The University of Nebraska Medical Center Department of Family Medicine
is celebrating the 50th anniversary of its rural preceptorship program
one of the first in the United States. UNMC will honor 134 rural family
medicine physicians from 58 communities in Nebraska at a luncheon March
26 during the Nebraska Academy of Family Physicians annual meeting at the
Doubletree Hotel in Omaha.
Started in 1949 as an elective and then required since 1971, the program
provides medical students experience in a rural medical setting. Rural
preceptorships are now required for third-year medical students to spend
at least eight weeks in communities outside Omaha and Lincoln.
It is important for medical schools to provide a rural, primary care
training experience, said Paul Paulman, M.D., UNMC Department of Family
Medicine and director of the family medicine preceptorship. This is especially
true in Nebraska where many of the people in our state live in rural and
urban areas which are medically underserved.
More than 3,000 medical students and more than 1,000 physicians from
Nebraska communities of 650 to 40,000 have participated in training medical
students, Dr. Paulman said.
Rural physicians involved in the program spend more than 50,000 hours
per year with medical students, he said. UNMCs program is the fourth oldest
in the country and at eight weeks, is the longest required rural rotation.
There are 134 preceptors currently in the program in Nebraska.
Our preceptors give their time voluntarily to promote the education
of future physicians, Dr. Paulman said. In addition, they house and feed
our students.
He said students gain a variety of experiences, from diagnosing and
treating ear infections to delivering babies. They also improve their communication
skills with patients and their families, learn the business side of managing
a healthcare practice and learn about the people of the community.
Medical students see an average of 15 to 20 patients a day during their
preceptorship. Students consistently rate the experience the most valuable
clinical experience of their training, Dr. Paulman said.
In a rural preceptorship, the students dont have to compete to see
patients and do procedures, he said. They experience more breadth and
volume in what they see. They may get the opportunity to be first assistant
on surgery and deliver babies.
The rural preceptorship experience John Wilcox, M.D., had while in Aurora,
Neb., inspired him to join a practice at the Aurora Memorial Health Clinic
after he completed his training. Dr. Wilcox has been on staff at the clinic
for 26 years and also serves as a preceptor training other future health
professionals.
My roommate came here for his preceptorship and thats how I decided,
said Dr. Wilcox. I remember when I came here it was cold. So cold my car
battery froze solid. When I first got here as a medical student, there
were three doctors here. We had a great time.
The experience is also worthwhile for the physicians who help train
the medical students.
The biggest value we get is to see students mature, said K.C. Bagby,
M.D., a physician who for 35 years has been with the Blair Clinic in Blair,
Neb. The students get here and you can see they are questioning themselves,
but by the time they leave then have grown in self-confidence. The experience
also keeps us on our toes because there are a lot of things the students
know more details about than us, such as new procedures.
Robert Hanlon, M.D., of the Chadron Medical Clinic in Chadron, Neb.,
said he and his colleagues enjoy the experience. It is a delightful reward
as a preceptor to be able to help these young students with the enthusiasm
that they demonstrate. We also benefit by their presence in that the students
tend to bring new ideas and information to us and it helps us in our never-ending
quest to keep up with new information as much as possible.
A list of the rural physicians being honored as participants in the
rural preceptorship program is attached.
UNMC Rural Preceptor Directory, 1998-1999
ALBION Drs. Anthony Kusek, John Mazour,
Brad Hupp & Joel Travis
Boone County Medical Clinic
ALLIANCE Drs. Bruce Forney & Ed Pierce
Alliance Medical Center
ALMA Richard Jay, D.O.
Harlan County Medical Clinic
AUBURN Dr. David McMaster
Auburn Clinic
AURORA Drs. Mark Jobman, Michael Sullivan, Timothy Widhalm, John
Wilcox, Jeffrey Muilenburg & Scott Johnson
Memorial Health Clinic
BEATRICE Drs. Alan Langvardt & Robert McLellan
Beatrice Medical Center
BROKEN BOW Drs. N. Leon Books, Shawn Lawrence & Kenneth Loper
Broken Bow Clinic
BROKEN BOW Dr. Loren Jacobsen & Dr. David Minnick
Central Nebraska Medical Clinic, P.C.
CAMBRIDGE Drs. Lennie Deaver, Tamara Johnson & Rachelle Kaspar-Cope
(Brent Keenportz – Arapahoe Clinic)
Cambridge Medical Clinic
CENTRAL CITY Drs. Jerome Gacke & Steven Mahnke
Lone Tree Medical Associates
CHADRON Drs. Robert Hanlon, Robert Rasmussen, R.M Penor, J.L.
McLain, E.A. Pelton & Sutera
Chadron Medical Clinic
COLUMBUS Dr. Milton Zadina
Columbus Family Practice Associates
CREIGHTON Dr. Douglas M. Laflan
DAVID CITY Dr. Gerald Luckey, Victor Thoendel, Mark Carlson &
Jo Witter
Butler County Clinic
FAIRBURY Drs. Richard Blatny & Craig Shumard
Fairbury Clinic
FALLS CITY Dr. David Borg
Community Medical Center
FORT CALHOUN Dr. Douglas Campbell
FREMONT Dr. Milo Anderson
FREMONT Dr. William Eaton
FREMONT Dr. Thomas McKnight
FREMONT Dr. Monty Sellon
FRIEND Dr. Robert McKeeman
Friend Medical Clinic
GERING Drs. Donald Gentry, Richard Clark & Daniel Harkins
Trails West Family Practice, P.C.
GORDON Dr. Joel Hutchins
Gordon Clinic
GOTHENBERG Dr. Craig Bartruff
Gothenburg Medical Arts
GRAND ISLAND Drs. Steven Husen, Gary Settje, Donald Wirth,
Richard Freuhling & Ken Vettel
Family Practice of Grand Island
GRANT Dr. Paul Bottom
Grant Medical Clinic
GRETNA Dr. William Weeks
SW Family Physicians
HASTINGS Drs. Fred Catlett, Harry Salyards, Phyllis Salyards &
Michael Johnson
Hastings Family Practice
HASTINGS Dr. Michael Skoch
Physician’s Building Family Practice
HOLDREGE Drs. Stuart Embury, Charlotte Wirges & Scott Ehresman
Family Medicine Specialties
HOLDREGE Dr. Richard Reiner
High Plains Family Medicine
IMPERIAL Drs. Paul Grow, David Johnson & Kristen Johnson
Frenchman Valley Family Practice
KEARNEY Drs. Michael Hanich, Lawrence Helmick & Brad Rodgers
Kearney Clinic (no students currently)
KEARNEY Drs. Rusty Hilliard & Robert Messbarger
Family Practice Associates
KIMBALL Dr. James Plate
The Family Clinic
LEXINGTON Drs. John Ford, Mark Jones, Joe Miller, Greg Kloch,
Pat Unterseher
& Francisca Acosta-Carlson
MCCOOK Drs. Richard Klug, Mark Serbousek, John Grove,
Richard Carleton, Corinne Phillips-Ward & Donald Sampson
McCook Clinic
NEBRASKA CITY Drs. Paul Madison, Gary Rademacher Dean Thomson &
Jonathan Stelling
Physicians Clinic
NORFOLK Drs. Timothy Davy, John Huscher & Richard Dane Robinson
Norfolk Family Medicine
NORFOLK Drs. Tom Surber & David Lux
Sunset Plaza Clinic
OGALLALA Dr. Berl Spencer & Kurt Johnson
Ogallala Medical Group, P.C.
OGALLALA Dr. Bart Kolste
Family Medicine Center
O’NEILL Dr. Richard Fitch
O’Neill Family Practice, P.C.
O’NEILL Drs. Mark Ptacek & Peter Lueninghoener
PAWNEE CITY Drs. Richard Jackson & G.R. Voigtlander
Pawnee County Rural Health Clinic
PENDER Drs. Ben O. Martin & David Hoelting
Pender Medical Clinic
SCOTTSBLUFF Drs. Milton Johnson, Pat Brown, Drs. Kent
Lacey & Kent Smith
Bob Barnwell,
Physician’s Family Clinic
SCHUYLER Dr. James Martin
SEWARD Dr. Van Vahle
SIDNEY Drs. Calvin Cutright, J.D. Akerson, Clinton Dorwart &
Michael Mathews
TECUMSEH Dr. Keith Shuey
Johnson County Medical Center
TECUMSEH Dr. Stacy Goodrich
Tecumseh Family Health
VALENTINE Drs. Steven Senseney, Allen Hunt, & Annette Miller
Cherry County Physicians Clinic
WAHOO Dr. John E. Hansen
Wahoo Clinic
WAHOO Drs. Leo Meduna & Naila Haroon
WEEPING WATER Dr. Allan Wilsey
Weeping Water Family Practice
YORK Drs. David Demuth, Patrick Hotovy, Greg Woods &
Steve Thomas
York Medical Clinic
UNMC is the only public academic health science center in the state.
Through its commitment to research, education and patient care, UNMC has
established itself as one of the country’s leading centers for cancer research
and treatment and solid organ transplantation. More than $34 million
in research grants and contracts are awarded to UNMC scientists annually.
In addition, UNMC’s educational programs are responsible for training more
health professionals practicing in Nebraska than any other institution.