People living in rural communities often face a lack of local health care resources including a shortage of physicians, and time and distance barriers to specialized medical services. Rural medical education is at the core of a multistep approach to improve access to quality health care for people living in rural communities with the goal of healthy rural people and stronger rural communities. This begins with a commitment of medical schools and medical training organizations to engage with rural communities and respond to their priority healthcare needs in partnership with governments and healthcare organizations.
Professor James Rourke is the Dean of Medicine and Professor of Family Medicine, Memorial University of Newfoundland. James Rourke, a recognized leader in rural medicine and medical education, has received many honors and awards, including Honorary Degree Doctor of Laws, honoris causa (LLD), The University of Western Ontario, and has over 100 published medical journal articles and textbook chapters including 2010: “How can medical schools contribute to the education, recruitment and retention of rural physicians in their region?“
Moderation: Professor Dr. Hans-Joachim Hannich