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Rural medicine is this student’s top choiceAdam Armbruster, a medical student at the University of Minnesota, is working with and learning from physicians at the New Ulm Medical Center this year through the Rural Physician Associate Program. He’ll experience a range of care areas, including performing well-baby check ups like this one with Nicole Geiger and her baby Chloe. Adam Armbruster, a third-year medical student at the University of Minnesota, is a participant in the Rural Physician Associate Program at the New Ulm Medical Center for the next several months. It is a program that suits him well, since “rural” is exactly where he wants to be. Armbruster is a native of Sleepy Eye. He has been at the U of M in Duluth for the last two years, avoiding college in the Twin Cities metro area, and fully intends to practice in a rural area when he completes his medical training. “The number one reason I wanted to participate in the RPAP program is to gain exposure to practice in a rural area,” Armbruster said. “And to stay out of the Twin Cities. In general, I just like small town life.” He also ranked New Ulm Medical Center as his number one choice of location for participation in the RPAP program because of his local roots. He is a graduate of St. Mary’s High School in Sleepy Eye and earned his undergraduate degree at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul. Armbruster’s father is a pharmacist in Sleepy Eye and his youngest sister is a junior at Sleepy Eye St. Mary’s this year. Another sister is a sophomore at the University of St. Thomas and his brother will graduate from the University of Minnesota this year. Although he is keeping his options open, Armbruster is leaning toward a focus in family practice. He will spend his time at the medical center primarily with family practice physician Roger Lindholm, MD. “I like the variety that is inherent in a family practice. I like the idea of doing something new every day,” Armbruster said. The prospect of dealing with a variety of people is part of what drew him to medicine in general, he said. Part of the focus of the Medical School at the U of MN in Duluth, Armbruster said, is to attract students from rural areas who eventually plan to practice in rural areas. He did several of what he calls “mini rotations” at a medical facility in Paynesville last year in which the student spends a series of three-day visits at the facility and is hosted at a physician’s home during those days. “I really enjoyed that – it was a little taste of what the RPAP program would be like,” he said. Approximately 75% of his classmates at the U of MN, Duluth, participate in the program. In all, there are 47 students (from both Duluth and the Twin Cities’ campuses) participating in the RPAP program at 41 rural facilities throughout Minnesota. During his time with the RPAP program, Armbruster is living in New Ulm, enjoying almost any kind of sports in his spare time. In high school, he was active in baseball, basketball, hockey and football. Armbruster still enjoys playing baseball with the Leavenworth team.  Back to Health Edition |
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New Ulm Medical Center
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