Buena Vista University, hospital partner in physician recruiting
by Tim Gallagher | Posted: Friday, January 02, 2009
STORM LAKE, IOWA -- A looming national shortage of physicians to serve rural communities is being confronted through a partnership of Buena Vista University and Buena Vista Regional Medical Center.
They have developed a program called "Undergraduate Rural Medicine Education and Development." The program offers internships during January at the medical center for two premed students who have expressed interest in rural medicine.
The program also creates less intensive opportunities for other pre-professional students to explore health care careers. They include students with interests in practicing medicine, physical therapy, radiology, optometry and pharmacy in rural settings.
The goal is to encourage Buena Vista students to pursue careers in rural medicine and specifically to motivate them to consider returning to Storm Lake upon completion of their professional training, says Dr. Richard Lampe, professor of biology, who helped spearhead the development of this program with faculty colleagues and staff members at Buena Vista Regional Medical Center.
One of the benefits to the students is that each will receive a $3,000 stipend, which can be used to help defray expenses associated with the taking the Medical College Admission Test (MCAT) and applying to medical schools, says Lampe.
"The unique element in this program is that BVRMC is courting future doctors and other health care professionals to return to have their career in Storm Lake," says Lampe. "Our investment in a stipend is unique in providing the students with financial assistance at a time when they need help with the costs of applying for medical school. No one else does that, and it is something that the students will likely appreciate and remember."
The two students selected for the inaugural internships are Alyssa Hudnall, a junior biology major from Grand Island, Neb., and Matt Nicholson, a junior biology major from Osage, Iowa.
While the students who intern at the local medical center have no obligation to return to practice in Storm Lake, staff members and the university's science faculty will continue to maintain contact with them throughout their medical education in hopes that some may want to return to this area, says Lampe.
Physician recruitment for Buena Vista Regional Medical Center is the initial focus for the launch of the program, Lampe says, but it could expand in the future to additional health care organizations, including other area hospitals, as well as to other health care professions of interest to Buena Vista students, such as physical therapy.
The program dovetails with the Buena Vista Regional Medical Center's approach to recruiting of new physicians to Storm Lake, says CEO Todd Hudspeth. "The most common method of recruiting physicians is to use a recruiting firm," he says. "However, we have decided to take a long-term view of recruiting that starts at the undergraduate level, and even at the high school level if we know of a student's career plans. Our theory is that it is easier to recruit and retain an individual who grew up in this area, rather than someone from California or elsewhere.
"Nationally, the demand for physicians is growing faster than the supply," notes Hudspeth. "In rural America, we see a maldistribution of physicians because urban areas are more attractive to both the physician and their spouse. This makes recruiting physicians to a rural community very challenging. Many rural hospitals are one or two physician retirements from a crisis."
Planning for long-term needs is essential in light of a graying medical community, says Hudspeth. In Storm Lake, one physician recently retired and two more will probably retire within the next three to four years, as well as another four within 10 years. The medical specialties being targeted for recruitment by Buena Vista Regional Medical Center are family practice, psychiatry and orthopedic surgery.
"We are fortunate to have a new family practice physician coming in March 2009," says Hudspeth. "He was a medical school classmate of our new general surgeon who is a native of Storm Lake. Another family practice physician, a native of the Lake View area, is completing his residency in Sioux City next July and will start here in August."
The program comes at a time when the number of premed students at BVU, and those being accepted to medical school, has been increasing. In a typical year, one or two would go to medical school. This year, seven students have applied and five of those have already been accepted to multiple programs.
They have developed a program called "Undergraduate Rural Medicine Education and Development." The program offers internships during January at the medical center for two premed students who have expressed interest in rural medicine.
The program also creates less intensive opportunities for other pre-professional students to explore health care careers. They include students with interests in practicing medicine, physical therapy, radiology, optometry and pharmacy in rural settings.
The goal is to encourage Buena Vista students to pursue careers in rural medicine and specifically to motivate them to consider returning to Storm Lake upon completion of their professional training, says Dr. Richard Lampe, professor of biology, who helped spearhead the development of this program with faculty colleagues and staff members at Buena Vista Regional Medical Center.
One of the benefits to the students is that each will receive a $3,000 stipend, which can be used to help defray expenses associated with the taking the Medical College Admission Test (MCAT) and applying to medical schools, says Lampe.
"The unique element in this program is that BVRMC is courting future doctors and other health care professionals to return to have their career in Storm Lake," says Lampe. "Our investment in a stipend is unique in providing the students with financial assistance at a time when they need help with the costs of applying for medical school. No one else does that, and it is something that the students will likely appreciate and remember."
The two students selected for the inaugural internships are Alyssa Hudnall, a junior biology major from Grand Island, Neb., and Matt Nicholson, a junior biology major from Osage, Iowa.
While the students who intern at the local medical center have no obligation to return to practice in Storm Lake, staff members and the university's science faculty will continue to maintain contact with them throughout their medical education in hopes that some may want to return to this area, says Lampe.
Physician recruitment for Buena Vista Regional Medical Center is the initial focus for the launch of the program, Lampe says, but it could expand in the future to additional health care organizations, including other area hospitals, as well as to other health care professions of interest to Buena Vista students, such as physical therapy.
The program dovetails with the Buena Vista Regional Medical Center's approach to recruiting of new physicians to Storm Lake, says CEO Todd Hudspeth. "The most common method of recruiting physicians is to use a recruiting firm," he says. "However, we have decided to take a long-term view of recruiting that starts at the undergraduate level, and even at the high school level if we know of a student's career plans. Our theory is that it is easier to recruit and retain an individual who grew up in this area, rather than someone from California or elsewhere.
"Nationally, the demand for physicians is growing faster than the supply," notes Hudspeth. "In rural America, we see a maldistribution of physicians because urban areas are more attractive to both the physician and their spouse. This makes recruiting physicians to a rural community very challenging. Many rural hospitals are one or two physician retirements from a crisis."
Planning for long-term needs is essential in light of a graying medical community, says Hudspeth. In Storm Lake, one physician recently retired and two more will probably retire within the next three to four years, as well as another four within 10 years. The medical specialties being targeted for recruitment by Buena Vista Regional Medical Center are family practice, psychiatry and orthopedic surgery.
"We are fortunate to have a new family practice physician coming in March 2009," says Hudspeth. "He was a medical school classmate of our new general surgeon who is a native of Storm Lake. Another family practice physician, a native of the Lake View area, is completing his residency in Sioux City next July and will start here in August."
The program comes at a time when the number of premed students at BVU, and those being accepted to medical school, has been increasing. In a typical year, one or two would go to medical school. This year, seven students have applied and five of those have already been accepted to multiple programs.
