The WVU Institute for Community and Rural Health and the West Virginia Area Health Education Centers are pleased to announce that applications are open for the Rural Community Health Scholars program.
This two-year program is available to 75 of West Virginia’s top health professions students interested in rural health care across the state.
Additionally, RCH Scholars focuses on interprofessional education through clinical, didactic and community-based lenses, and emphasizes how each Scholar can create change and reshape the status quo for health care in his/ her/their community.
Throughout this program, Scholars will engage in clinical, didactic and community-based activities in rural and underserved areas of West Virginia to refine their skill sets and positively impact the lives of West Virginians.
WVU students comprised two-thirds of the inaugural Scholars cohort and we are eager to welcome our next group of WVU health professionals.
As a Scholar, students will:
• Become leaders in their professions and communities.
• Receive supplemental training and education from experts in rural healthcare.
• Develop an astute understanding of how best to implement health care services in rural or underserved areas.
• Learn how to work as part of an interprofessional team.
• Provide meaningful patient care in the field and gain hands-on experience.
• Receive a participation award of $1,300 upon program completion.
Interested applicants should have an interest in rural health, a minimum 3.0 GPA and have at least two years remaining in his/her/their degree program. The new class of accepted Scholars will begin the program Oct. 1 and complete it in May 2024.
Health professions students in the following areas are eligible to apply:
Dentistry
Dental Hygiene
Health Informatics and Information Management
Medicine
Nursing
Nutrition/Dietetics
Occupational Therapy
Pharmacy
Physical Therapy
Physician Assistant
Public/Population Health Programs
Contact us if you do not see your discipline listed; you may still be eligible to participate.
Preference will be awarded to those students who apply by the early admission deadline of July 16. The regular application deadline is Sept. 15.
Find more information on the RCH Scholars Program or contact us at RCH_Scholars@hsc.wvu.edu.