LOCAL STUDENTS EARN EARLY ADMISSION TO MED SCHOOL

Angela Fornkohl and Scott Kirkley, sophomores at Southeast Missouri State University, already know what they will be doing after graduation. They are preparing for medical school at the University of Missouri-Columbia.

Fornkohl, of Egypt Mills, and Kirkley, of Poplar Bluff, are among eight college sophomores in Missouri who were selected for early acceptance into the University of Missouri-Columbia School of Medicine through the MU Rural Scholars Pre-Admissions program.

They will be joined by two students from Drury College, two from Truman State University and two from Southwest Missouri State University.

The pre-admissions program was started three years ago. It is one of several programs used by the medical school to improve health care in rural Missouri, said Robert N. McCallum, assistant dean for student programs.

"By recruiting more students from rural areas, we hope that more of our graduates will return to smaller communities to live and practice," said McCallum.

While their pre-med classmates will be taking the Medical College Admission Test and filling out applications during their junior and seniors, MU Rural Scholars Pre-Admissions students are assured acceptance to the medical school as long as they maintain certain requirements during their undergraduate years.

In some ways, their medical educations already have begun. During their remaining three years of undergraduate course work, the school of medicine will sponsor leadership seminars, health policy workshops and social events to help these students prepare for their medical educations.