One of the real agendas behind the creation of this web site was the potential to gather rural faculty together to pursue further training. Although I directed the Rural Minifellowship at ETSU, I can truthfully say that I learned more from the minifellows than they learned from me. When the STFM Group has surveyed rural faculty, as many wanted to give rural faculty development as compared with the number wishing to receive it. Every faculty member has something to contribute. This is the principle that I have learned about rural medical education and hope to apply in all of our efforts. Although this web site is extensive there is very little, if any, original to me. What may look original is often borrowed from sociologists, educators, or various authors who have written about medicine or society. This program is based on the original Rural Minifellowship concept, but it has been expanded to a "virtual" faculty development center. Efforts are enhanced with center web pages, discussion list serves, and email.
In order to take this course you need only take the time to look over the materials and contribute to the development of the course. For formal recognition, you will need to complete some basic requirements (see below) and engage your supervisor (chair, program director, dean, chancellor), if you have one, or some other authority (senior physician mentor, community person, etc.). This is a two way street. You will need to review your progress with this person. This is a check on some of the more "interesting" ideas presented. Working with this person closely also gives you a chance to influence this person so that your rural medical education work can be more effective. Many rural medical educators tend to stay isolated rather than working with others to accomplish a greater effort.
You should complete a rural medical education project of your own design and effort. Your supervising person will need to be involved in the development of this project, if possible. Projects in the past include rural rotations, training tracks, fellowships, ambulatory clinics, rural site development, longitudinal student rotations, interdisciplinary programs, and faculty development programs.
Virtual attendance at the computer is optional. There are some personal attendance requirements, however. You should attend at least 3 formal medical education conferences with other rural faculty. See Calendar for listings. These include meetings of the Society of Teachers of Family Medicine at the annual or regional level, the National Rural Health Association, special rural meetings such as the Rural GME conference in San Antonio. The STFM Group on Rural Health is active in these meetings and often has special presentations or sessions.
You may prefer to do a rural tour including 3 or more sites to learn first hand from fellow rural faculty. With special permission and several pertinent sites, this may count as 2 of the required formal med ed conferences. Other conferences can count at the regional level if you gather for a significant time period with other rural medical educators, faculty or preceptors.
You will need to obtain some references, especially Tom Rickett's Rural Health in the United States, Oxford Press. To Order try this site.
If you have some source of funding, it would be nice if you contributed for the time and materials of those who help you. It is also our hope that you will freely distribute the materials or ideas that you develop, for the benefit of others.
You will learn a few new skills and become aware of a few ideas and principles, many of which you have previously recognized. You will receive significant assistance with a rural project. You will access rural leaders.
Becoming a Rural Medical Fellow is unlikely to improve your financial situation. In a few cases you will become more important to those who supervise you, but you also may rattle the cage a bit, at your own risk and benefit.
Our hope is that you will not have to make the kinds of mistakes that have been made in the past. We also hope that you will be able to influence others so that we can have more and better rural physicians for the nation.
If you are ready to begin the course, please register and begin looking over the materials (Chapter 1 in Ricketts).
You can also get credit for a particular area if you have written about a specific area and have had your work published, or submit the materials for review. If you want us to include your work in the rural journal or this web site, we will be happy to do so. If you want to get credit for the work only, we will review them only and send them back. You retain the rights to any work published.