Beyond the City Limits: The Critical Value of Rural and Remote Medical Education Experiences

The rapidly urbanizing USA and the world risk distorting medical education and shaping perceptions of medical needs toward urban health challenges, since most schools of medicine are based in large cities. The value of hands-on rural and remote experiences for medical students is increasingly recognized, though their underlying principles and competencies may remain underappreciated. Rural training experiences not only enhance medical knowledge but also increase students’ appreciation of the challenges and opportunities in these areas. Domestic rural and international experiences also offer complementary opportunities for competency development. Allowing medical students to engage in research supporting rural and remote communities not only addresses the needs of these populations but also provides the foundation for groundbreaking discovery and offers opportunities to teach students how to think. An urban-centric training approach risks producing physicians unprepared for rural and resource-limited environments, both domestically and internationally. Providing a robust “classroom” helps ensure that future physicians are prepared for the challenges of healthcare, regardless of where they practice, and that they will be capable of engaging in shared decision-making and thoughtful solutions.