The Influence of the STORM Program and Other Elective Experiences During the Summer Between the First and Second Year on Medical Students' Career Interests.

Introduction: The purpose of this study was to investigate the influence of the Summer Training Option in Rural Medicine (STORM) program and other elective experiences during the summer between the first and second pre-clerkship years of medical school on medical students' career intentions.

Methods: A retrospective voluntary and anonymous cohort study was conducted by distributing an email survey to the 211 second-year medical students at the University of Kansas School of Medicine (KUSM). The survey consisted of a variety of questions regarding their recent summer break elective experiences.

Causes of Anemia in Patients Seen in a Rural Community Hematology Clinic.

Introduction: Anemia is a common medical disorder seen in consultation by hematologists. This study was performed to determine the incidence of the etiologies causing anemia in patients referred to the hematologists at Tammy Walker Cancer Center (TWCC) in the rural Kansas community of Salina. An additional goal of the study was to compare the frequencies of different etiologies for anemia in this cohort of patients with those previously reported by four academic medical centers.

Evaluator Agreement in Medical Student Assessment Across a Multi-Campus Medical School During a Standardized Patient Encounter.

Purpose: Class rank and clerkship grades impact a medical student's residency application. The variability and inter-rater reliability in assessment across multiple clinical sites within a single university system is unknown. We aimed to determine if medical student assessment across medical school campuses is consistent when using a standardized scoring rubric.

Physician Burnout in a Rural Kansas Community.

Introduction: Physician wellness and burnout are topics of intense discussion and study, however, less is known about rural physician burnout. The aim of this study was to assess levels of physician burnout in the rural Kansas community of Salina.

Methods: An electronic, confidential survey was conducted among 145 physicians with active privileges at the local health center and/or surgical center.

Rural Kansas Family Physician Satisfaction with Caring for Spanish-Speaking Only Patients.

Background: Patient satisfaction with the care they receive can be influenced negatively by a language barrier between the physician and patient. However, there is a paucity of information regarding the consequences of a language barrier on physician satisfaction, although this barrier has the potential to decrease physician wellness. This study sought to determine if a language barrier is a source of professional dissatisfaction in family medicine physicians in rural Kansas.

From Infancy to Adolescence: The Kansas University School of Medicine-Salina: A Rural Medical Campus Story.

The University of Kansas School of Medicine established a rural regional campus in Salina, Kansas, in 2011. The creation of a four-year medical campus of only 32 total students in a town of less than 50,000 inhabitants appeared to contradict all previous practices where medical schools have been situated in large metropolitan cities with student bodies frequently in the hundreds. The rationale to open the Salina campus was to attract medical students with a desire to train in a rural environment, hoping that many would eventually elect to practice primary care in rural Kansas.