UNE health professions students take rural health immersion trip to Midcoast Maine

Students and faculty participating in the third rural health immersion of the year
Students and faculty participating in the third rural health immersion of the year

Thirteen osteopathic medicine, nursing, pharmacy, and dental medicine students from the University of New England are currently performing a weeklong rural health immersion in the Midcoast Maine area, the third such one by UNE in the last year.

The students are visiting local hospitals and health centers throughout the week. On Tuesday, they provided health education at two Waldo County elementary schools and will make visits to two local YMCAs in Knox County on Thursday. Earlier in the week, the students toured athenahealth in Belfast, where they also received clinical skills training in opioid addiction treatment; Waldo County General Hospital in Belfast; and PenBay Hospital and Mount Pleasant Dental Care in Rockport. They will also visit Seaport Health Center in Belfast and Knox Free Clinic and Jensens pharmacy in Rockland.

“Given the shortage of health providers in rural areas, it is important to expose students early and often to the opportunities in rural areas,” said UNE’s Vice President for Clinical Affairs and Director of the Center for Excellence in Health Innovation Dora Anne Mills, M.D., M.P.H. “These are students early in their education who have expressed strong interests in rural health, and through this immersion, they are able to decide whether to take the next step, such as spend time in a rural area during their clinical training.

“The other emphasis in this immersion,” Mills added, “is building skills for interprofessional team practice, through medical, nursing, dental, and pharmacy students learning from, with, and about each other. Team-based care is especially important in rural areas.”

About the University of New England

The University of New England is Maine’s largest independent university, with two beautiful coastal campuses in Maine, a one-of-a-kind study abroad campus in Tangier, Morocco, and an array of flexible, accredited online degrees. In an uncommonly welcoming and supportive community, we offer hands-on learning, empowering students to make a positive impact in a world full of challenges. The state’s top provider of health professionals, we are home to Maine’s only medical college, Maine’s only dental college, a variety of other interprofessionally aligned health care degree programs, as well as nationally recognized programs for marine science degrees, natural and social sciences degrees, arts and humanities degrees, and business degrees.