MD/MPH Candidate & Pathways to Practice Scholar Sarah Dupont
In the summer of 2017, Sarah Dupont, a MD/MPH student at Emory University, joined the Pathways to Practice Field Placement Program with a specific goal in mind: to expose herself to communities outside of metro Atlanta in order to learn about healthcare and lifestyles of rural populations. While working for the Southwest Georgia Area Health Education Center (AHEC), Sarah became a valuable contributor to both the Georgia Farmworker Health Program and the 2017 Pathway to Medical School Program.
The Georgia Farmworker Health Program provides culturally sensitive primary healthcare to migrant farmworkers through medical clinics at the farms where they work. The camps are run by healthcare students from institutions all over Georgia in collaboration with local federally qualified health clinics. The Program serves 21 rural counties in southern Georgia, where there are numerous barriers to primary care access. Sarah worked with Emory Nurse Practitioner students at the program site in Colquitt county where she saw first-hand some of the enormous challenges facing rural healthcare. Using her personal insight and knowledge of local policy, Sarah produced a data-driven program report, which was submitted to the State Office of Rural Health.
The Pathway to Medical School Program is a four-week intensive program for rural pre-medical students that was first started by the AHEC more than a decade ago. This program provides hands-on training and support to medical school applicants from underserved communities. As an MD student with an interest in rural health, this was an ideal field placement for Sarah. By the end of the summer, in addition to serving as a near-peer mentor to program participants, Sarah revised the Pathway to Medical School Research Manual and Participant Handbook, formalized the Pathway to Medical School Research Curriculum, and developed a succinct program report for the major donors.
Sarah says her placement gave her a “clearer understanding of why people leave rural communities and why people stay in them for life.” The Farmworker Health experience and Pathways to Med School program showed her that, while there are substantial healthcare issues in rural areas in the Southeast, there are also networks of dedicated and innovative organizations working to solve them. After Sarah graduates in May 2018, she will begin a family practice residency.