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The Summer Prematriculation Program is a four-week program designed to provide academic, clinical and community medicine exposure to students prior to the start of their first year of medical school at U of L. Students accepted into this program must show interest in learning more about rural health care and primary care practice.

Prematriculation students spend about ten hours per week in classroom activities including medical case studies, research, and discussions about health care needs in rural communities. Students are assigned to physician preceptors for shadowing opportunities for approximately fifteen hours per week in various settings, including small rural clinics, hospitals, and nursing home facilities. Students spend approximately fifteen hours per week assessing the health care needs of an assigned county through research and data collection, interviewing key community leaders, and talking with members of the respective communities (1). A recent focus on health literacy assessment has been added.

This program provides clinical exposure as well as a framework for students to evaluate their future medical practice before beginning their M-1 academic year. Participating students gain the experience of beginning to think like practicing clinicians, as well as develop relationships with some of their classmates before medical school begins.

Prematriculation/Preclinical Program Goals

• To expose the student to clinical skills through observation and practice.
• To become familiar with the types of clinical problems managed in primary care.
• To become familiar with the process of community health needs assessment.

References

1. Brooks B, Crump B, Martin D. Community Assessment Using the Key Informant Method: A Snapshot of Some Rural Communities from the Perspective of Community Leaders. Journal of the Kentucky Medical Association 2000; 98:27-30.