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Loretta Jackson, MD, PhD
Loretta Jackson, MD, PhD
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Three years with IMPACT the RACE

In 2020, the School of Medicine (SOM) was awarded a Health Resources & Services Administration (HRSA) grant in the Value-Based Medical Student Education Training Program. The project developed with the grant was named IMPACT the RACE – Improved Primary Care for the Rural Community through Medical Education – by the school and worked to enhance rural medical education for students. Ultimately, the project will increase primary care physicians throughout rural communities in Mississippi and provide foundational knowledge of rural communities for all physicians who complete the educational program.  This work has been accomplished through the provision of exemplary education, hands-on training, and exposure to rural communities while all medical students are in the educational program.

With the grant closing this year, some of the highlighted accomplishments include:

  • Physical renovations of teaching space and technology improvements;
  • Rural rotations for self-selected and interested medical students;
  • Grenada housing for medical students completing rural clinical rotations;
  • Living and travel expenses for medical students with approved rural rotations;
  • Targeted faculty development;
  • Summer enrichment programs for various students including
    • High school students considering a career in medicine
    • College students preparing to apply to medical school
    • Students admitted to the medical school with an interest in rural medicine;
  • Expanded academic counseling for all medical students engaged in pursuing the medical educational program;
  • Support and enhancement of the Mercy Delta experience;
  • Support for simulation training;
  • Support for the rural expansion of work by the Jackson Free Clinic;
  • Scholarships to cover four years of medical school for clinical students willing to commit to practice in a rural community for 5 years as a physician in a primary care specialty;
  • Development of a statewide Rural Medicine Education Symposium;
  • Network with rural hospitals and residency programs; and
  • Expansion of the administrative office for medical education.

Last year as we prepared for this closing year of the grant, we submitted and secured funding for IMPACT the RACE 2.0 which provides funding for the educational program until 2027.  We will continue some of the work of the initial grant, but will transition to focus on refinement of the content of the educational program and support of students.

With the new grant, some of the continuing focus centers on:

  • Technology support for the educational program;
  • Academic counseling for medical students;
  • Living and travel expenses for medical students completing rural clinical rotations;
  • Four-year scholarships for selected clinical students who commit to practice in a rural community in a primary care specialty;
  • Enrichment programs for college students preparing to apply to medical school and medical students with a specific interest in rural medicine;
  • Community health education and training;
  • Support for the administrative office for medical education;
  • Targeted faculty development; and
  • Continuation of the statewide Rural Medicine Education Symposium.

In addition, post baccalaureate studies at the University of Mississippi Medical Center (UMMC) has been included as an area of support for the new grant.  The Professional Portal Program (PPP) at the UMMC was developed to attract students from environmentally and/or economically disadvantaged backgrounds. Under some circumstances, these students may have less competitive academic metrics, but have the non-cognitive and professional attributes for the professional programs. The graduate school at the UMMC provides rigorous instruction in post-baccalaureate biomedical sciences that help these students meet admission criteria for the medical educational program.

Through the PPP, students receive a master’s degree in the biomedical sciences. If the student does not attend medical school, the degree also prepares them to teach at the community/junior college level and allows them to acquire training for governmental and industrial positions.

With the grant, the program will be enhanced by providing the following:

  1. Access to the CALM (Cultivating Advanced Learning Methods) Canvas Course developed and maintained by the academic counselor in the SOM;
  2. Academic support such as counseling and tutoring for the students;
  3. Payment for the required MCAT prep course for the educational program of the PPP;
  4. A living expense for the selected students; and
  5. Additional curriculum support for the PPP.

We are ready for the additional work through IMPACT the Race 2.0 and welcome suggestions and ideas at Impacttherace@umc.edu.