Curriculum
Year 1
Summer Rotation / Community Diagnosis
The summer before matriculation into medical school, students will participate in a four-week Rural Track clinical experience that includes:
- 1 week of orientation at WVU SOM Morgantown Campus
- 3 week rural rotation with a rural community preceptor
Students are encouraged to provide input into site selection and are based on preceptor availability. A stipend is provided for participation in this summer clinical experience.
*Weekly paper assignments are required during the three week rural rotation.
Journal Club
Participate in 1+
Clinical Learning Group (CLG)
During the first year of medical school, Rural Track students will follow the traditional medical school curriculum.
All students enrolled in the Rural Track will be assigned to the same Clinical Learning Group (CLG). The clinical cases will be updated to enhance training for rural medicine while maintaining the core competencies already established for the traditional curriculum.
The Rural Track CLG has enhanced educational opportunities in rural medicine and is led by Dr. Dorian Williams
Year 2
Summer Rotation
Rising second year Rural Track students are required to participate in an additional four-week clinical experience and are encouraged to return to the location of their previous summer clinical experience. Students are compensated with a stipend for their participation in this Rural Track summer clinical experience
Field Trip 
During the summer between first and second year of medical school, Rural Track students are required to participate in a Rural Immersion field trip with the support of the WVU Institute for Community and Rural Health. This is a week-long trip implemented to educate students about health issues specific to rural West Virginia. Various didactic sessions and experiential learning opportunities are presented in relation to the communities that the trip is taking place in. The rural immersion trips have varied slightly from year to year to expose students to the geography, topography, and cultural context of rural communities in which various social determinants of health outcomes occur. These activities will take place in one of the more rural counties in the New River Gorge basin area. You will be immersed into a selected topic and the rural community setting. Local community leaders and rural health practitioners are involved in the session to augment the literature and guide the discussions.
Problem Based Learning (PBL)
Sudents in this course work in facilitated groups to apply basic science concepts and principles to solve problems pertaining to clinical cases. Students are expected to develop and demonstrate independent learning and group communication skills. Students will also explore the roles of other health care practitioners, and learn to work in healthcare teams, through the use of interprofessional education exercises.
The Rural Track PBL group has enhanced educational opportunities in rural medicine and is led by Dr. Treah Haggerty
Journal Club
Participate in 2+
Year 3
Rural Rotations
In the third year of the program, Rural Track students are required to spend a total of three months rotating with rural primary care preceptors. This is in contrast to the traditional track medical students at WVU who are not required to complete any clerkship time in a rural community.
The three months are broken into the following requirements for each 8 week clerkship;
- 4 weeks with a rural Family Medicine physician
- 4 weeks with a rural Internal Medicine physician
- 2 with a rural Pediatric physician
- 2 weeks with a rural OB/GYN physician
Poster Presentation
The Rural Track medical students will be expected to take a lead on submitting an abstract for a poster presentation at the West Virginia State Rural Health Conference.
Journal Club
Participate in 2+
Presentations
Attend presentations on rural practice opportunities by rural community representatives
Rural Rotations
During the fourth year of medical school, Rural Track students will be required to spend two months in a rural medically underserved area. It is hoped that these rotations will be with previously established mentors from prior years. These two months can be done with any specialty.
Poster Presentation
The Rural Track medical students will be expected to take a lead on submitting an abstract for a poster presentation at the West Virginia State Rural Health Conference.
Journal Club
Participate in 2+
Presentations
Attend presentations on rural practice opportunities by rural community representatives