Rural Career Opportunities

Students who train in rural health settings before they graduate are more likely to work in rural communities, according to MCG educators. Seventy-six percent of MCG allied health sciences students who performed clinical rotations at   rural Georgia sites from 2001-03 said they would accept a job there if offered, according to School of Allied Health Sciences Dean Shelley Mishoe  and other school administrators in the June 23 edition of the Journal of Rural Health. Rotations were funded by a Quentin E. Burdick grant from the U.S. Human Resources Services Administration, part of federal Title VII funding for educational programs.

Since 1997, MCG students in several allied health sciences disciplines have had the opportunity to work in underprivileged areas while completing degree requirements. The project also aimed to recruit minority students from rural health areas.

“Research shows that students who come from those areas are more likely to return there   to practice once they graduate,” said Dr. W. Kent Guion, associate dean for academic affairs in the School of Allied Health Sciences and a grant coordinator. “This project is important in addressing health care shortages in Georgia.” (Click here for related article: "Out and About").