Journal of Regional Medical Campuses

Comparing learning environments across rural and non-rural clinical teaching sites

Thu, 15 Jan 2026 00:00:00 -0600

Background

Medical schools utilizing community-based medical education (CBME) models are responsible for providing students with learning environments that are respectful, intellectually stimulating, and professionally supportive across dozens, and sometimes hundreds, of clinical teaching sites in rural and urban communities. The University of Washington School of Medicine’s (UWSOM) CBME model is one of the oldest and largest, spanning across Washington, Wyoming, Alaska, Montana and Idaho. This descriptive study compared the treatment of students between rural and non-rural clerkship preceptors.

Methods

This study utilized Medical Student of Educator Evaluation (MSEE) data from 1,101 students who completed required clinical rotations in family medicine, pediatrics, internal medicine, surgery, psychiatry, and obstetrics/gynecology from 2019 to 2023. The analysis focused on two key evaluation questions regarding the clinical learning environment: Likert scale respect scores of preceptors and reports of negative behaviors by preceptors toward students. The results were compared between preceptors at rural and non-rural teaching sites. All evaluations were anonymized and aggregated to protect student identities.

Results

Across all clerkships, at both rural and non-rural sites, mean Likert respect scores were above 4.9 on a Likert Scale of 5. Similarly, less than 1% of students in both rural and non-rural sites reported negative behavior directed toward them. “Public embarrassment” was the most frequently reported negative behavior in both settings.

Conclusion

This study suggests that CBME-based medical schools can provide supportive learning environments across rural and non-rural teaching sites. However, the infrequent occurrence of negative preceptor behavior underscores the importance of continued monitoring and timely intervention to safeguard students.

MedPals: Shaping Futures and Enhancing Medical Education Through a One-on-One Mentorship Program

Jacqueline T. Leon, Tyler S. Ohler, Deanna H. Morris — Thu, 15 Jan 2026 00:00:00 -0600

With an increasing number of aspiring physicians and the desire for medical schools to select well-rounded students due to the goal of providing patient centered care in the future, the medical school application process has become more competitive. Websites and school admissions counselors provide a wealth of knowledge, but first-hand accounts from medical students who have personally been through the process, provide an added benefit and serve as invaluable resources for pre-medical students. Through a pilot mentorship program between Western Kentucky University (WKU) and the University of Kentucky College of Medicine (UKCOM)’s Bowling Green campus, pre-medical students (mentees) were paired with first-, second-, and third- year medical students (mentors) based on common interests. Mentees and mentors met in-person at monthly workshops and remained in constant email communication throughout the Spring and Fall 2024 semesters. Overall, the pilot program was successful. Mentors gained leadership skills, and mentees received access to the medical students’ experiences. WKU students’ scheduled classes were barriers to mentees attending workshops causing fluctuating attendance percentages. To increase event turnout, the program’s leadership will review pre-medical class times prior to scheduling meeting dates and times. Based on end-of-the-year survey comments, participants recommended the program hosts more events to continue to foster the mentor/mentee relationship. Continuing to better the program will accomplish its goal of impacting medical education.

Exploring Community Preceptors’ Professional Identity Formation as Medical Educators: A Qualitative Study

Thu, 15 Jan 2026 00:00:00 -0600

Purpose

A sense of professional identity as a medical educator nurtures self-efficacy, commitment, job satisfaction, and motivation to engage deliberately in teaching which are essential in becoming an effective teacher. Engagement in communities of medical educators may foster the formation of a teacher identity. For community preceptors who practice in settings away from the medical school the formation of professional identity as educators is less understood. This study aimed to explore the formation of community preceptors’ sense of self-identity as medical educators.

Method

Semi-structured interviews were conducted with community preceptors from two medical schools from May to July 2022. Transcripts were analyzed using open coding. Cruess et al. Professional Identity Formation framework was used to organize codes into categories and themes.

Results

Eleven community preceptors practicing in rural settings were interviewed. Participants reported feeling isolated, and lacking contemporary role models. They identified teaching faculty during their medical school and residency training as role models. Opportunities to socialize with other medical educators and engage in faculty development were limited. Clinical demands, time constraints, and practice location hindered their engagement and sense of belonging in the community of medical educators. Their self-confidence as educators was founded on their self-assessed competency as clinicians. They perceived clinical competency as most important in their ability to teach. They acknowledged the value of teaching in their professional growth and patient care.

Conclusions

Community preceptors had limited opportunities for socialization with other medical educators, faculty development, and engagement with the medical school. They attributed their self-confidence as medical educators to their self-assessed clinical competency. Teaching was valuable to their professional growth and patient care. More research is needed to better understand the factors influencing the formation of an educator identity in community preceptors to develop strategies for their successful integration into the community of medical educators.

Health Careers Opportunity Program: A Pathway to Increase Providers in Underserved Communities

Hoa B. Appel, John F. McCarthy, Sarah Azhar, Nora Coronado, Daniel R. Olson — Thu, 15 Jan 2026 00:00:00 -0600

Abstract
The current critical shortage of primary care physicians (PCPs) in rural communities has been well documented. To respond to this shortage, the Federal Bureau of Healthcare Workforce has encouraged medical schools to recruit students from disadvantaged backgrounds to apply to medical schools and upon graduation to work in rural communities. This paper presents four programs the University of Washington School of Medicine (UWSOM) has implemented toward that end, with focus on the Ambassador program.

Methods
The UWSOM Office of Rural Programs offers a Health Careers Opportunity Program (HCOP). The HCOP summer programs recruit, train, and provide academic and social support to underrepresented students from rural and underserved areas. The students are thereby encouraged to enter medical school and eventually to practice in those communities. The Ambassador program recruited these students by e-mail with assistance from various health professional schools. Selection criteria were educational and/or economic disadvantage backgrounds and currently attending a health professional school.

Results
The UWSOM program’s pathways have engaged high school and undergraduate students in its summer preparation programs. For students in three of the four pathways (high school, undergraduate, and medical school), the initial numbers are small, but the trajectory demonstrates an encouraging trend. The HCOP Ambassador program has 50 students, most of whom are medical and physician assistant students. Ambassadors found the program helpful, especially regarding the interprofessional education and mentoring of high school and undergraduate students interested in becoming future PCPs.

Conclusion
Preliminary results show an encouraging trend in recruiting and retaining students willing to serve in rural and underserved communities. Our goal is to build upon this favorable trend by continuing recruitment and training of underrepresented students, learning from each cohort the changes needed to optimize future recruitment and training, and so create a healthcare workforce to serve these populations.

Conflict Disclosure: No conflict of interest from all authors

What is really important to this generation of medical students? A look back into a college pathways program

Alexis Head, BS, Emily Bolinger, BS, Collin McGlone, BS, William J. Crump, MD — Thu, 15 Jan 2026 00:00:00 -0600

Background: Surveys of college student attitudes and life plans conducted prior to the COVID-19 pandemic have been attributed to the “Generation Z” effect. Few scientifically valid studies have addressed these changes after the pandemic, though many opinion pieces have expressed medical educators perceive that almost everything has changed. This longitudinal study reports an annual measure of college students’ opinions during a medical school pathway program at a regional campus. The Treatment Options Opinion Survey (TOOS) included 5 medical and 6 social items and has been used each year since 2005.

Methods: The TOOS was administered on the first and last days of the 3–4 week summer College Rural Scholar (CRS) program. The survey began with the prompt: “Indicate your opinion concerning the importance of understanding the following items in choosing the best treatment option for your patient.” Each of the 11 TOOS items used a 5-point response scale (1 = strongly disagree to 5 = strongly agree). The study included 87 pre-medical CRS participants from the 2016–2019 summers (pre-COVID, termed the “previous cohort”) and 2022–2025 (termed the “COVID-era cohort”). Distributions and means were calculated and analyzed using the Kruskal-Wallis one-way analysis of variance. Statistical significance was defined as p < .05.

Results: The change after the program was largely in the expected direction, but there were no statistically significant differences in importance of traditional medical items, which were consistently ranked as high importance before and after the program in both student cohorts. Of the six social items, most showed a significant increase in measured importance after the program by both COVID- era (2022-2025) and previous (years 2016-2019) student cohorts with two exceptions.
“Understanding how ready the patient is to make changes” was much more important to the COVID- era student cohort. In contrast, there was no statistical increase in this item’s importance for the previous cohort from pre- to post-program. Similarly, “understanding the health beliefs held by the patient” was rated significantly more important by the COVID-era student cohort, with no significant change observed in the earlier group. COVID

Conclusion: Medical educators have recognized that almost nothing is the same since the 2020 pandemic. The fundamental aspects of good doctoring remain, but Gen Z learners—shaped by the world-shattering events of their formative years—carry these experiences into their early professional identity development. This unique longitudinal study of a homogeneous pre-medical population suggests that these students naturally seek a more egalitarian patient-physician relationship and place greater emphasis on the patient's beliefs and readiness for change. As these students enter medical school, it is important for medical educators to appreciate that this shift has already occurred, while awaiting further studies in more diverse settings.

The 6 Types of Working Genius – a Framework applicable to Scholarly Activity on Regional Campuses

Victor Kolade — Thu, 15 Jan 2026 00:00:00 -0600

This report illustrates some ways that primary care faculty on regional campuses can expand their portfolios of scholarly publications. Working in teams is emphasized.

The Oath Still Matters

Krisa Keute — Thu, 15 Jan 2026 00:00:00 -0600

The Oath Still Matters, is a piece reflecting on the enduring relevance of the Hippocratic Oath, or equivalent, by way of personal anecdotes during medical training at Hennepin County Medical Center. Through the lens of patient care, the piece explores the ethical challenges faced by physicians when confronted with personal biases, systemic barriers, and societal judgments. The narrative underscores the vital role of compassion, professionalism, and impartiality in upholding the medical oath, particularly in the current era marked by political divisions and healthcare disparities. By drawing on examples of mentorship and real-world ethical dilemmas, the article emphasizes the unwavering responsibility of physicians to provide care to all, regardless of background or circumstance. Ultimately, the piece urges healthcare professionals to resist current government external pressures to stay true to a mission focused on healing the sick and suffering of all humanity.