DAYTON/WAITSBURG-Medical students Taylar-Rhea McGuire and Alexandra Drury spent three days working in Dayton and Waitsburg last week to experience rural healthcare firsthand. The WSU Elson S. Floyd College of Medicine students worked with local physicians and other local healthcare providers as part of their Clinical Campus Week experience.

During the first and second years in the medical school program, students complete foundational science studies at the school's Health Sciences Campus in Spokane.

"Approximately every 12 weeks, the students come to their assigned clinical campus for a week and work with clinical community faculty. The purpose of this experience is an opportunity for them to have an immersion experience in clinical settings. It gives the student the opportunity to practice basic doctoring skills they are learning in their Art and Practice of Medicine course," said College of Medicine Associate Dean of Clinical Education Farion Williams.

The program gives students exposure to communities through the state of Washington and helps the college meet its mission of being a resource to the state and serving people in both rural and underserved communities.

"This is critical to what we do. Students are more likely to practice in these settings after completing their training if they have had opportunities to learn in them. For this reason, we send students to critical access hospitals for such experiences. It is an opportunity of career exploration for the students," Williams said.

Columbia County Health System (CCHS) has hosted several students since signing into partnership with the College of Medicine in 2015.

CCHS CEO Shane McGuire sees multiple benefits to the program.

"Recruiting into a rural setting is very challenging and we feel this program has the potential to plant the seed of a rural practice in the minds of these students. We are happy to see that this program includes the rural experience. I can also say that our providers enjoy working with the students as they get to mentor the next generation of doctors," he said.

"We are always excited to show these students what rural medicine is and to remove some of the misconceptions associated with practicing in a rural environment.  We do have advanced diagnostics and a well-equipped laboratory as an example. We can provide competitive salaries in the areas of family practice and emergency care.

"Rural healthcare can also allocate more time with the patients which can be difficult in more urban centers where patient volumes influence the amount of time a provider spends in each patient encounter.  There is a job satisfaction component when a meaningful interaction between provider and patient occurs with a positive outcome as a result," he added.