Medical Student Education and Training
Improve clinical education and cultural competence for American Indian health issues and social determinants of health through the curriculum, research, and community outreach.
Summer Tribal Externship
During the summer between their first and second year of medical school, students may participate in a summer externship at a tribal hospital or clinic shadowing a physician. This is a two-week rotation designed to introduce medical students to tribal healthcare, culture, and prepare them for tribal and rural clerkships. Visit our summer rural externship page for additional information.
- SRE/STE Application (2026 TBD)
- Externship Training Sites
- Course Director Kent Smith (kent.smith@okstate.edu)
Tribal Medical Track
The Tribal Medical Track prepares medical students for a primary care residency (family, pediatric, surgery, emergency medicine, internal medicine, and surgery) at tribal facilities or available facilities focused on tribal healthcare. The tribal medical track offers unique learning opportunities for motivated students to fully develop their clinical training and knowledge to succeed in a challenging practice environment while learning about the rich cultures of American Indians. A key attribute of the tribal medical track is tribal-based clinical education with cultural competencies. Students in the tribal medical track will have the opportunity to complete most of their required clinical education in tribal (rural and urban) and rural settings.
- Tribal Medical Track Opportunities and Curriculum Highlights
- TMT Application (2026 application TBD)
- Scoring Rubric
- Contact: Tribal and Rural Education Staff
Caring for Communities II Course
This is a required course for second year medical students. The course provides opportunities for medical students to explore a variety of health care topics relevant to historically underserved population and tribal healthcare systems. The course seeks to identify key population health concerns, dispel some of the myths that surround medical care in historically underserved settings including Tribal health care.