A longstanding medical training partnership between MaineHealth and Tufts University School of Medicine is producing 37 graduates, 11 of whom are projected to begin their residencies this summer at Maine Medical Center in Portland.
“Maine Track graduates don’t just become doctors,” Dr. Jason Moran, a MaineHealth oncologist, said during a recognition ceremony at Hannaford Hall in the University of Southern Maine in Portland on Saturday. “They become part of the communities they serve. That’s rare, that’s needed, and that’s exactly what this state and country need more of right now.”
Doctor shortage
The Maine Track program is a partnership between MaineHealth and Tufts that was formed 18 years ago to help address the shortage of doctors in Maine. It provides financial assistance to aspiring medical students with a connection to Maine and develops a curriculum focused on community-based education.
This is the 14th class to graduate. The fourth-year medical students completed their classroom instruction in Boston, along with community-based practice in Maine.
When this year’s class graduates later this month, 516 physicians will have completed the Maine Track program: 104 known to have completed their training are practicing physicians in Maine; 72% received a Maine Track scholarship.
MaineHealth and Tufts set up the program in 2008 to address Maine’s doctor shortage, particularly in primary care and in underserved rural communities.
Maine residents and those with ties to the state and rural practice are given preference, and financial aid is available. In Maine, there are 20 scholarships of $25,000 a year.
Of the 32 people in the first Maine Track graduating class of 2013, 64% went on to practice in Maine.
The program offers curriculum and training experiences in community-based medicine. Participants work in rural and urban communities, as well as train at a major tertiary medical center.
Maine immersion
Maine Track students are part of the Tufts University School of Medicine, but spend the majority of their time in Maine. Incoming students complete orientation at sites across Maine and engage in an immersive community-based curriculum. During their third year, many students complete a nine-month “longitudinal integrated clerkship” — a learning model that allows third-year students to follow a panel of patients as they move through the health care system, rather than interacting with them just once. The continuous involvement provides Maine Track students with the opportunity to explore a wide range of specialties within Maine’s diverse communities.
Graduates receive a combined diploma from Tufts and MaineHealth, and many go on to establish a practice in the state, though there is no obligation to do so. Many Maine Track students receive scholarships that make the cost of attending Tufts comparable to “in-state” tuition.
MaineHealth said it has set a goal to raise additional endowed funds to increase the scholarship awards it offers to $40,000 in the years ahead.
“MaineHealth recognizes that the cost of a medical degree is a major impediment to students pursuing careers in primary care and so we’re doing all we can to support our future physicians,” said Dr. Dena Whitesell, assistant dean for students in the Maine Track program.
