TY - JOUR
T1 - Umeå University's proposed 'Rural Stream' - An effective alternative to the longitudinal integrated clerkship model for small rural communities?
AU - Carson, Dean
AU - Wennberg, Patrik
AU - Hultin, Magnus
AU - Andersson, Jenny
AU - Hedman, Mante
AU - Berggren, Peter
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2020 Education for Health | Published by Wolters Kluwer - Medknow.
Copyright:
Copyright 2020 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.
PY - 2020
Y1 - 2020
N2 - Background: Umeå University Faculty of Medicine (UUFM), Sweden, has a regionalized medical program in which students spend the final 2½ years of their undergraduate degree in district hospitals. In late 2018, UUFM started a 'rural stream' pilot exposing students to smaller rural locations. Methods: The objectives are to deliver the benefits for medical education and rural workforce development that have been observed in longitudinal integrated clerkships (LICs) while maintaining consistency between learning experiences in the main campus, regional campuses, and rural locations. This article compares the UUFM rural stream with those typical of the LICs described in the medical education literature. Comparisons are made in terms of the four key criteria for LIC success, and additional characteristics including peer and interprofessional learning, ''continuity,' and curriculum development. Results: The rural stream has elements of length, immersion, position in the degree program, and community engagement that are both similar to, and different from, LICs. Key challenges are to ensure that participating students create close relationships with host medical facilities and communities. The rural stream also has some potential advantages, particularly in relation to team learning. Discussion: Alternatives to the LIC rural stream model as typically described in the literature may be required to allow for immersive medical education to occur in smaller rural communities and to be suitable for medical schools with more traditional approaches to education.
AB - Background: Umeå University Faculty of Medicine (UUFM), Sweden, has a regionalized medical program in which students spend the final 2½ years of their undergraduate degree in district hospitals. In late 2018, UUFM started a 'rural stream' pilot exposing students to smaller rural locations. Methods: The objectives are to deliver the benefits for medical education and rural workforce development that have been observed in longitudinal integrated clerkships (LICs) while maintaining consistency between learning experiences in the main campus, regional campuses, and rural locations. This article compares the UUFM rural stream with those typical of the LICs described in the medical education literature. Comparisons are made in terms of the four key criteria for LIC success, and additional characteristics including peer and interprofessional learning, ''continuity,' and curriculum development. Results: The rural stream has elements of length, immersion, position in the degree program, and community engagement that are both similar to, and different from, LICs. Key challenges are to ensure that participating students create close relationships with host medical facilities and communities. The rural stream also has some potential advantages, particularly in relation to team learning. Discussion: Alternatives to the LIC rural stream model as typically described in the literature may be required to allow for immersive medical education to occur in smaller rural communities and to be suitable for medical schools with more traditional approaches to education.
KW - Longitudinal integrated clerkships
KW - rural medical education
KW - Sweden
KW - Umeå University
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85090169725&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.4103/efh.EfH_343_17
DO - 10.4103/efh.EfH_343_17
M3 - Article
C2 - 32859873
AN - SCOPUS:85090169725
VL - 33
SP - 3
EP - 7
JO - Education for Health: change in learning and practice
JF - Education for Health: change in learning and practice
SN - 1357-6283
IS - 1
ER -