Michelle Tinglum Among RHOP Selections at Chadron State

2012 Mar 12

Michelle Tinglum of McCook is one of 34 Nebraska high school students who have been selected to enter the Rural Health Opportunities Program at Chadron State College this fall.

Tinglum, a senior at McCook High School, was selected as a participant in the dental hygiene option.

This fall's incoming RHOP class at CSC includes 26 participants and eight alternates. Often, the alternates become primary participants before their training at CSC is completed. Participants in the dental hygiene option complete two years at CSC, two years at the UNMC College of Dentistry's West Division in Gering.

The selections were based on college entrance examination scores, academic success and leadership exhibited in high school and personal interviews.

RHOP began in 1990 as a joint venture between CSC and the University of Nebraska Medical Center to help counter the shortage of medical professionals in rural Nebraska. Students selected as participants in the program take pre-professional training at CSC, with guaranteed pre-admittance to one of the UNMC sites if the program's standards are met. Graduates of the RHOP program are encouraged and expected to return to the rural areas of Nebraska to practice.

RHOP serves students seeking education in clinical laboratory science, dental hygiene, dentistry, medical technology, medicine, nursing, pharmacy, physical therapy, physician assistant studies and radiography.

More information about RHOP and other programs at CSC is available at the college's website, www.csc.edu.