MSU partners with the Michigan Center for Rural Health to bring care to rural communities

In recognition of National Rural Health Day, Michigan State University announced it is teaming up with the Michigan Center for Rural Health (MCRH) to address the issues unique to providing healthcare in rural communities. The partnership was spearheaded by Dr. Andrea Wendling, Director of Rural Medicine at the College of Human Medicine. Dr. Wendling has been focused on rural medicine her whole career and is keen to prepare her students for practicing rural healthcare, which can differ significantly from urban healthcare.

Students can expect to learn about providing healthcare in rural areas and how that experience will be different from what they learn in the urban environments in which most students gain their experience. While urban settings are more likely to have multiple places to access emergency and specialty care, rural communities often don't have access to those resources. So providers have to be prepared to deal directly with a wider variety of health concerns. In addition to the provision of care, rural medicine also differs from urban medicine in terms of patient-provider relationships. In rural communities, doctors, nurses, and other healthcare professionals are more likely to know their patients personally, which can affect the dynamic between patient and provider.

In a release from MSU regarding the partnership, Dr. Wendling said, "Most people live in urban or metro areas and almost all medical education happens there. When students train in urban areas with lots of resources, they become used to having access to technology and specialists. So, when they consider practicing in a rural place, it's daunting because they need to rely on a different skill set." Dr. Wendling explained that a rural physician may be faced with a wider variety of patient needs in a single day than a physician in an urban area would expect. The rural doctor may have to deliver a baby, provide elder care, and help with telemedicine access in the course of a day, meaning they need to be equipped to adapt multiple times each day to the varying needs of patients. To prepare students, those participating in the Rural Community Health program will be encouraged to practice community outreach by attending community events, creating advocacy projects, and meeting with local business and political officials to gain an understanding of the social and economic needs of rural Americans.