Higher Education Students
The Frontier and Rural Medicine (FARM) program initiative at the University of South Dakota Sanford School of Medicine helps to further address the healthcare needs of South Dakotans who reside in our mostly rural state. The AHEC Program Office, Yankton Rural AHEC and Northeast AHEC will assist FARM students in community engagement and with their required community projects. Find out more about the FARM program here.
Every spring, second-year medical students from the University of South Dakota Sanford School of Medicine spend four weeks in rural South Dakota communities for a required preceptorship. During their preceptorship, the medical students visit local high schools to interact with the students and talk to them about their educational journeys. The South Dakota Area Health Education Center (AHEC) coordinates the opportunity for the medical students to interact with local high school students. The medical students talk with students about classes they took in high school and college to prepare for medical school. They discuss what it is like to be a medical student and what it is like to take care of patients. The medical students also discuss multiple health care pathways, encouraging high school students to ask questions relating to health care and share dialogue with them.
The Rural Experiences for Health Professions Students (REHPS) summer program is designed to bring health professions graduates back to rural South Dakota for rewarding careers. Students, selected in a competitive process, are enrolled in one of the following programs at DWU, MMC, PC, SDSU, or USD: Bachelor of Nursing, clinical psychology, family nurse practitioner, medical doctor, medical laboratory science, occupational therapy, physical therapy, physician assistant, pharmacy, and social work. After selection, students are placed in interprofessional pairs in a community with a critical-access hospital and a population of fewer than 15,000 people.
Since the summer of 2011, the REHPS program has been hosted in 27 communities across South Dakota. Those communities include Bowdle, Britton, Burke, Canton, Chamberlain, Custer, Faulkton, Flandreau, Freeman, Hot Springs, Huron, Lead/Deadwood, Martin, Miller, Parkston, Philip, Platte, Redfield, Scotland, Sisseton, Sturgis, Tyndall, Vermillion, Wagner, Webster, Wessington Springs, and Winner. In its ninth year, REHPS is designed not only to expose students to the world of rural healthcare but also bring two students from different disciplines together for an interprofessional experience.
REHPS receives funding from the Office of Rural Health/South Dakota Department of Health and is managed by the Southeast SD Area Health Education Center.
Maternal Child Health Careers/Research Initiatives for Student Enhancement - Undergraduate Program (MCHC/RISE-UP) at USD Sanford School of Medicine and The Center for Disabilities of SD, application deadline January 31.
Disaster Training Day is a yearly event, often a simulation, where emergency responders, healthcare professionals, and students practice and improve their skills in a disaster scenario. These events focus on key elements of disaster response, including team coordination, patient triage, treatment, and management of mass casualty incidents. The goal is to prepare participants to work effectively in chaotic and challenging environments, improving community safety and public health preparedness. The program consists of didactic work and in-person work. Once the in-person is complete and the test is passed, the certification is good for three years.
The South Dakota Nursing Network is a statewide community dedicated to strengthening, supporting, and advancing the nursing profession. We connect current and future nurses with high-quality education, career development opportunities, mentorship, and resources tailored to the unique needs of healthcare in South Dakota. By fostering collaboration among students, educators, and healthcare professionals, we aim to build a resilient nursing workforce that is prepared, empowered, and inspired to serve communities across the state.
Click here to go to the South Dakota Nursing Network!