Rural Track

Learning in Practice

Program Director
Randy Longenecker, MD
Clinical Assistant Professor of Family Medicine
longenecker.4@osu.ed

“There is no better preparation for small town practice than learning to work and live in a rural context, i.e. ‘practicing in place.’” -Randall Longenecker MD, Rural Program Director

The Ohio State University Rural Program is one of less than 25 unique rural training track graduate medical education programs across the country. Since June 2000, the program has graduated 13 physicians, all of whom are serving in rural or underserved communities.

Celebrating a Decade of Rural Medical Education in Ohio
Map of Rural Program Graduates

Combining the best of two worlds - the rigor and excellence of academic Family Medicine and the reality of rural family practice, The Ohio State University Rural Program is located in Logan County, Ohio, integrated within a longstanding rural private practice – a “practice with a residency.” The residency is a division of Mary Rutan Hospital, sponsored by the Ohio State University Medical Center, and affiliated with both Oakhill Medical Associates and The Ohio State University College of Medicine.

As a "2-2-2" integrated rural training track (two residents in each postgraduate residency year), residents spend all three years in clinical practice in Logan County, Ohio. This small town continuity practice is interspersed with periodic training in pediatrics, medical intensive care, cardiology, and sports medicine at The Ohio State University Medical Center and at Nationwide Children's Hospital in Columbus. The program's clinical practice is embedded in a rural private group practice; In contrast to training primarily in a tertiary hospital or large urban community hospital, the scope of patient encounters more accurately reflects the spectrum of problems a family physician can expect to see in subsequent practice.

Curriculum
Practice profile

In addition to its rural emphasis, the program demonstrates a style of education and practice that encourages young physicians to be more mindful in their relationships with patients. It encourages them to attend to more than just the medical facts in a case, addressing the mental, social, and spiritual health of their patients. Framed around a model of professional development called "reflective practice," the program emphasizes this critical skill and the life-long importance of creatively integrating learning and practice.

A longitudinal case-based interprofessional, resident and faculty group experience entitled "Clinical Jazz," fosters collective learning from experiences with peers, patients and their families in an integrated and holistic way. Facilitated by a family physician and a clinical psychologist, this seminar explores the doctor-patient relationship as the core of clinical practice and addresses those aspects of doctoring that are particularly challenging, difficult, or intriguing.

Other unique aspects of the program include:

A particularly strong emphasis on continuity of patient care across settings and stages of life, including a high volume continuity obstetrics practice and mentoring by faculty with a combined experience of more than 2000 deliveries
A Sabbatical Elective in the third year promoting a cross-cultural experience in another rural or international underserved setting.

We believe that when it comes to creating a safe and nurturing learning community, "small is better." Our strengths lie in our wide general scope of practice, an abundance of procedures, our experienced and passionate faculty, and our adaptability to individual learning needs and practice goals.

As part of a rural health professions campus, our faculty and residents participate in the education of medical students at all levels and in the clinical training of family nurse practitioners and pharmacists.

Medical student opportunities
Frequently asked questions
How to apply