PHOENIX – For the past 14 years, the University of Arizona has sent a select group of first year medical students, up to 25, to remote areas across the state to participate in the Rural Health Professions Program.

Two of these aspiring physicians were called on to serve the Navajo and Hopi reservations.

Students not only shadow doctors on their rounds, they evaluate patients and make an initial diagnosis. Whether the diagnosis is right or wrong, they discuss it with their mentor to learn from each unique situation.

RHPP was formed on the heels of legislation passed in 1996 to encourage the state’s only medical school to provide medical care for residents in rural areas often faced with a shortage of physicians.

It was a project that Carol Galper, assistant dean for medical student education, gladly took on. “The goal is to try to encourage interest in rural medical practice among medical students, so hopefully they will go back and practice in smaller communities throughout the state.”

First year students apply to participate in the program prior to the start of the school year, and learn if they were selected prior to winter break. In January, they take an additional intensive course along with their usual set of classes to prepare them for their first four to six week rotation by summer time. They return to the same rural location during their junior and senior year.

“We want our students to experience rural medicine, warts and all,” Galper said. “Because if it’s some glamorized TV version of rural health care they seek, they will leave.”

Myles Stone recently completed his first rotation in Polacca, Ariz. this past July. Each day he shadowed IHS physicians at both the outpatient clinic and hospital emergency room. In his spare time, he played soccer with Hopi children. He even had the chance to share his experience on a weekly, local radio talk show that covers health issues relevant to Hopi people.

“I’ve met some really great people and grew up a lot over the last five weeks.”

He also put his first year theory into practice by making house calls with the nurse practitioner. He recalled following up with a man recovering from salmonella poisoning, and trying to track down the source of contamination, as one of his more interesting cases.

“I thought it was good patient care. ... and also good public health care, because we are keeping his neighbors healthy.”

While he admits that IHS has its flaws, he’s impressed by the health care services offered under one umbrella. “It’s an all-in-one program, opposed to the rest of the United States where there’s a fractured health system.”

Stone regularly posted blogs and photos of his varied experiences online. Once his schooling and residency is complete, he plans on practicing family medicine in a rural area, maybe even in Polacca.

Similar to Stone’s goal, Rachel Lusk plans to practice medicine in a rural area, but as a pediatrician. She was sent to Tuba City, to the same IHS facility her sister works at.

“All the physicians have been so welcoming, really everyone has been great. And it has been great to see what practicing medicine is like in a rural setting.”

Working with children has also exposed her to Navajo traditions, such as finding out what parent witnessed the baby’s first laugh. “Learning about the culture has really been memorable.”

Lusk wraps up her first year mentorship Aug. 6.

All participating students receive a stipend, with funds pooled from Arizona Health Education Center, Arizona Health Professions Workforce and the state.

Galper said most of the students that participate in the program go on to practice primary care medicine when compared to the rest of UA College of Medicine graduates.