MTSU aims to help rural medical providers

By Logan Langlois MURFREESBORO, TN — Middle Tennessee State University has recently launched a PA program that is partnering up with medical facilities in many of Tennessee’s rural areas. Program Director Dr. Marie Patterson said many of these rural Tennessee clinics have been experiencing hurdles in providing medical care to their communities, one of which is understaffing. She said that many of these community’s face difficulty with both medical access and education, with citizens much of the time unable to make the long-distance travels that are required for them to receive advanced, or sometimes even basic medical care. “We’re trying to partner with everyone,” Patterson said. “So obviously we want to be in the bigger cities as well, but we have it as a goal for all our students to do at least one rural or underserved area rotation.” Molly Valentine, a PA student about to graduate from the program as a member of its inaugural class, said students are not given the authority of licensed physicians but are treated as extensions of the physician they are training under. Valentine said that with this authority, she can assist physicians in speeding along simpler processes such as conducting the patient’s initial...