Northern Light Eastern Maine Medical Center recently hosted seven scholars from the University of New England (UNE) for a weeklong Rural Health Immersion, a program which brings them to rural and medically underserved areas. This visit provided an opportunity for the first-year students to participate in clinical observations at Northern Light Primary Care in Dover-Foxcroft, Northern Light Primary Care in Sangerville, and Northern Light Internal Medicine in Dexter. While at Northern Light Eastern Maine Medical Center, the students engaged in one-to-one meetings with healthcare professionals and participated in hands-on training in its Simulation Lab.
In addition to the clinical settings, the Medical Center partnered with several community sites to truly show the effect of what bringing quality healthcare workers to these areas would do. The students attended an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting at Bangor Area Recovery Network and spoke with community champions advocating for better healthcare and overall economic development in Piscataquis County. They also hosted a panel tour at Foxcroft Academy for high school students interested in medicine and conducted hearing and vision screenings at SeDoMoCha middle school in Dover-Foxcroft. A true highlight of the week was an entire day spent at Mountain View Correctional Facility, with tours, observations, a panel of resident speakers, and more.
A community physician commented on the experience, “I want to commend you for arranging a wonderful experience for the UNE students. I was impressed with the choice of opportunities you offered them. I wish I’d had that opportunity as a first-year medical student!”
This Rural Health Immersion program is part of the Maine Area Health Education Center (AHEC), which strives to bring a quality healthcare workforce to medically underserved and rural areas. As the Eastern Maine AHEC Center, Northern Light Eastern Maine Medical Center is proud to assist in broadening healthcare experiences for our future healthcare workforce!