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Show RURAL MEDICINE Larger Number Of Small Town Students Urged CHICAGO, 111. An Increase in the number of medical students from rural areas was suggested as a means of increasing the number num-ber of physicians practicing in such areas. This might be accomplished either by preferential consideration of applicants from rural communities commu-nities or by encouraging and assisting as-sisting well-qualified students from small towns to attend medical school. This opinion was expressed by Dr. Harold S. Diehl of Minneapolis, dean of the medical sciences, University Uni-versity of Minnesota. Dr. Diehl was a speaker at the 47th annual congress on medical education and licensure. The three-day meeting was sponsored spon-sored by the council on medical education and hospitals of the American Medical Association. Three Groups Listed Dr. Diehl reported the results of a study of the present practice location of 545 graduates of the University Uni-versity of Minnesota medical school in relation to the type of community in which they grew up. For the purpose pur-pose of tabulation and analysis, communities were divided in three groups: (1) with a population of less than 5,000; (2) with a population popula-tion of 5,000 to 100,000, excluding Rochester, where the Mayo clinic constitutes a special situation; (3) Minneapolis, St. Paul and Duluth. Of the 199 doctors who grew up In small communities of less than 5,000, 118 returned to small towns to practice, 35 went to towns with a population of 5,000 to 100,000, and 48 went to one of the three large cities. Of the 104 doctors who grew up in towns of 5,000 to 100,000 population, popula-tion, only 25 went to small towns and rural communities. Of the 242 who were raised In large cities, 53 went Into rural community practice. prac-tice. This tabulation, Dr. Diehl pointed out, indicates that the chances of a student brought up in a small town of returning to such a town are more than 2V4 times as great as the chances of a student from a large city going into a small community com-munity to practice. Population Trends Cited His study also showed that group one communities, which can be classed as the home towns of America, have 51 per cent of Minnesota's Min-nesota's population, but provide only 36 per cent of the medical students; group two with 18 per cent of population provide 20 per cent of the students, and the three large cities with 31 per cent of the state's population account for 44 per cent of the medical students. "This Indicates," Dr. Diehl said, "that medical students of the University Uni-versity of Minnesota are drawn somewhat disproportionately from the large cities. This difference, however, is perhaps less than might be expected In consideration of the greater Incentives toward professional profes-sional careers in the large cities and the remoteness of most communities com-munities of less than 5,000 population popula-tion from opportunities for higher education of all types." |