“Growing up in Moses Lake, where my dad is a physician, I’ve gotten a taste for what it’s like in a community that is kind of rural (population just under 20,000),” said Alexandra “Lexie” Graham, a second-year University of Washington medical student. “Being on Orcas Island, which is much more rural, and seeing how health care works here, is a really great experience.”

Graham, a Yale University graduate, is completing a month-long study program at Orcas Medical Center. She is here as part of the UW School of Medicine’s Rural/Under-served Opportunities Program, in which Orcas Medical Center participates.

The program is a four-week immersion experience in community medicine for students between their first and second years of medical school. Students live in rural or urban under-served communities throughout Washington, Wyoming, Alaska, Montana and Idaho. They work side-by-side with local physicians.

Graham received her BS degree in “Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology.” At Yale, she worked in Dr. Valerie Horsley’s molecular biology lab, conducting research in the area of stem cell development. During the summer of 2008, Lexie completed a Global Services Corps International Health Internship in Tanzania.

“It’s a big attraction to work someplace where you can really make a difference,” she said.

Dr. Tony Giefer, OMC Medical Director, enjoys participating in the UW program. His own background includes years of teaching family medicine with the Mayo Clinic and University of Minnesota. He believes that experienced family physicians have a responsibility to help educate future doctors.

“Also,” he added, “having them around keeps us all on our toes.”