Medical Students' Perceptions of American Indian-Focused Educational Experiences.

INTRODUCTION: American Indians are burdened with a myriad of health disparities. As South Dakota's largest minority population, increasing medical students' experiences with the healthcare of American Indians can play a significant role in helping to alleviate American Indians' health disparities as these future physicians will be better able to predict, detect, and treat the health care needs of this population. METHODS: Survey data from 103 medical students at the University of South Dakota Sanford School of Medicine (SSOM) was collected and analyzed. Demographic information and perceived levels of being informed about American Indians and populations on reservations were collected. Furthermore, medical students' insights on how the SSOM can improve its students' educational experiences with American Indian populations were also collected. RESULTS: Compared to their perceived knowledge of American Indians prior to beginning medical school (26.2 percent), responding medical students believe they became more informed regarding American Indians (61.2 percent) as they progressed through medical school. Fifty-one of the 64 students (80 percent) who answered the open-ended question noted that their medical training would benefit from increased opportunities (including required) with American Indian people, culture, and reservation-based communities. CONCLUSION: There is a desire amongst medical students to increase and require more cultural information and clinical experiences with American Indian people and populations on reservations. Future research is needed to obtain medical student feedback on the newly implemented curriculum and elective opportunities.

USDSM Alumni Student Scholars Program: successes of the first decade.

The Alumni Student Scholars Program (ASSP) was developed as a concerted effort by the School of Medicine to more effectively identify, train, and retain those top-notch South Dakota high school graduates who had a stated interest in pursuing a career in medicine, especially family practice, and for whom there was a high likelihood of return to practice in South Dakota. Relative to the USD undergraduate graduating classes of 1996-2003, 42 high school seniors from all corners of the state were selected as ASSP scholars. Of these, 28 successfully completed all ASSP undergraduate requirements and 25 ASSP scholars have entered medical school at USDSM. As of May 2003, USDSM has conferred the MD degree on 11 ASSP scholars, with five of those physicians (45%) electing to enter family practice residency programs.