Medical school only accepts students with ties to S.D.

The University of South Dakota’s Sanford School of Medicine hopes to better meet the state’s healthcare demands by restricting admission to South Dakota residents, or applicants with strong ties to the state.

Paul Bunger, dean of Medical Student Affairs at the School of Medicine, said about 40 to 45 percent of Sanford School of Medicine graduates practice medicine in South Dakota. Although it may seem low, he said it is a fairly high rate when comparing nationwide statistics. And if students graduate and complete their residencies in South Dakota, 75 to 80 percent of them will stay in the state.

“We need practitioners in rural communities, but we also need the people that are practicing in big cities, as well, to provide additional services to people in specialty areas,” Bunger said. “(Then) they don’t have to travel to other states to get that kind of care.”

Bunger said state funding also plays a role in the emphasis on accepting resident applicants.

“I think historically we know that it’s more likely that people that are from a state are going to be more likely to practice in that state,” Bunger said. “It makes sense that people kind of come back home, so to speak, even if they go elsewhere for college.”

Three years ago, the medical school extended its “strong ties” definition to include students who are not from South Dakota, but have chosen to get their undergraduate degree in the state.

“We kind of look at that and say, ‘Is this indicative of somebody that saw something attractive about South Dakota?’” Bunger said. “So they did make an adult-level choice of coming here.”

Out of nearly 700 applicants last year, 160 were South Dakota residents. Out of the 190 applicants that were interviewed, about 50 of them were non-residents with strong ties. Bunger clarified that those were estimates, not exact numbers.

Fifty-six people were accepted into the M.D. program, and two students into the M.D.-Ph.D. program this year. Sixty-seven students will be admitted into the M.D. program next year, as 11 seats have been added.

First-year medical student Amanda Johnson is from Sioux Falls and received her undergraduate degree in biochemistry (ACS) at Augustana College.

“I’ve lived in South Dakota most of my life, and I like the work ethic around here,” Johnson said.

One of the reasons Johnson said she chose USD was because there are more opportunities to integrate into rural areas.

“I like the Midwest area,” Johnson said. “I like the small town atmosphere.”

She said giving preference to South Dakota residents works to the students’ advantage because many of them do not have the same opportunities as students from other, more populated states, so they wouldn’t necessarily stand out there.

First-year medical student Carmen Allcock, who grew up in Britton, S.D., went to college in Missouri and Texas before coming back to the state.

Allcock applied to two medical schools — USD and one in Texas. She said she picked USD mostly because of its class size, which was closer to what she was used to.

“It’s a great school, and it’s a small class,” Allcock said.

Although she likes the idea of practicing in a rural area, Allcock is not decided on where she’ll go after graduation.

“That’s kind of what our school pushes,” she said.

Bunger said although it’s more difficult to consider practicing in a rural site, they still try to do so.

“We try to focus on recruitment from local areas for medical students, and we also try to focus on providing insight to the benefits of rural practice that brings them into wanting to do that someday,” Bunger said.

A few of those benefits are getting to know and make an impact on the community, he said.

“Sometimes people want to make impacts on this world in different ways,” Bunger said.

(Photo: First-year medical student Amanda Johnson studies Feb. 23. in USD’s Sanford School of Medicine. Ally Krupinsky / The Volante)