Ms. Hinrichsen talked about the program with reporter David Weinberg.

CLAIRE HINRICHSEN: "I really like it. I know everybody in my class. We are close and it’s a nice feeling. I went to KU, so I went to a big school, and I’m getting back to the small feel. I like it a lot."

DAVID WEINBERG: "How do these two compare, like going to KU and going here?"

CLAIRE HINRICHSEN: "They're a lot different. My first class in general chemistry in KU had more people in that lecture hall than there were in my town! So it was a big change and it was hard to get used to having so many people there."

Students who complete the four-year program will then do their residency training in a small community in the surrounding area. One place a resident might work is the Clay Center Clinic, where Dr. Kerry Murphy is a family physician.

KERRY MURPHY: "This is a clinic that has currently eight doctors and four mid-level practitioners and we cover, of course, this town, but we also have satellite clinics in two nearby towns. We just kind of operate as a what I call a 'cradle-to-grave operation.' We deliver babies and go all the way up to doing nursing home care."

Rural doctors generally serve older, poorer patients. Going into a specialty in a big city can mean better working hours and more money to pay off student loans.

The Salina program will pay tuition for each year that students practice in a rural area in Kansas. Dr. Cathcart-Rake hopes four years of medical school and two years of residency will be enough time to put down roots.