Rural Community Health Program

MSU College of Human Medicine’s Rural Community Health Program is a comprehensive rural health certificate training program designed to prepare future rural physicians to develop and to practice within evolving community-based rural health networks. The Midland Regional Campus is one of the community campuses hosting an R-CHP program.

Students selected for R-CHP are assigned to an existing MSU College of Human Medicine community campus and to a rural educational site, which consists of a rural hospital, the surrounding medical community and the local public health department. Students split their clinical training between these two communities, living and working within their rural educational site during their third and fourth year of medical school

Rural Educational Sites

The rural educational sites associated with the Midland Regional Campus are:

• MyMichigan Medical Center Alma, a 97 licensed-bed full service rural hospital
• MyMichigan Medical Center Clare, a 49 licensed-bed fully accredited acute care facility
• MyMichigan Medical Center West Branch, a 86 licensed-bed full service rural hospital
• Scheurer Health, a critical access hospital with 25 acute care beds and 19 long-term care beds

How It Works

During the first two years of the Shared Discovery Curriculum students enrolled in the Rural Community Health Program attend the Rural Leadership Seminars, held twice per semester. These seminars are an opportunity to get to know your fellow classmates, learn about serving in rural communities, and become better prepared for the remainder of medical school and beyond. 

During years three and four, R-CHP students participate in a hands-on experiential curriculum that emphasizes procedural training, community involvement, public health exposure, and leadership experiences in rural Michigan. A hallmark of the program are two rural electives tailored to each student’s anticipated career path. Additional required and elective time can be done in these R-CHP sites or in other communities nationally or internationally.

Interested students can contact Beth Swiercz for more information.

MSU - CHM Rural Mission Podcasts

These story-based podcasts are about rural health disparities and issues. The podcasts discuss various topics with rural students, preceptors, and community leaders that are working to make rural America their mission.

Rural Mission Podcasts