex Nettles. Dennison will work at Carrollton Primary Care in Pickens County with Dr. Julia Boothe, Dr. Cathy Skinner and Dr. Robert Neil Honea Jr.

Bush and Dennison began their work at the end of February and the beginning of March.

“At the core of our College’s mission is the commitment to train primary care physicians with a special emphasis on the unique health problems of rural Alabama,” says Dr. Eugene Marsh, dean of the College of Community Health Sciences. “The TERM curriculum is a combined faculty effort led by Dr. Ashley Evans, assistant dean for undergraduate medical education. It represents a significant addition to the many programs already in existence in our College that are focused on Alabama’s rural health care needs.”

The program, which runs for 17 weeks, is a key part of Bush’s and Dennison’s third-year clinical training. TERM will introduce students to rural health issues from the perspective of practicing physicians and will provide students with clinical experiences at rural primary-care practices.

“The curriculum is designed to introduce students to rural health issues from the perspective of practicing physicians; provide students with hands-on clinical experiences at rural, primary care practices; and provide an opportunity for students to learn about statewide rural health issues,” Evans says.

The TERM program gives the students an opportunity to follow patient cases over an extended period of time – more than twice the length of a standard rotation. For example, they can care for an expecting mother over a long period of her pregnancy and through the delivery.

“The concept is called continuity of care,” Evans says. “It’s something that’s offered by primary care doctors — you have the same clinician each time you go to the doctor’s office, which is better for consistency and builds trust over a period of time. That’s impossible in an eight-week rotation. . . . This is a whole different way for providing medical student education. It’s much more like what a real doctor does.”

TERM students will receive integrated training in family medicine, rural medicine, obstetrics and gynecology, pediatrics, surgery and internal medicine. Tuscaloosa-based medical faculty will visit the sites and provide audio and video conferences, and students will stay in touch with the medical faculty at the Tuscaloosa campus through telemedicine and Internet-based technology.

In addition, the students receive the support of the clinicians they’re working with, hospital administrators and members of the communities to which they’re assigned. Participants also receive a stipend of at least $3,000, personal laptops, PDAs and a training-site license for the clinicians’ Web resource UpToDate.

The goal of the TERM curriculum, in keeping with the mission of the Tuscaloosa campus of The University of Alabama School of Medicine, is to increase the likelihood that medical school graduates will choose primary care residencies and practice in rural Alabama communities. Rural Alabama urgently needs primary-care physicians — many communities meet the federally defined medical manpower shortage area designation.

The Tuscaloosa campus of The University of Alabama School of Medicine is a part of the College of Community Health Sciences. CCHS also operates a comprehensive, state-of-the-art medical clinic, University Medical Center, where College faculty members conduct their medical practices and where students and residents receive clinical experience and training. The College’s research component supports faculty and student research efforts, including clinical trials.