The Hawaii Medical Service Association will provide $103,800 in travel support grants to the John A. Burns School of Medicine to help up to 25 medical students perform clinical rotations on Neighbor Islands.

Medical school officials said the grant will help JABSOM's rural training program's ultimate goal to expand the number of practicing physicians on the Neighbor Islands.

"Hopefully this will get more people to experience the wonderful aspects of work in rural communities," said Dr. Kelley Withy, director of JABSOM's Area Health Education Center.

Withy said by allowing medical students to work in rural areas, they can experience the specific challenges, as well as the benefits, of working in those communities.

She said the medical school has been working for years to increase the number of physicians who practice on Neighbor Islands. Withy said former medical students who have completed training on Neighbor Islands have gone back to practice in those communities.

The money pledged by HMSA will allow 15 medical students from JABSOM to perform six-week primary care rotations on the Neighbor Islands and 10 more to perform five-month rotations in other rural areas.

Withy said the gift helps expand JABSOM's program. Currently, only about half as many students do clinical rotations on Neighbor Islands.

The grant money will pay for travel and housing expenses, plus provide students with a small stipend for food and other costs.

Working in rural communities tends to pose unique challenges, such as lack of technology, infrastructure, specialists and physical networks, Withy said.

But it can also be rewarding work, she said.

"If one of our students is from a community and they have a sense that they may want to go back, but they're not sure, this is a way for them to experience the benefit of working in that community," she said.