COLUMBUS, Ohio – This is a big milestone for Rachael Black.
She is one of more than 200 first-year medical students at Ohio State to receive their white coats.
What you need to know
- More than 200 medical students receive their white coats at Ohio State’s 78th Annual White Coat Ceremony
- Fifteen of the students who receive white coats are studying community medicine.
- Students in the Community Medicine program are trained in patient care in rural and smaller communities to address the nationwide physician shortage.
However, since Black comes from a small town, she often thinks back to the challenges she faced as a child.
“I grew up in a very rural community,” Black said. “I just started to see how much a lack of healthcare can impact the way a community functions, how it functions and the health of the community members. I remember having to drive 45 minutes to see my pediatrician as a child.”
And she is not alone.
Data from the Cicero Institute shows that 57 of Ohio’s 88 counties have a shortage of healthcare professionals, with rural and Appalachian populations most affected.
Carol Bradford, dean of the College of Medicine at Ohio State University, explains why this is so.
“We really don’t train enough doctors in our country in general,” Bradford said. “There just aren’t enough doctors being trained. And we don’t have enough doctors who are trained and prepared to practice in rural and small underserved communities.”
That’s why Ohio State’s 78th annual White Coat Ceremony is crucial this year.
Of the hundreds of students receiving white coats, only 15 are studying community medicine, including Black. She will be one of the few who will care for patients in rural communities, directly addressing the physician shortage.
“I love rural communities,” Black said, “and the opportunity to serve them and improve that community is something that is very important to me.”
Black has big dreams for the future, but is already looking forward to her next big project.
Black still has two years of medical school to complete before he goes out into rural communities to help others.
