Budget cuts could hinder U’s rural doctor training program

The legislature has proposed eliminating nearly all funding for a training fund called Medical Education Research Costs (MERC), writes MPR News reporter Madeleine Baran today. The proposal could contribute to an already serious shortage of physicians in greater Minnesota by eliminating millions of dollars used to train medical students in clinics and hospitals across the state.

To quote Baran's story: "Without the funding, smaller clinics might decide they cannot afford to provide medical training and the University of Minnesota Medical School might decide it cannot afford to send as many students to rural areas, said Mary Koppel, an assistant vice president in the University of Minnesota's Academic Health Center."

A few weeks ago, Ground Level ran a piece about the rural doctor training program on the University of Minnesota's Duluth campus, which turns out more small town physicians than any other school in the country.

What would MERC cuts mean to this effort? Today, Raymond Christensen, Associate Director of the Rural Physician Associate Program, said, "It's an important piece," especially for the U's preceptor program, which matches students with doctors and nurses in rural Minnesota.

MERC "really is the only clinical compensation there is for training medical students," he said.

If the fund is cut, Christensen added, "It's going to make it harder to find sites. The Hippocratic Oath says to train those who come behind. At same time, there is a lot of money in medicine. It's financially driven."

So much of the practice of medicine is based on experiential education, Christensen said. "We need our preceptors."

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