Education

The mission of the Rural Medical Scholars Program is to produce physicians for rural Alabama who are leaders in developing healthy communities. The Rural Medical Scholars Program was established in 1996 at the UA College of Community Health Sciences and is directed by John Wheat, MD,MPH, Professor of Community Medicine and Internal Medicine. This program is open to college seniors and graduate students who plan to go to medical school and practice medicine in a rural area.   The program is based in Tuscaloosa and conducted by CCHS, a branch of the University of Alabama School of Medicine. As part of their RMSP premed experience, the Scholars visit rural hospitals, conduct health fairs and health screenings, participate in other community service projects, and attend lectures and workshops.

Ten qualified students from rural areas are chosen each year to enter the Rural Medical Scholars Program, a highly selective premed and medical school program of The University of Alabama and the University of Alabama School of Medicine (UASOM). Admission is based on high academic achievement, character, and leadership qualities. Eligible applicants have lived in a rural Alabama county for at least eight years and have taken or registered to take the MCAT (Medical School Admission Test). If selected, a Rural Medical Scholar is enrolled at The University of Alabama in the year prior to entry into medical school (UASOM) and takes coursework each semester related to rural health or the practice of primary care in rural areas and participates in special seminars, community service projects, and field trips which enrich his or her knowledge of what a career in rural medicine entails. Provided the student meets the entrance requirements for admission to the University of Alabama School of Medicine (UASOM), he or she has a reserved slot in the next year’s class.  After two years of study in Birmingham, Rural Medical Scholars return to Tuscaloosa for the final two years of medical school which consist of clinical training.   Throughout the program, Rural Medical Scholars maintain peer support group activities, receive collegial support and mentorship from rural practitioners, and receive continued administrative contact and support throughout medical training.

Including this year’s (2005-2006) RMS premed class, 112 students have become Rural Medical Scholars.  Currently, 10 are in the prematriculation year, 36 are in UASOM, 29 in residencies, 5 in fellowships, and 11 in rural practice. Six did not continue the program after the prematriculation year and two discontinued prior to completing basic sciences. 

The first class of Rural Medical Scholars entered the program in 1996 and graduated from the University of Alabama School of Medicine in May 2001. Of the first RMSP class of 10 prematriculating in 1996, two did not enter medical school, one chose subspecialty training, one chose general internal medicine, two chose general pediatrics, and four chose family practice.  Four were selected by their programs to be chief residents: two in Family Medicine, one in Internal Medicine, and one in Pediatrics.