Our History

The Rural Physician Associate Program (RPAP) at the University of Minnesota Medical School was founded in 1971 by Dr. John Verby with state funding to increase the number of primary care physicians in rural Minnesota. The Rural Physician Associate Program (RPAP) now has 1,600+ alumni.

Check out some highlights from the past 55 years below.

RPAP Historical Timeline

YEAR	EVENT
1971-1991	The Rural Physician Associate Program is established. Dr. John "Jack" Verby, Founder and Director.
1971	These sites have hosted and mentored RPAP students since the beginning of the program! Willmar: 80 students Mora: 44 students Grand Rapids: 43 students Princeton: 41 students Aitkin: 40 students Park Rapids: 40 students
1973-1974	Dr. Mac Baird was an RPAP student in Wabasha, MN. He was department head in the University of Minnesota Department of Family Medicine and Community Health from 2002-2017.
1985	RPAP Staff (L-R) Janice Knapp, Executive Secretary; Dr. John Sandness, Research Associate; Dr. Walter Swentko, Senior Physician; Jean Schnaser, Senior Secretary; Dr. John Verby, Director; Dr. Roger MacDonald, Associate Director; Terryann Smith, Senior Secretary.
1988-1989	Dr. Denny Peterson was an RPAP student in Canby, MN. Pictured with one of his preceptors Dr. Robert Olson. Dr. Peterson was an RPAP preceptor for many years and is now a MetroPAP preceptor in St. Cloud, MN.
1990-1991	Dr. Jon Hallberg was an RPAP student in Red Wing, MN. He founded, directs, and hosts Hippocrates Cafe, an ongoing series of events that explores health care topics using professional actors and musicians.
1991-2003	Dr. Walter Swentko, Director
1991	Dr. Roger MacDonald, Regional Coordinator. “Access to adequate medical care is a right and not a privilege.”
1992-1993	Dr. Julie Mayers Benson was an RPAP student in Staples, MN. RPAP Student Achievement Award Julie Mayers Benson with Dan Foss and her preceptor David Freeman. She went back to Staples to practice after RPAP. Staples has hosted and mentored 38 RPAP students since 1992!
1993	The Rural Observation Experience "ROE" program was established. ROE is a pipeline program for RPAP offered to incoming medical students. It is a 2-3 day shadowing (only) experience. Students are paired with a rural family physician to see first-hand the rewards and challenges of rural medicine.
1994	1994 was the year we first had more women than men in the program.
2004	Community Health Assessment Project "CHA" Project was established.
2003	The Summer Internship in Medicine "SIM" program was established. SIM is a pipeline program for RPAP offered to students between their first and second year of medical school. It is a 2 to 4 week experience that allows students to participate in clinical medicine, hospital medicine, interprofessional patient care, community health system support, and community activities.
2004-2007	Dr. Gwen Wagstrom Halaas
2008-2016	Dr. Kathleen Brooks, Driector
2012-2013	Dr. Therese Zink, Associate Director
2012-Current	Dr. Raymond Christensen, Associate Director
2016-2017	Dr. Nancy Baker, Director
2017-Current	Dr. Kirby Clark, Director
2018	Addiction Medicine Curriculum ECHO Collaboration was established. It is a partnership between our RPAP/MetroPAP programs and the St. Gabriels Family Medical Center Little Falls ECHO project. The ECHO program promotes improved access to addiction medicine and mental health care in primary care practices across Minnesota and western Wisconsin.
2020	Total RPAP Alumni 1634 and counting!

ALUMNI STORIES

I was welcomed into a community of clinicians in Hibbing. I was invited into the rural family medicine group, pediatrics, internal med, and also surgery, orthopedics, radiology and even pathology. My preceptor had me spend time with a variety of wonderful clinicians who wanted to teach and give me experience. My surgical, procedural and outpatient clinical experiences were well beyond what traditional medical tracks would entail, which improves the confidence needed to think you could be “on your own” in rural practice. In residency, and even later in practice many of these experiences were of value. Being in a rural community during a local economic crisis gave me insights to relate to a variety of patients through my career."

- Jeanne Hesse, RPAP alumni, Hibbing, 1980

Make a Gift

Dr. Tom Birkey '61 created a scholarship for RPAP students after serving as an RPAP preceptor in Montevideo for decades. Join him in supporting RPAP student scholarships with a gift today.

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