Hope Horn, CMS ’26
It’s 4:30 a.m. when my alarm goes off. I throw on scrubs and drive through the quiet streets toward Advocate Lutheran General, the hospital where I’m rotating for OB/GYN. Within minutes of arriving, I’m helping prepare a delivery room. The air is charged with anticipation, focus and teamwork. When a baby is born, the whole team moves like a single organism: the attending physician, residents, nurses and students like me. There’s a rhythm that’s almost like music, and a baby’s first cry feels like applause.

In moments like this, I understand why RFU sends us into real-world settings from the start. We’re no longer practicing in simulations; we’re part of teams that care for people in their most vulnerable moments. The bonds we form with mentors, peers and patients are what make this more than medical training. It’s human training. You learn endurance, but you also learn compassion.

WHEN MOST PEOPLE IMAGINE medical school, they picture a teaching hospital — a single hub where all learning happens under one roof. But there is a different approach that begins with the premise that the best way to train future health professionals is to immerse them in the same communities they will one day serve. By learning in a variety of healthcare systems — large academic centers, small family practices, public health clinics and federally qualified health centers — students experience the full spectrum of care delivery. They see firsthand how context shapes health: how resources, access and trust differ from one community to the next. That diversity of experience builds not only stronger clinical skills but also a deeper understanding of social impacts. It prepares students to provide care that is not just excellent, but equitable and grounded in the realities of people’s lives. Archana Chatterjee, MD, PhD, dean of the Chicago Medical School and RFU’s senior vice president for medical affairs, says the model, which RFU pioneered decades ago, is both pragmatic and visionary. “Most doctors won’t spend their careers in teaching hospitals,” she explains. “The majority work in community settings. So why wouldn’t we teach there, too?”

“We’re moving beyond the walls of academic hospitals to where people actually live and receive care.”

FROM THEIR FIRST SEMESTER, RFU students learn alongside peers from other health disciplines, sharing classrooms, simulations and case discussions that mirror the teamwork of real healthcare settings. By the time they reach clinical rotations, collaboration feels natural. “Health care is not a solo sport,” says Lisa Dutton, PT ’93, PhD, dean of the College of Health Professions. “It’s a team endeavor. Our students understand that because they’ve practiced it since day one.” Dr. Dutton oversees a variety of programs, including physical therapy, physician assistant practice, psychology and pathologists’ assistant training, all of which follow the same community-engaged clinical model. “Each program looks a little different,” she says, “but the common thread is immersion. Students are out in a wide variety of settings, supervised by professionals who model not just clinical excellence but also compassion.”

The approach isn’t just about exposure; it’s about belonging. “Our partnerships enable us to serve communities while preparing a workforce for those same communities,” Dr. Dutton says. “Students meet local needs, and our partners help meet the students’ need for deep, hands-on experience.”

RFU STUDENTS EXPERIENCE the full range of clinical environments, from major public hospitals to small family practices, and each setting brings its own lessons. Moving among sites, they learn to adapt quickly, read the room, and build rapport across diverse systems and patient populations. That adaptability is crucial to student success. Dr. Dutton sees it as a powerful equalizer. “When students move between large hospitals and small clinics, they realize that excellence doesn’t depend on size or prestige,” she says. “It depends on people and how they communicate, collaborate and care.”

“When students move between large hospitals and small clinics, they realize that excellence doesn’t depend on size or prestige. It depends on people and how they communicate, collaborate and care.”

Elijah Ochs gets an early start for his rotation at Carle Orthopedics and Sports Medicine.

Elijah Ochs, DPT ’25
Most mornings at Carle Orthopedics and Sports Medicine start before sunrise. By 7 a.m., I’m reviewing charts and greeting the first patient of the day. Each session lasts about 45 minutes: one-on-one, hands-on work that ranges from guiding a hip-replacement patient through balance exercises to helping an athlete rebuild strength after an ACL reconstruction. By the end of the day, I’ve usually seen a dozen people, each at a different point in recovery. This rotation is special because it brought me home to Champaign, Illinois, where I grew up. I already knew the community, and from day one, the staff welcomed me like family. Everyone wanted to lend a hand and share what they knew. That sense of support and belonging made the long days easier and the learning deeper. The best part is watching patients progress. Seeing someone go from barely lifting a leg to walking confidently out the door never gets old. Sometimes patients take the time to leave kind thank-you notes, but the real reward is knowing you’ve helped them get back to the life they love. Those are the bonds that remind me why I chose this profession.

FOR KIMBERLEY DAREY, MD ’04, MBA, FACOG, president of Endeavor Health’s Elmhurst Hospital and vice chair of RFU’s Board of Trustees, the community- engaged clinical model represents both tradition and evolution. “When I was a student, our rotations were spread across Chicago’s hospitals, from big urban centers like Cook County to small community facilities,” she recalls. “That variety shaped who I became as a physician.”

Now an OB/GYN and experienced hospital leader, Dr. Darey views the model as essential to producing socially conscious clinicians: “Students learn medicine not in a bubble but in the real world. They work with patients from every background. That’s how you learn empathy, cultural humility and resilience.”

“If you’re only trained within one hospital system, you learn one type of culture,” she says. “Our students learn to adapt to many types of culture in different kinds of systems, and that makes them better collaborators and better advocates.”

“Our students learn to adapt to many types of culture in di†erent kinds of systems, and that makes them better collaborators and better advocates.”

As both an alum and board leader, Dr. Darey sees firsthand how these bonds ripple outward. “Because our partners know how deeply the university invests in its students, they invest back,” she says. “That’s the heart of it: mutual respect and shared growth.”

Another benefit is that many students are hired by the sites where they trained, creating a seamless transition from school to employment. “It’s almost like a long interview process,” Dr. Dutton notes. “Both sides are auditioning. Students discover where they fit, and partners find their future colleagues.”

For communities, that continuity means care from professionals who already understand local needs and culture. For students, it means beginning their careers in places that feel like home.

ACROSS THE COUNTRY, community-based clinical education is helping bridge the gap between academic medicine and the communities it serves. By embedding students in real-world settings, these partnerships strengthen both learning and care delivery. Dr. Chatterjee sees this as part of a larger national shift. “Medical education is evolving toward community engagement and population health,” she says. “We’re moving beyond the walls of academic hospitals to where people actually live and receive care.” What defines the model, though, isn’t infrastructure; it’s relationships. Between students and mentors. Between disciplines that once trained students in silos. Between institutions and the communities they serve. “When those relationships are strong, everyone benefits,” Dr. Chatterjee says. “We all want to prepare the next generation of health professionals and improve the health of our communities. That’s what binds us together.”

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