Tulane Rural Medical Education Program (TRuMEd)

The Tulane Rural Medical Education (TRuMEd) program is designed to recruit and educate medical students who intend to enter practice in a rural area or small town of Louisiana or the Gulf South, particularly in the field of Family Medicine.

Selective admission into Tulane University School of Medicine will be given to up to 8 TRuMEd students per year. For consideration, qualified applicants must certify their intention to adhere to the following plan of training and practice:

Complete the TRuMEd Family Medicine curriculum during their undergraduate medical education at Tulane University School of Medicine.
Complete a three-year Family Medicine residency training program .
Enter the practice of Family Medicine in a rural area or small town.

Although TRuMEd places emphasis on students entering a Family Medicine career in rural areas, the program will support students whose career plans include other generalist medical fields and who plan to practice in rural Louisiana. It is expected that those applying for the program will have grown up or lived for a substantial time in a rural area or small town.

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TRuMEd Application Process

Applying to TRuMEd is a concurrent process with the filing of the secondary application to Tulane University School of Medicine.

Complete the TRuMEd application including three letters from community leaders who live in the parish or rural area in which the applicant grew up or lived. the letters should attest to the applicant's background, personal qualities, and to his/her commitment to practice in a rural physician shortage area. These letters are in addition to the required premedical letters of recommendation submitted with Tulane's secondary application.

Submit the TRuMEd application and the Tulane Secondary application to the Tulane University School of Medicine Office of Admissions and Student Affairs. The deadline for receiving the Tulane University School of Medicine Secondary Application and TRuMEd application is January 15, however, applicants are encouraged to apply as early as possible.

It is anticipated that:

Priority will be given to residents from rural parishes, areas and small towns in Louisiana, with highest priority given to those who grew up in a physician shortage area.
Consideration will also be given to those from similar areas in nearby states, such as southern Mississippi or Alabama.
The credentials of the successful TRuMEd applicants will be similar to those of successful applicants for general admission to Tulane University School of Medicine.

Applicants with rural medical career goals that have been formulated early in their college education (during the first or second year of college), and who are enrolled at Tulane University, Loyola University of New Orleans, Xavier University of Louisiana, or Nicholls State University are encouraged to explore access to TRuMEd through Tulane’s Early Acceptance Program in accordance with policies of that program. However, applicants outside the Early Acceptance program who meet qualifications are encouraged and will receive due consideration for TRuMEd at the time of the regular application to Tulane University School of Medicine.

In addition to the required premedical letters of recommendation submitted with a regular application, students applying to TRuMEd must furnish three letters from community leaders who live in the parish or rural area in which the applicant grew up or lived. The letters should attest to the applicant's background, personal qualities, and to his/her commitment to practice in a rural physician shortage area.

Although the deadline for receiving the Tulane University School of Medicine Secondary Application and TRuMEd application is January 15, applicants are encouraged to apply as early as possible.

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Educational Programs for Students Enrolled in TRuMEd

TRuMEd students complete the standard Tulane University School of Medicine curriculum with extra features and emphasis that expose students to rural educational opportunities. Full time faculty members in the Department of Family and Community Medicine are assigned as advisors to TRuMEd students, beginning in the Freshman year and continuing throughout their four years at Tulane School of Medicine. Upper year students involved in the Rural Medicine Interest Group (RMIG) will serve as peer mentors for entering TRuMEd students. Upon completing their first year of medical school, students will do an elective summer preclinical preceptorship in cooperation with the Louisiana Area Health Education Centers (AHEC), and may be eligible to receive a stipend to support this experience. TRuMEd students are expected to take their third year required Family Medicine Clerkship at a rural site, and will be given priority for placement choices on this rotation. (This six week clerkship is required of all Junior students.) TRuMEd students are encouraged to take their required senior subinternship in Family Medicine, and also a Senior rural elective preceptorships consisting of an in-depth experience with a physician in either solo or group practice in the United States. The TRuMEd office will work with TRuMEd students to select and assign clinical preceptors throughout their medical school experiences, wherever applicable.

Students accepted to TRuMEd through the Early Acceptance Program will be eligible for a special Pre-Matriculation Clinical Observership during a summer between their final college years.

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Scholarships and Financial Aid

The TRuMEd program offers two four-year full-tuition scholarships each year to qualified TRuMEd applicants from rural Louisiana who have . Recipients must sign a contract that obligates them to enter primary care (Family Medicine, General Internal Medicine or General Pediatrics) or general surgery training, and practice primary care or general surgery for 5 years in rural Louisiana in exchange for the tuition waiver. All TRuMEd applicants are automatically considered for this honor. Louisiana residents are also encouraged to inquire about and apply to the Louisiana Health Professional Development Scholarship which is administered by the Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals. for more information on either write to amiester@tulane.edu

Financial Aid Links:

State Loan Repayment Program

National Health Services Corps

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Contact Information:

Lisa Mills Dougherty, Program Coordinator
Tulane Rural Medical Education Program
Department of Family and Community Medicine
Tulane University School of Medicine
1430 Tulane Avenue #8033
New Orleans, LA 70112
Phone: (504) 988-8821 -- Fax: (504) 988-4701
lmills@tulane.edu

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