Special Programs

KUMC Women in Medicine and Science

The Women in Medicine and Science (WIMS) organization at the University of Kansas School of Medicine (KU SoM) is dedicated to the advancement and retention of all women faculty members, at all ranks, by offering educational programs to meet their needs. Our overall goal is to train our women faculty members the skills of leadership. 

WIMS Mission:

  1. To be proactive and constructive in establishing and advancing the careers of women in medicine and science;
  2. To educate women on relevant KU Policies and Procedures for career development and advancement;
  3. To enhance and foster the professional development of all women faculty and trainees through encouragement and mentoring, and to encourage growth, networking, and quality within our community (local and national);
  4. To promote the process of developing long-term, mutually beneficial relationships and cultivating new opportunities for collaboration through a supportive exchange of ideas and resources.

For information on programming and how to get involved, please visit the WIMS website at http://www.kumc.edu/wims.html.

Medical Education Network Sites

The Medical Education Network Sites are an integral part of the School of Medicine's mission to implement rural health initiatives throughout the state. Each of the six sites represents a region of Kansas.  Each region has a Rural Medical Education Network (RMEN) Site Director, a practicing physician who also works for the school's Office of Rural Medical Education to promote rural workforce development. RMEN directors help coordinate rural learning opportunities throughout Kansas. Many agencies in the state have this mission in common: the Health Policy Institute, State Data Board, Department of Health and Environment, and KUMC Offices of Admissions, Rural Health Education and Services. An RMEN director may work with these institutions and occasionally work with other health profession schools at KU and other Regents institutions to promote rural learning opportunities.  Specific RMEN activities include:

  • Support of local medical center educational programs
  • Coordination of local premedical student recruitment activities
  • Summer Training Option of Rural Medicine Program
  • Scholars in Rural Health
  • Identification and development of new health profession education sites.

Rural Track/Options

The need for rural primary care physicians continues to be critical in the majority of Kansas counties.  KU-School of Medicine recently had a rural track where students spent a significant part of the clinical education in a rural setting.  The rural track was in Salina which has now become a branch campus.  New ways to provide rural training opportunities for students are in development.

In lieu of spending an extended period of time in one rural site, students currently have the option of receiving some of their training in Family Medicine, Surgery, Pediatrics, and Obstetrics and Gynecology in a rural site.  Students can exercise this option for one of the clerkships or all of them as space permits.  Students can spend from 2-6 weeks on site depending on the clerkship.  Some students have spent as much as 14 weeks in rural learning sites during their third year.

Scholars in Rural Health

The Scholars in Rural Health program identifies and encourages undergraduate students from rural Kansas to practice medicine in Kansas counties that are medically underserved.  Using a rigorous admissions process, students are annually selected to participate in a two-year premedical curriculum featuring community-based primary care experiences and other activities.  Selection criteria include completion of two years of undergraduate premedical education and evidence of high probability for return to a medically underserved area of Kansas.  Students who successfully complete the program during their junior and senior years are assured admission to the School of Medicine. Additional information is available at https://www.kumc.edu/school-of-medicine/academics/premedical-programs/scholars-in-rural-health.html.