15-1754. Rural health professions program; definition

A. The three universities under the jurisdiction of the Arizona board of regents shall select ten nurse practitioner students, fifteen medical students and four pharmacy students each year to participate in a rural health professions program. The three universities shall develop application procedures for students to apply for voluntary participation in the program. The three universities shall attempt to ensure that each individual participating student be able to fulfill the program requirements in a single rural practice setting.

B. The university of Arizona shall choose the fifteen medical students, four pharmacy students and four nurse practitioner students, Arizona state university shall choose four nurse practitioner students, and northern Arizona university shall choose two nurse practitioner students who will participate at the respective universities.

C. Pharmacy students and medical students selected to participate in the program shall be placed in a rural practice or rural location in this state. Each placement shall be for a duration of at least one month and shall occur during the summer months between academic years, as part of the required curriculum during a clinical clerkship and in the final year of training.

D. Nurse practitioner students selected to participate in the program shall be placed in a rural practice or rural location in this state during the summer months between the first and second year of their academic instruction. A participating nurse practitioner student's internship shall also be conducted in a clinical setting located in a rural area of this state.

E. Students who participate in the program shall be teamed with two mentors throughout their period of academic instruction. The mentors shall provide guidance and counseling to students who participate in the program concerning the fulfillment of rural health professions program requirements, the selection of elective curricula and the selection of residency programs or internships. One of the faculty mentors shall be a physician, pharmacist or nurse who works closely with the participating student during the student's rural placement, and one of the mentors shall be a faculty member of the university where the program participant is enrolled. At least one of the mentors shall be available at all times to support the student's interest in rural health care.

F. For purposes of this section, " rural" means either:

1. A county with a population of less than four hundred thousand persons according to the most recent United States decennial census.

2. A census county division with less than fifty thousand persons in a county with a population of four hundred thousand or more persons according to the most recent United States decennial census.