After completing the REHPS program at Sanford Chamberlain Medical Center, I would recommend that all students pursuing a professional career in healthcare apply and experience this program firsthand. REHPS gave me opportunities that I would have never had outside of the program, and I gained valuable knowledge and experience throughout my 3 weeks. Normal shadowing opportunities do not dive as deep into how rural healthcare truly works as REHPS. Throughout my time at Chamberlain, I was able to meet with most of the different departments that make the medical center run. From nurses to maintenance to laundry to the lab,…
After finishing up my REHPS program, I think I can confidently say that I learned things about rural medicine that I doubt I would have learned at any other time of my medical education. First, I think it is very important for all physicians to have a firm understanding of all parts of primary care and what patient’s experiences are like in that primary care setting. This does not simply refer to only family practice physicians, as there are multiple different healthcare practices that patients see in a primary care setting. Unfortunately, there is not a lot of time in…
My REHPS experience took me to the rural town of Redfield, SD. From the moment I entered the town, I knew that it had a feeling like home. Despite its small population, Redfield had many things to offer that I would never have expected, one example being a very well-maintained drive-in movie theater, one of the town’s many unique attractions. In addition, the city park was well-kept and housed a 9-hole disc golf course, something I enjoy spending nice days playing. Being from a smaller town in Iowa and attending school at South Dakota State University in Brookings, I had…
Throughout my three-week experience in Bowdle, I was given the opportunity to see many different sides of the healthcare system. Not only was I able to see how the pharmacy works in a rural setting, but I was also able to experience pretty much every other aspect of rural healthcare. Everyone in Bowdle was extremely willing to show us different parts of their jobs and ultimately were the reason why this experience was so great. For the first couple of days, I followed the pharmacist, Doug Turner. Being in such a small community, I saw that he really has to…
My three-week experience in Bowdle was nothing short of wonderful. The first day, we had the opportunity to meet everyone at the Bowdle Healthcare Center (BHC), eat some good food at the famous Drake’s C-store and settle into our accommodations. Every person was incredibly kind and welcoming, and I knew right away that I was going to enjoy my time there. During the three weeks, Allison and I were fortunate to work with the three providers, nurses, administration, physical therapist and radiology technicians. Allison and I were also able to teach each other about our professional programs and we became…
AHEC Scholars AHEC Scholars is a program for health professions students interested in supplementing their education by gaining additional knowledge and experience in rural and/or underserved urban settings. This is a longitudinal program with interdisciplinary curricula to implement a defined set of clinical, didactic, and community-based activities. All experiential or clinical training will be conducted in rural and/or underserved urban settings. DTD Disaster Training Day, held on the University of South Dakota (USD) campus, is designed to prepare future healthcare professionals to assist their communities should a disaster strike. In the past ten years, over 5,900 students have received training,…
As a fourth year medical student, I had a unique experience to participate in the REHPs program as part of my elective credits. I am going into family medicine, so gaining a full understanding of rural health, the roles of primary health care providers, and the integrated health care team will be invaluable to my future career. The Winner Regional healthcare community provided an excellent opportunity to explore and collaborate with many different disciplines within the healthcare system. Sami Boeck, an SDSU pharmacy student, joined me during the four weeks in Winner. It was great to have a student in…
Kristin Rokusek on her time in Redfield Week One: Day 1: We started our experience with tours and introductions to the healthcare facilities and the community of Redfield. Aly, our site coordinator, provided us a tour of Community Memorial Hospital, the Redfield Clinic, and Randall Pharmacy and introduced us to providers and staff. She then took us on a tour of the community of Redfield. We also received a tour of a local nursing home and sat down with the CEO of Community Memorial Hospital. Even though he had never planned to work in a rural community, he shared his…
Ali Vogelsang on her time in Parkston Week One: My first week as a REHPS student in Parkston was busy! Tuesday brought a challenge because we traveled to Sioux Falls with the Marketing Director and the air conditioning in the van stopped working. The outside temperature that day was 100 degrees! Despite being in a heat box, Julie, Megan and I made light of the situation and actually had a lot of fun commiserating in the heat. Despite this, we also had practical opportunities that we likely would not have had in a large hospital setting. We had the opportunity…