Building a community of practice in rural medical education: growing our own together

Randall Longenecker

qualifications: MD

contribution: original concept, literature review, wrote the first draft, designed the project

position: Assistant Dean Rural and Underserved Programs

United States

Randall Longenecker, MD, is Professor of Family Medicine and Assistant Dean for Rural and Underserved Programs at the Ohio University Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine, in Athens, Ohio. He practiced as a family physician in western Ohio from 1982 to 2012 and was Program Director of The Ohio State University Rural Program family medicine residency/rural training track from 1997- 2011. Now at Ohio University he has developed the Rural and Urban Scholars Pathways program to prepare students for practice in rural and underserved urban communities. Since November of 2012 he has been the Executive Director of The RTT Collaborative, a newly established non-profit devoted to sustaining health professions education in rural places. In these roles he has presented in regional, national, and even international settings on the topic of rural medical education, curriculum and program design, and implementation

Prof David Schmitz

qualifications: MD

contribution: designed the project, contributed to drafts

position: Chair, Department of Family and Community Medicine

United States

Professor and Chair, Department of Family and Community Medicine, University of North Dakota School of Medicine and Health Sciences. 2017 President, National Rural Health Association. Family physician with research interests in medical education, workforce studies and rural health care.