A call to action: Integrating public health into physician assistant education to improve rural health

There is an increasing shortage of rural health care providers. Additionally, in March 2012, the Institute of Medicine released a report entitled “Primary Care and Public Health: Exploring Integration to Improve Population Health”. To address the shortage issue, Campbell University College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences has developed multiple health sciences programs including Physician Assistant in 2011 and Public Health in 2012. To address the call to integrative action, these programs combine a range of approaches to intentionally interweave public health (PH) into the physician assistant (PA) curriculum. PA students participated in collaborative cases with PH students and faculty, PH students taught PA students about the role of PAs in public health, PH faculty lectured in multiple PA classes (including Evidence-based Medicine and Behavioral Medicine) and students and faculty from both programs engaged in a service-learning project to provide oral and medical health services to underserved children in our rural county. Moreover, we have developed a dual-degree program where select students will develop public health research projects at a clinical site in their PH year and then hone clinical skills in the same site during their subsequent PA rotations. Campbell has developed a unique and innovative approach to integrate public health into primary care provider training while immersed in our local rural community. Campbell hopes to develop well-rounded clinicians, who work collaboratively to improve rural health.