Verby J E
Department of Family Practice and Community Health, University of Minnesota Medical School, Minneapolis.
J Med Educ. 1988 Jun;63(6):427-37. doi: 10.1097/00001888-198806000-00001.
The Rural Physician Associate Program (RPAP) at the University of Minnesota Medical School is a clinical education experience for third-year students that lasts nine to 12 months. In 1970 the Minnesota legislature required the medical school faculty to find an educational method to redistribute physicians into the medically underserved rural areas of Minnesota or lose state funds for the medical school. After 16 years of the program, all 87 counties in Minnesota have an acceptable ratio of general physicians for the first time in the state's history. RPAP students work directly with and are supervised by general physicians practicing in rural areas; these preceptors have an average age of 40 years, are board-certified, and have 12 years of clinical experience. They give their teaching services and a $2,500 stipend to the student; the state provides $7,000 to the student with no obligation that the student practice in rural Minnesota after training. The preceptors, RPAP staff members, and visiting university faculty members provide 50, 30, and 20 percent, respectively, of a student's grades for the program; the student receives six months of credit for the program. As of 1986, 57 percent of the former RPAP students in practice were practicing in rural communities, with a majority in Minnesota and a majority in towns with populations less than 10,000.
明尼苏达大学医学院的农村医师助理项目（RPAP）是一项针对三年级学生的临床教育体验，为期9至12个月。1970年，明尼苏达州立法机构要求医学院教员找到一种教育方法，将医生重新分配到明尼苏达州医疗服务不足的农村地区，否则医学院将失去州政府资金。该项目实施16年后，明尼苏达州的87个县有史以来首次拥有了可接受的全科医生比例。RPAP项目的学生直接与在农村地区执业的全科医生合作并接受其监督；这些带教老师平均年龄为40岁，拥有专业委员会认证，并有12年临床经验。他们为学生提供教学服务，并给学生2500美元的津贴；该州向学生提供7000美元，且不要求学生在明尼苏达州农村地区培训后执业。带教老师、RPAP工作人员和来访大学教员分别为该项目中学生的成绩贡献50%、30%和20%；该项目学生可获得6个月学分。截至1986年，57%的已毕业RPAP学生在农村社区执业，其中大多数在明尼苏达州，且大多数在人口不足10000的城镇。
