Introduction
\n\nGeo rgia is ranked among the ten worst states for most health outcome measures . Rural Georgia communities face many unique challenges in achieving and m aintaining health due to complex social\, geographic\, and economic factor s. Of the state’s 159 counties\, 64 of those counties have no pediatrician \; 79 have no obstetrician/gynecologist\; and nine have no doctor. Those a reas\, plus approximately 100 more rural counties with populations of less than 50\,000\, are classified by the federal government as medically unde rserved by primary care physicians. Recent workforce data indicates Georgi a would need almost 600 additional primary care doctors to eliminate short ages.
\n\nMethods
\n\nTo help meet this need \, Georgia 4-H partnered with Mercer University School of Medicine (MUSM) to offer a unique experience for 4-H youth interested in medical careers. MUSM's mission is to educate physicians and health professionals to meet t he primary care needs of rural\, medically underserved areas of Georgia. M any 4-H’ers are from these rural communities. “Setting Your Sights on Medi cal School” was developed for 9th-12th grade students to introduce\, inspi re\, and empower rural Georgia youth to the pursuit of healthcare careers. Participants explore rural health needs\, medical school resources\, and admission requirements through interactive stations with MUSM faculty\, st aff\, and students.
\n\nResults
\n\nThrough t his partnership\, 123 youth visited Mercer’s campuses\, interacted with me dical school students\, and learned about rural health in Georgia. Evaluat ions show a meaningful majority of participants rated all program componen ts as effective:
\n\nConclus ions
\n\nThere exists a need to educate Georgia high schoo l students from rural areas about the benefits\, need\, and attainability of healthcare professions. By increasing awareness of medicine\, programs like Setting Your Sights on Medical School\, will assist in meeting the cr itical need for rural healthcare workers. The diverse seminars provided pa rticipants with an experiential\, comprehensive picture of the health care career options available in the state. Several former participants have g one on to pursue a medical career and credit this collaboration for igniti ng a passion for rural health care and demonstrating that those aspiration s were attainable.
BEGIN:VALARM UID:36666266-6461-4337-a362-643935386265 ACTION:DISPLAY DESCRIPTION:INTRODUCTION\n\nGeorgia is ranked among the ten worst states fo r most health outcome measures. Rural Georgia communities face many unique challenges in achieving and maintaining health due to complex social\, ge ographic\, and economic factors. Of the state’s 159 counties\, 64 of those counties have no pediatrician\; 79 have no obstetrician/gynecologist\; an d nine have no doctor. Those areas\, plus approximately 100 more rural cou nties with populations of less than 50\,000\, are classified by the federa l government as medically underserved by primary care physicians. Recent w orkforce data indicates Georgia would need almost 600 additional primary c are doctors to eliminate shortages. \n\nMETHODS\n\nTo help meet this need\ , Georgia 4-H partnered with Mercer University School of Medicine (MUSM) t o offer a unique experience for 4-H youth interested in medical careers. M USM's mission is to educate physicians and health professionals to meet th e primary care needs of rural\, medically underserved areas of Georgia. Ma ny 4-H’ers are from these rural communities. “Setting Your Sights on Medic al School” was developed for 9th-12th grade students to introduce\, inspir e\, and empower rural Georgia youth to the pursuit of healthcare careers. Participants explore rural health needs\, medical school resources\, and a dmission requirements through interactive stations with MUSM faculty\, sta ff\, and students.\n\nRESULTS\n\nThrough this partnership\, 123 youth visi ted Mercer’s campuses\, interacted with medical school students\, and lear ned about rural health in Georgia. Evaluations show a meaningful majority of participants rated all program components as effective:\n\n * 99% have m ore knowledgeable of healthcare career opportunities\n * 98% have more kno wledge of resources to be successful in medical school\n * 98% feel comfor table seeking more information about medical school\n * 97% see medical sc hool as an option\n * 96% better understand academic requirements for medi cal school\n * 95% have increased awareness of rural health needs\n * 94% have increased understanding of the application process\n * 92% are more m otivated to attend medical school \n\nCONCLUSIONS \n\nThere exists a need to educate Georgia high school students from rural areas about the benefit s\, need\, and attainability of healthcare professions. By increasing awar eness of medicine\, programs like Setting Your Sights on Medical School\, will assist in meeting the critical need for rural healthcare workers. The diverse seminars provided participants with an experiential\, comprehensi ve picture of the health care career options available in the state. Sever al former participants have gone on to pursue a medical career and credit this collaboration for igniting a passion for rural health care and demons trating that those aspirations were attainable. TRIGGER:-PT15M END:VALARM END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR