Years 1 and 2
Spring Fling
The Rural Health Spring Fling is an annual three-day immersive experience held in Marianna, Florida, typically during FSU’s spring break. The program provides first- and second-year medical and physician assistant students with an opportunity to explore rural medicine through hands-on clinical experiences in a community-based setting.
Throughout the program, students work alongside physicians from a variety of specialties at Jackson Hospital and surrounding medical practices , gaining valuable exposure to the delivery of health care in a rural community. Students observe patient care, interact with health care professionals, and apply clinical skills developed during their medical education while working with real patients.
The goal of Spring Fling is to give future health care providers a meaningful introduction to the opportunities and challenges of practicing medicine in a rural setting. Through direct patient interaction, physician mentorship, and exposure to rural clinical practice, students strengthen their clinical skills while gaining a greater appreciation for the important role rural health care providers play in the communities they serve.
Rural Learning Experience (RuLE)
In June 2010, the FSU College of Medicine Department of Family Medicine and Rural Health , in partnership with Student Affairs and with funding support from the Florida Blue Foundation, launched an initiative to introduce incoming first-year medical students to rural communities and the unique health care needs of the populations they serve.
Originally known as the Rural Educational Orientation Program (REOP) , the experience provides students with an opportunity to step outside the classroom and engage directly with rural communities. During the four- to six-hour community-based experience, students explore the strengths, resources, and health care challenges of rural areas while gaining a better understanding of the factors that influence the health and well-being of rural populations.
Since the program’s inception, hundreds of medical students have visited rural communities throughout Jackson, Gadsden, Madison, Jefferson, Taylor, Calhoun, Liberty, Holmes, Suwannee, and Wakulla counties in Florida, as well as Grady County in Georgia. During these visits, students engage with community organizations, health care professionals, and other local stakeholders to gain firsthand insight into rural health care delivery and the opportunities and challenges associated with caring for rural and underserved populations.
The success of the program led to its incorporation into the Vision and Values portion of the first-year medical school curriculum in 2014. At that time, the program was renamed the Rural Learning Experience (RuLE) .
Today, RuLE provides students with an early introduction to community-based medicine and encourages them to consider how geography, access to care, community resources, and social determinants of health shape the health of rural populations. The experience also introduces students to the important role physicians can play in strengthening the health and well-being of the communities they serve.