KU School of Medicine-Wichita

which supports medical students from or training in rural Kansas, with a preference given to those from or interested in practicing in Parsons. Other programs oer more direct financial incentives in exchange for rural service. The Kansas Medical Student Loan Program pays tuition and a stipend to those agreeing to serve in rural communities, while the Kansas Bridging Plan works similarly during residency, supplementing salaries in exchange for a rural commitment. The Rural Health Education & Services oce oversees the Bridging Plan. Director Joyce Grayson notes that of nearly 260 fulfilling obligations to the program, 85% still practice in Kansas, and 89% in rural areas of the state. "Everything we do focuses on the workforce," said Grayson, whose team helps communities, hospitals and medical practices recruit and retain doctors and other providers. Its "locum tenens" service — a Latin term roughly meaning substitute — supplies resident physicians, new physicians, retirees and others to practices and hospitals needing help because of vacations or because they are otherwise short-staed. "It's about the work-life balance, particularly on weekends, so a doctor is really able to get away," Grayson said. All too often, "there's a belief you can't achieve that in rural areas." The oce's Kansas Recruitment and Retention Center is a subscription service that works with hospitals, private practices, health centers and others to hire and keep doctors, dentists, behavioral health specialists, nurses and others. It has made about 300 placements, over 140 in primary care. "Not too long ago, we made a placement in a rural community," said Grayson. "A community member later called and thanked me and told me she felt secure because she now had a doctor just down the road. That motivates me, and that's reflective of what we do using these programs. All those services keep our health care organizations stable, and a robust workforce keeps us from having fewer closures." 21 Students have earlier options for learning about rural practice. In required third-year family medicine clerkships, students can choose a rural community, and one-third to one-half do. Those particularly keen can take part in STORM, Summer Training Option in Rural Medicine, and work alongside a practicing physician in the summer after their first year. "That is really the first live experience they have of seeing patients in an oce in a rural community," Kellerman said. The need for rural doctors continues, but KUSM-Wichita has seen success. "We're up there at the top in terms of putting people in rural and under- served communities," Kellerman said, noting that one of the few studies on the topic, from 2013, found KUSM-W No. 1 in that category. Financial incentives for rural service Several scholarships administered through KU Endowment encourage students to serve in rural communities. Since 2019, the Virendra C. Patel, M.D., and Urvashi V. Patel Scholarship, from a $1-million gift by an orthopaedic surgeon and his wife, has been given to 14 medical students interested in serving in southeast Kansas. Others include the Dane G. Hansen Foundation Rural Medical Scholars Fund for medical students interested in working in northwest Kansas, and the Floyd and Margaret Grillot Scholarship, KU Wichita Family Medicine– Smoky Hill Clinic opens in Salina. 2007 KU School of Medicine-Wichita receives LCME accreditation for maximum term. 2006 337 residents have enrolled in KBP 85% of KBP participants continue practicing in Kansas 254 physicians have completed KBP Joyce Grayson, Rural Health Education & Services

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