The Maine Track
Kelly Pitts, M’13
Although the lack of physicians, especially primary care doctors, in rural areas is a national problem, this need is particularly apparent in Maine, a state without an allopathic medical school to recruit physicians. All of Maine’s counties have areas designated as Health Professional Shortage Areas (HPSA) and it has been difficult to attract doctors to areas where wages are lower and opportunities for professional development have been more limited - not to mention the brutal winters.
Maine Medical Center (MMC) and TUSM are facing the challenge of reducing the physician shortage through a unique public-private partnership. Thirty-one Tufts M’13s are part of the first class of this school-within-a-school that pairs preclinical work in Boston with clinical training in Maine and culminates in a combined diploma from MMC/TUSM. This “Maine Track” program not only benefits the state and reduces the financial burden of Maine residents attending TUSM, but also bolsters TUSM’s curriculum with expanded clinical rural health opportunities.
Despite initial hesitation about being part of the first class of a newly established and unconventional program, the Maine Track has already provided me with leadership training and preceptorship opportunities in rural areas and within MMC, a large tertiary care and Level One trauma center, that have shaped the first few weeks of my medical education. Although there is no obligation to complete a residency or practice in Maine, judging from the thirty other Maine Trackers (or Mainiacs if you will) who I have gotten to know over the past two months, MMC/TUSM has done an excellent job at finding students with strong connections to Maine and a desire to help fill the more than two-hundred physician vacancies that threaten the health of our communities.
--------------------------------------
For more stories on the Maine Track:
Maine Public Television, “Maine Watch”