Rural communities face significant challenges to health care access. High rates of poverty, cultural and social factors, educational hurdles, and other factors combine to create barriers to healthy lives.

A shortage of medical professionals compounds these problems. OHSU is addressing the challenges with the Rural Campus interprofessional education initiative.

Community Driven

Students live together and work in cohorts under the leadership of community partners, clinicians and OHSU research teams. Studying and working in multi-disciplinary cohorts, students learn to communicate with, care for and become full advocates for community members. A range of projects provides students with opportunities for clinical rotations and research.

Programs and Projects in Rural Oregon

Rural Interprofessional Experience
Rural Community-based Project Course: Students engage with community partners, OHSU faculty leaders and interprofessional students to develop, implement and evaluate a community-identified project that addresses a local health issue. All learning activities require two or more interprofessional students working together. (Klamath Falls, South Coast) Contact: Jackilen Shannon,  Ph.D., R.D., M.P.H.

Community Research Coalitions: The OCTRI Community and Collaboration Core, with support from the Integrated Program in Community Research, works to build capacity for research across Oregon through the development, support and dissemination of Community Research Coalitions. Contact: Jackilen Shannon, Ph.D., R.D., M.P.H.

I-CAN Innovation Incubator Project: The Interprofessional Care Access Network spans academic departments and courses to bring together students who are performing existing community/clinic rotations as part of their curriculum. Students from the Schools of Nursing, Medicine, Dentistry, and Public Health, and the College of Pharmacy form interprofessional teams to help individuals and families in underserved communities address barriers to health-related to social determinants of health. (Klamath Falls) Contact: Peggy Wros, Ph.D., R.N.

Reaching Rural Residents with IPE: Community-based IPE initiative funded by the National Center for Interprofessional Practice and Education. The initiative accelerates interprofessional education into community settings by collaborations between health professions educators and community partners. (Klamath Falls)

Rural Resources 
The Oregon Office of Rural Health: ORH offers assistance to hospitals, clinics and communities to strengthen the rural health care delivery system.

Oregon Rural Scholar Program: The program provides the experience of providing primary care in a rural setting to students interested in pursuing this path. 

Scholars for a Healthy Oregon Initiative: SHOI provides loan forgiveness options to eligible students interested in unique opportunities to help address healthcare disparity in the state. 

Oregon Area Health Education Center: AHEC provides education—from K-16 through professional training—designed to create an early pipeline of health care professionals and improve the availability, continuity and quality of health care for communities and populations in need. Contact: Curt Stilp, M.S., P.A.-C.

Teaching affiliates and project collaborators