Third Class of Rural Medical Scholars Enters Medical School
Contact: Linda Jackson, (205) 348-1302
May, 1999
UA Rural Medical Scholars, who are entering the School of Medicine
this July (1999), join two previous RMS classes at the University
of Alabama School of Medicine (UASOM). UASOM Dean William Deal,
M.D., has expressed support in previous meetings with the Scholars
for the Rural Medical Scholars program and for the students involved
who plan to return to their rural roots to practice primary care
medicine. He stressed the importance of primary care and the role
of physicians as they care for their patients in medicine's changing
environment.
The Rural Medical Scholar
Program, a highly selective pre-med program of the UASOM and The
University of Alabama, admits and prepares up to ten outstanding
rural scholars each year for Family Medicine or primary care practice
in Alabama. Selection is based on high academic achievement, character
and leadership qualities, and residence in a rural area. In the
year prior to matriculation to medical school, the Rural Medical
Scholars enroll in courses at The University of Alabama, receiving
primary care instruction supportive of rural practice. They receive
preferred status for entry into the University of Alabama School
of Medicine and special consideration after medical school for
UASOM family practice residency training.