For most of us, going to the doctor can be as simple as making an appointment. But for some, especially those in living in rural areas, getting medical care can be much more difficult.
This is the case for those living in desolate locals of Missouri where 40 percent of the population reside, but only 25 percent of the doctors statewide practice.
However, that’s scheduled to change, due to a new law signed by Gov. Jay Nixon earlier this month. Under it, medical school graduates will be allowed to practice in underserved areas without completing their residency.
In every state, medical school graduates can’t apply for their license until they have completed a residency that lasts at least a year. That is, in every state except for Missouri. For those graduating in the Show Me state, they can begin to practice immediately upon completion of their licensing exams — even if the residency still isn’t finished.
Instead, the grad will work as an “assistant physician” alongside a “collaborating physician” who agrees to be responsible for the assistant. After a month, the assistant physician will be allowed to work independently, but still under the watchful eye of the collaborating physician.
The new law is dividing medical professionals. Proponents express its need considering how few doctors there are to serve underserved areas, which are defined as a place where there is a low ratio of primary-care doctors per 1,000 residents, a high rate of infant mortality or where many senior citizens and others live below the poverty line.
Opponents, however, are not so sure that this is the best solution for Missouri residents. Since many those living in underserved areas may need more medical attention, a recent grad with little experience might not be the best option.
Rosemary Gibson of the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education is one such person wary of the law. “Primary care is not simple,” Gibson told Governing. “If you have a lot of older people living in rural areas, they have a lot of co-morbidities [such as diabetes combined with heart disease].”
Jeff Howell, a lobbyist for the Missouri State Medical Association, sees the law as a viable and helpful solution and believes that the critics’ concerns about the qualifications of the grads aren’t warranted. “They’ll still be in collaboration with a licensed physician,” Howell told Governing. “That collaborative practice never disappears.”
While those in the medical field continues to squabble over whether or not this is a good idea, for those in rural Missouri, this law could make a doctor a stone’s throw away.
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Tag: Missouri
This Graduating Class Emptied Their Pockets For One of Their Own
The graduating seniors at Hermann High School in Gasconade County, Missouri might be going their separate ways, but they will always have a special bond.
As PIX11 reports, the class of 2014 decided to give an incredible gift to one of their own, senior Zack Ruediger, whose father had passed away from a blood clot just days before graduation.
During the commencement ceremony, it’s tradition for the graduates to hand the principal money, which is donated to charity. This time, however, the whole class of 68 seniors decided to help out Zack and his family. In total, the students donated $800, plus Zack’s employer chipped in another $500.
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Zack, who also lost his mother two years ago, didn’t realize the money was meant for him. In fact, when it was his turn to cross the stage, he followed what his classmates did and gave all the money he had to his principal.
“That’s just like Zack,” classmate Jamie Gleeson told FOX2 about Zack’s blind donation. “He’s really sweet and nice.”
After graduation, Zack was humbled to learn that his classmates were actually coming together for him.
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“I kind of felt gratitude towards everybody but embarrassed about what I did,” he told the local TV station.
According to PIX11, Zack plans to use the money to help pay for his father’s funeral. Now that he has graduated from high school, he’s planning to leave Missouri to study diesel mechanics in Indianapolis.
While he may be leaving his hometown, something tells us he’ll never be alone. As Zack said, “I have a lot of friends that care about me and they are willing to go the extra mile to help me out.”
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These High Schoolers Solved a Foodie Problem With a 3-D Printer
If you’ve ever had the unpleasant experience of squeezing out watery ketchup all over your hotdog, two high school students in Liberty, Missouri, have come up with just the invention you need.
Condiment experts Tyler Richards and Jonathan Thompson, both seniors studying in the Project Lead the Way Program (PLTW) at North Liberty High School, were challenged by their teacher, Brett Kisker, to come up with a solution to a problem that was relevant to them. “We always start with the phrase, ‘it really bugs me when,'” Kisker told Lindsey Foat of the Hale Center for Journalism at KCPT. (PLTW is a nonprofit that provides instruction and training in science and technology to students from kindergarten to high school, in the form of after-school programs and in-class lessons for teachers.)
What could be more relevant to a teenager than the perfect ketchup experience?
Kisker challenged their idea initially. “I said that they could just shake the bottle and that there is a free solution,” Kisker told Foat. “But they did a lot of research and they had me convinced that this problem really does exist.” The two teens found that many people would be willing to pay a little extra to have the watery ketchup problem solved. Additionally, a ketchup dispenser that doesn’t need to be shaken could help seniors and people with disabilities alike.
The students began their project by researching what patents had already been issued for ketchup inventions. “There are a surprising amount of ketchup-related patents out there,” Richards told Foat. “There was one — it’s kind of hard to explain — but basically it’s a way to inject ketchup into a french fry. It was a bit extreme.”
Next the students brainstormed, coming up with 60 possible solutions. The one they settled on is shaped like a mushroom and inserted into the underside of the ketchup cap. “It is based on the Pythagorean cup idea,” Thompson told Foat. “It’s also the same principle that toilets work off of.” They built their prototype using a 3-D printer and showed it at an exhibition of PLTW experiments in Kansas City.
The two don’t have any immediate plans to turn their ketchup idea into a business, however. Thompson has enlisted in the Army, and Richards will start at the Missouri University of Science and Technology in August. But whatever they do, their time spent as inventors probably means that they’ll never look at a bottle of ketchup the same way again.
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If We Want More Women in Science, We’re Going to Have to Train Them. Here’s How to Do It
Washington University in St. Louis has established itself as a leading scientific institution with such initiatives as the Human Genome Project. Now the school is supporting a new project that could be just as revolutionary: fostering the next generation of female scientists. The university is sponsoring a girls-only charter school focused on science and engineering, projected to open in St. Louis in August 2015, and here’s the revolutionary part—it won’t cost students a dime. A combination of private donors and public funding will finance the school, which hopes to enroll 500 students a year by 2020, although it’s starting with only sixth and seventh graders.
Hawthorn’s founder, Mary Danforth Stillman, told Diane Toroian Keaggy of Washington University:
“The single-sex option is out there for people who can pay, and now we are saying, ‘Let’s provide that option to students with limited financial resources.’ At Hawthorn, every leadership role will be filled by a girl. Every classroom discussion will be led by a girl. Hawthorn girls will be encouraged to reach their highest potential in and out of the classroom, and our faculty and staff will provide the support and encouragement they need to realize that potential.”
How’s that for girl power?
6 Steps for Building Better Bike Infrastructure
Bike-friendly towns are good for the environment, help keep citizens healthy and benefit the commercial sector. So why isn’t every city doing it? Well, the movement comes with some costs and risks, so it’s not an easy sell with all local governments. But the Transportation Commission of Missouri’s Chamber of Commerce’ may have found a way to advocate for statewide improvements in infrastructure. Check out the six key steps for success that the Missouri Bicycle & Pedestrian Federation followed, which provide a great example of smart, effective strategy for garnering support from local government.