ReConnect Gap-Year Fellowship

Apply for the ReConnect Fellowship Program

What will you do during your gap year?


The ReConnect Fellowship is designed for pre-health college graduates facing a gap-year while applying to medical school or physician assistant programs. The ReConnect Fellowship takes place in Roseburg, Oregon. Fellows are employed full-time as medical scribes and/or medical assistants in Federally Qualified Healthcare Centers or Rural Health Centers. These centers are family practice clinics who provide care for patients in a medically underserved area.

The ReConnect Fellowship is more than just working in a clinic. Fellows come together as a cohort of individuals who are all in similar places in their journey to becoming a healthcare provider. ReConnect Fellows gather outside of work hours for social dinners, professional learning opportunities, and to receive support in the medical or PA school application cycle.

Supports for ReConnect Fellows include:

○ Coaching and mentoring from program staff during your time as a fellow
○ Social gatherings and dinners with other fellows in the program
○ Professional Learning opportunities
○ Workshops on drafting and revising a Personal Narrative Statement for applications
○ Preparing for a medical school interview, Mock Interviews
○ Access to a network of former fellows who are in medical school or working as providers
○ Close interactions with providers and clinic staff who may be able to write letters of recommendation

Contact Us

Area Health Education Center of Southwest Oregon
A division of Aviva Health
150 NE Kenneth Ford Drive
Roseburg, OR 97470

Christin Rutledge

Director
(541) 672-9596 x 244
crutledge@aviva.health

Lacey Ferguson

ReConnect Gap-Year Fellowship Program Coordinator
(541) 912-5805
reconnect@aviva.health

Contact Information

If you have any questions about the ReConnect Gap-Year Fellowship or the application process, please reach out to our program staff.

Area Health Education Center of Southwest Oregon

Christin Rutledge
Director
541-672-9596 x244
crutledge@aviva.health

ReConnect Gap-Year Fellowship Program Consultant

Lacey Ferguson
ReConnect Gap-Year Fellowship Program Coordinator
Area Health Education Center of Southwest Oregon
(541) 912-5805
reconnect@aviva.health

Testimonials

“If you are looking for a tight-knit program that treats you as more than a nameless pre-med on an assembly line, provides advocacy for what you need to thrive during the application process, and acts as a collaborative family offering breaks from the stress in the form of food and fun activities….then I highly recommend this Reconnect Gap-Year Fellowship.”

-Andreea Gosman, 2019 Cohort and first year Medical Student at OHSU

“It is hard to believe that we are into this for five years and even more amazing to look at the success. In the beginning, I thought even a 50% success rate would be amazing!”

– Bob Dannenhoffer, M.D., Douglas County Health Officer

“Beyond clinical skills, this program taught me logistical, practical, inter-professional, and business knowledge of healthcare. Most importantly, it gave me experience in rural medicine.”

-Natalie DeBell, 2018 Fellow

RECONNECT INTERVIEW: Tori Prawitz-Wiprud


RECONNECT INTERVIEW: Natalie DeBell


RECONNECT INTERVIEW: MAHTAB BRAR


RECONNECT INTERVIEW: KAYLA EPPERLY


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