Maine Medical Center welcomed the 39 members of the Tufts University School of Medicine-Maine Medical Center (TUSM-MMC) Maine Track Class of 2027 at the 15th annual Victor A. McKusick, MD, Lecture on Tuesday, July 18, 2023.
MaineHealth Chief of Oncology Scot Remick, MD, FACP, gave the lecture, which took a look back in time from his own experience learning from Dr. McKusick and explored how that work threads into what MMC is doing now to advance medical education through investing in interdisciplinary programs and rural medicine.
Students received their stethoscopes in the ceremony that begins their four years of medical school. Maine Track students spend their first year at Tufts in Boston and then spend three years receiving classroom instruction and community-based instruction here in Maine.
Photo caption: Maya Barrett-Tzannes, M27, receives her stethoscope from Jen Hayman, MD, FAAP, Assistant Dean of Educational Affairs at the TUSM-MMC Maine Track Program.
About Maine Track
The Maine Track was founded with three primary goals in mind: to address the shortage of doctors in Maine, especially in our rural areas; to offer Maine’s brightest students the financial means to pursue a career in medicine; and to develop an innovative curriculum focused on community-based education.
This unique partnership between Tufts University School of Medicine and Maine Medical Center offers a rigorous training program for students committed to pursuing a career in rural medicine. The Maine Track’s innovative curriculum offers medical students clinical training experiences throughout Maine, exposing them to the unique aspects of rural practice, while also providing training at a major tertiary medical center. This approach creates more than just a pipeline of new physicians who want to practice in Maine; it lays the foundation for a future where every Mainer has access to excellent medical care, regardless of where in the state they live.
Scholarship support is essential for this program to function as it was intended. Each year, the Maine Track provides $2 million in tuition subsidies through outright and endowed scholarship funds to support 20 recipients in each class year. This financial assistance makes the cost of tuition comparable to an “in-state” rate allowing Maine Track scholarship recipients the flexibility to pursue a career in rural medicine instead of having their specialty choice be dictated by the burden of student debt.
