Reconnecting to rural
Anna Lonai gets it. As someone who grew up on an alfalfa farm in Milton-Freewater, a town with a population of 7,000 people, she knows what it takes for a rural kid to find their way to a career in healthcare.
As part of her research as an Internal Medicine student at Oregon Health & Science University (OSHU) School of Medicine, Anna found that rural healthcare providers are usually people who are from rural areas who were introduced to healthcare early and were reconnected to their love for rural life during their education. These factors are the ones that matter.
“They call it urban disruption, which is when students from a rural background go to the city for their medical training and don't get that reconnection back, which can lead to less people returning home.”
Finding AHEC
She applied to be an AHEC Scholar as soon as she heard about the program--before she was even eligible--and kept applying until she was accepted. She didn’t want to miss the chance.
“I think that AHEC is valuable because it lets you have that connection back to rural medicine... It shows you, 'Remember this? This place that you have friends and family that you love? How about a career back here?' And I think it just has a lot more emotional weight to it [if you’re from a rural area].”
After joining AHEC Scholars, she completed a three-month rotation at the Grande Ronde Hospital Union and Elgin Clinics with Dr. Raff Betza (a NEOAHEC board member).
"It was just really great getting to connect with a provider that loves rural medicine and see how they have made their practice work, made it fulfilling for them, and integrated their family into the community."
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