Pub. 2 2018 Issue 1

U TA H RURA L O U T R EA C H P RO GRAM U tah Rural Outreach Program (UROP) is a medical student lead and run program to reach out to ru- ral high school and college student to tell them about health care educational programs in Utah and how they can prepare to enter one of these caring careers in their future. Stephen Alder, PhD Chief, Divi- sion of Public Health and Robert Quinn, M.P.A. act as advi- sors to the student leaders. During the 2017-2018 school year UROP partnered with the Utah Area Health Education Centers (AHEC) and the Office Inclusion and Outreach (OIO) to reach out to high school students in rural areas and to encourage pursuit of college education and careers in the health sciences. Medical students in their first and second years were able to travel to and visit 40 high schools that are located in 15 different counties. During these 40 visits UROP gave over 70 presentations to 1566 students. This year we had the advantage of facilitating student sign- ups earlier in the season, when compared to previous years. This alleviated some of the stress felt by our regional AHEC representatives, who kindly assist with scheduling of the high school trips. This early scheduling helped us to reach more students, as the schools were better able to prepare for and to accommodate our visits. Thank you for allowing us to share our story. We are grateful for the generous support of the Utah Academy of Family Physicians.  By Bob Quinn, Staff Advisor During the 2017-2018 school year UROP partnered with the Utah Area Health Education Centers (AHEC) and theOffice Inclusion andOutreach (OIO) to reach out to high school students in rural areas and to encourage pursuit of college education and careers in the health sciences. www.UtahAFP.org | 26