Recognition: Matt Mogensen. Medical student presents at local schools

By By

University of Utah Medical Students Visit Local Schools
On December 15 and 16, high school students at Emery, Carbon and Pinnacle High Schools had the opportunity to interact one-on-one with University of Utah medical student, Matt Mogensen who came by their respective schools. Making the visit even more special is the fact that Matt is a graduate of Emery High School and originally from Cleveland. Matt was able to visit the schools through the Utah Rural Outreach Program. The UROP program has been in operation for more than 10 years, and is dedicated to encouraging and motivating high school students from rural Utah to pursue careers in medicine and other health sciences.
Medical students who participate in UROP receive no compensation, and in fact volunteer their time to travel to rural areas and give presentations to the high school students about careers in health care, the need for health professionals in rural communities, and potential reimbursement options available to them. They then perform hands-on activities with the students, including dissecting cow hearts. Attendees had the opportunity to ask questions and engage in discussion with the medical students.
The vision behind UROP is to encourage students from rural areas to pursue a career in health care, with the hope they will one day return to their local community or another rural community to work. UROP receives financial support from the University of Utah School of Medicine Office of Inclusion and Outreach and the Utah Academy of Family Physicians. UROP also receives logistic support from the Utah Area Health Education Centers, who schedule and coordinate the visits. Last year during the 2013-2014 academic year, UROP gave 77 presentations at 52 rural high schools and reached more than 2,600 high school students.
For more information on the UROP program, visit their facebook at www.facebook.com/utahruraloutreachprogram or e-mail them at UtahRuralOutreach@gmail.com. For more information about the AHEC program, visit www.suu.edu/ahec.