The University of Oklahoma has recently announced that it will receive $16 million over four years from the Health Resources and Services Administration of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
The initiative, named “The Tribal, Rural, and Medically Underserved Communities in Oklahoma Pathways Program,” or TRU-OK, is a joint effort between the University of Oklahoma College of Medicine and the OU-TU School of Community Medicine.
The grant is aimed at recruiting, retaining, and graduating medical students from tribal, rural, and medically underserved communities. The primary aim is to build the primary care workforce for the state of Oklahoma.
The TRU-OK program will address barriers to medical school entry for students from these communities.
The initiative will create an online pre-medical program that gives students a broad range of tools and resources to support their application to medical school.
The pre-medical program will offer study materials, interview preparation resources, and other tools to help students prepare for medical school admission.
Jim Barrett, MD, is the principal investigator.
He stated that the grant is focused on enhancing medical student education by creating a curriculum that emphasizes how primary care can improve the health of all Oklahomans, particularly those in underserved and rural locations.
Mary Gowin, Ph.D., an associate professor in the Department of Family and Preventive Medicine, OU College of Medicine, and co-investigator for the project, says the grant will help address the significant need for primary care medical services in underserved areas of the state.
Financial support for the students includes scholarships for students from tribal, rural, and medically underserved communities to attend medical school at OU.
Other financial support includes stipends for participation in primary care research experiences and travel to primary care conferences.
The team is also working with several academic, Tribal, and hospital partners to facilitate expanded opportunities for students to gain experience in primary care, social determinants of health, vulnerable populations, and trauma-informed care.
Additionally, there will be opportunities to do rotations and clerkships and electives in underserved areas across Oklahoma.
“We just love that the acronym TRU-OK can reflect what we feel, which is that this is truly for Oklahoma, and we feel proud of being able to participate in a program that’s aimed at helping all of Oklahoma,” Gowin said.
The goal of this award is for the @OUCollegeofMed and the @OUSCM to train more medical students with hopes they will go on to practice in their home communities and serve more Oklahomans.
Read more: https://t.co/xm7juTbI36 pic.twitter.com/pHWkr90X93
— Univ. of Oklahoma (@UofOklahoma) October 23, 2023
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