Tuesday, December 26, 2017

Rural healthcare brings joy and value.

Edward Keep, MD
TV shows such as Grey’s Anatomy, Chicago Med, and Code Black show a life of excitement when working in a hospital. It is fast paced and full of adrenalin.  The staff save lives, deal with drama, and make an impact. This is the dream life for a student in the healthcare field.

So when encouraging students to work in rural healthcare, students often do no equate rural healthcare with the excitement seen on TV. Many students’ thoughts on rural healthcare are boring, outdated, and serving a bunch of hicks.

For the last eight years,
Edward Keap, MD, has been
practicing medicine in
Chilton, WI, clinic.
Chilton is a rural
community
of only 3800 people.
However, Edward Keap, MD, shares a much different perspective. Keap shares rural medicine is the most challenging and stimulating for a physician. That physician may be the only one available within a wide radius. “Rural medicine reminds physicians of their value. In the small centers of America, where the advanced technology of medicine isn’t always immediately available, our job becomes absolutely critical,” Keap explains.

Advanced technology and specialists may not always be available. Yet rural healthcare facilities are starting to invest in technology and ensuring ways to access specialists when needed. Because of the limited staff though, physicians in rural settings can often learn more. Rural physicians have to treat a variety of diseases that in an urban setting would be seen only by specialists. Rural physicians may be able to consult with specialists, but it is still the rural physician who provides the care.

In a rural setting, physicians can get to know their patients at a much greater level too. “I can’t fathom working in a large city. This is my community. It’s where I live. I treat my neighbors. I’m valued here in the community that I value. It’s the only way I ever considered practicing medicine,” Keap shared.


To gain experiences working in rural healthcare consider Northeastern Wisconsin Area Health Education Center’s CHIP (Community Health Internship Program) or Wisconsin Express. Information about both programs can be found at http://www.newahec.org/programs/

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