15-1754. Rural health professions program;
definition
A. The three universities under the jurisdiction of the Arizona board of regents
shall select ten nurse practitioner students, fifteen medical students and four pharmacy
students each year to participate in a rural health professions program. The three
universities shall develop application procedures for students to apply for voluntary
participation in the program. The three universities shall attempt to ensure that each
individual participating student be able to fulfill the program requirements in a single
rural practice setting.
B. The university of Arizona shall choose the fifteen medical students, four
pharmacy students and four nurse practitioner students, Arizona state university shall
choose four nurse practitioner students, and northern Arizona university shall choose two
nurse practitioner students who will participate at the respective universities.
C. Pharmacy students and medical students selected to participate in the program
shall be placed in a rural practice or rural location in this state. Each placement
shall be for a duration of at least one month and shall occur during the summer months
between academic years, as part of the required curriculum during a clinical clerkship
and in the final year of training.
D. Nurse practitioner students selected to participate in the program shall be
placed in a rural practice or rural location in this state during the summer months
between the first and second year of their academic instruction. A participating nurse
practitioner student's internship shall also be conducted in a clinical setting located
in a rural area of this state.
E. Students who participate in the program shall be teamed with two mentors
throughout their period of academic instruction. The mentors shall provide guidance and
counseling to students who participate in the program concerning the fulfillment of rural
health professions program requirements, the selection of elective curricula and the
selection of residency programs or internships. One of the faculty mentors shall be a
physician, pharmacist or nurse who works closely with the participating student during
the student's rural placement, and one of the mentors shall be a faculty member of the
university where the program participant is enrolled. At least one of the mentors shall
be available at all times to support the student's interest in rural health care.
F. For purposes of this section, "rural" means either:
1. A county with a population of less than four hundred thousand persons according
to the most recent United States decennial census.
2. A census county division with less than fifty thousand persons in a county with
a population of four hundred thousand or more persons according to the most recent United
States decennial census.
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