Alabama Congressman Jo Bonner meets with a Rural Medical Scholar from his district during a trip to Washington, D.C. by RMSP class in 2007.

2005 Rural Medical Scholars with Alabama Senator Richard Shelby at a dinner in Washington, D.C., hosted by the Medical Association of the State of Alabama (MASA) for the Alabama congressional delegation during their 2006 policy meeting.

The RMSP annual trip to Washington with MASA member physicians is part of the leadership training activities included in the curriculum.  It gives these future rural doctors a chance to see how much local medical practice is shaped by federal policies and the opportunity to be involved in discussions to educate elected officials about health care needs in the state.