Hershey, Pa.-based Penn State College of Medicine and Chambersburg, Pa.-based Summit Health are expanding an existing partnership to provide new training opportunities to Penn State medical students pursuing careers in the medical field.
As part of the agreement, first-year medical students will be eligible to participate in a one-week primary care rotation to practice and conduct physical examinations on patients. Third- and fourth-year medical students will be able to participate in elective clinical specialty rotations. Both institutions will also jointly develop primary care residency programs to attract more physicians to practice in the area.
The inaugural group of physician assistant students in the program will finish their clinical rotations at Summit Health in April.
"The ultimate goal of this program is to make sure we have a steady stream of providers coming into the area to meet the needs of our patients," said Niki Showe, senior vice president of physician services at Summit Health. "We want to make sure the health and well being of our community members aren't compromised by a lack of providers."
"We are enthusiastic to bring together a community-engaged health system and an innovative college of medicine in a way that creates unique opportunities for our students while also energizing our efforts to provide superior healthcare to residents of central Pennsylvania," said Craig Hillemeier, MD, dean of Penn State College of Medicine, CEO of Penn State Health in Hershey, Pa., and senior vice president for health affairs for Penn State.