Where Careers Begin
By Stacy Kusler on
Each fall, the University of North Dakota (UND) School of Medicine & Health Sciences is buzzing for two hours with chatter, excitement, and connection during its annual Community Meet and Greet. This year's event took place on October 28 and attracted 190 UND students and 28 employers from the state and region.
The Meet and Greet is held in conjunction with Primary Care Week, an annual event led by the American Medical Student Association (AMSA) that highlights the importance of primary care specialties and raises awareness of its role in healthcare. Co-hosted each year by the UND Center for Rural Health, this year's event organizers were Brooke Miller and Camryn Schall, second-year UND medical students and UND's student leaders of AMSA this year.
You really see how supportive everyone is and how much they want you to stay here in the state.
"The Community Meet and Greet is super important for students," Schall said. "It's where they can network and build relationships with different people from around North Dakota. You really see how supportive everyone is and how much they want you to stay here in the state."
Miller added that events like the Meet and Greet help students learn what employment options there are in North Dakota.
"There were a lot of organizations I'd never heard of before, and just going up and talking to everyone who was at each booth. They're so genuinely excited for you to potentially be interested in them. You can tell they want you to come work for them in the future."
Creating Lasting Connections
Of the 28 employers in attendance, one was Heart of America Medical Center (HAMC) of Rugby, North Dakota. Sara Radomski, human resources manager for HAMC, has attended UND's Meet and Greet for the past four years.
Her favorite aspect of the event is seeing repeat students and connecting with them year after year.
"For example, today I talked with students I saw at an event here in the spring and it's nice to catch up and continue to interact with them again," she said.
Radomski noted that students she met from this event in the past have come to Rugby for training and job shadowing, and the continuous presence of her organization is both a marketing and recruitment strategy.
"We are a town of 2,500 people competing with all the big healthcare employers in the region. It's important that students know where HAMC is, and where Rugby is," she said.
It's important to keep our name out there so students know we are an option for them.
Coming back to meet with students year after year is beneficial to Radomski's organization.
"It's important to keep our name out there so students know we are an option for them," she added.
From Introductions to Opportunities
Cindy Flom-Meland is a professor and
chair of the
UND Department of Physical Therapy (PT). Almost 30 of
the 190 student attendees of the event this year were
from the PT program. Flom-Meland prioritizes this event
for her students so they can interact with future
clinical training sites.
"The Meet and Greet gives our students a great opportunity to meet people from our clinical partners," Flom-Meland shared. "It gives [students] an opportunity to start networking and be able to understand what it means to build relationships with potential employers. It is a great resource for them."
Additionally, the event allows program faculty to thank the clinical partners in person.
"We are reliant on our clinical partners for the clinical education experiences that our students do in the summer of year one, and all of year three," said Flom-Meland. "Without them, that doesn't exist. This gives us an opportunity to tell them face-to-face 'thank you for supporting our students and our program.'"
The remainder of Primary Care Week
events included a Summer Opportunities session to discuss
options for research or clinical experiences for
first-year medical students, a skills lab hosted by the
family medicine and ob/gyn student interest groups, a
primary care resident panel, and a stipend and
scholarship support breakfast provided by the North Dakota Area Health
Education Center.
is the connection between rural healthcare facilities in North Dakota and qualified health professional job seekers. As the workforce specialist, she assists rural facilities to attract medical providers and other health professionals to their communities by sharing job opportunities. Through her position, Stacy is working to reduce the healthcare workforce shortages throughout the state.
