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Sarah Loudon has been a U.S. Air Force flight medic for 12 years, flying in and out of areas she politely calls "under threat" to pick up patients.

Isaac Schneider, an Army Special Forces medic, has provided care in hot spots around the world, including a mass casualty event at a hospital in Kandahar, Afghanistan.

Taylor Ritchot, deployed as an Army combat medic in the Minnesota National Guard, found herself at the tender age of 20 in Kuwait, providing a broad range of care for evacuees fleeing Afghanistan after the U.S. military's 2021 pullout.

The talented trio has had their medical skills put to the test under daunting conditions and proven themselves. Thanks to an innovative University of Minnesota Medical School program, they'll soon face another worthy challenge: completing the coursework to become physicians.

About a year ago, the U announced a new initiative called the "Medic to Medical School Pathway." The program, believed to be among the nation's first, has a sensible goal: steering those with medical skills honed in the military into becoming the next generation of doctors. It also helps prepare them for the rigors of medical school.

Loudon, Schneider and Ritchot are the first three medics accepted. That the program has morphed in two years from a good idea proposed by a medical school faculty member to reality is remarkable. Especially noteworthy is its potential to help address the nation's growing shortage of physicians.

If you aren't already familiar with this disturbing trend, you should be. "The physician shortage that we have long feared — and warned was on the horizon — is already here. It's an urgent crisis … hitting every corner of this country — urban and rural — with the most direct impact hitting families with high needs and limited means," the American Medical Association's president warned in a 2023 speech.

Minnesota may be home to two world-class medical centers, but the state isn't immune. Rural areas are feeling the shortage already. As a 2022 state health department report notes, rural physicians are 10 years older on average than their metro counterparts. And "one in three rural physicians plan to leave the workforce within the next five years."

Many creative solutions are needed but the U's effort is especially smart. This is a time when we need to do everything possible to get passionate, public-service-minded people to enter this noble and necessary profession. Medics represent a natural talent pipeline. They have undergone extensive training, have hands-on patient-care experience and have demonstrated their dedication.

Why not tap that expertise by recruiting these military men and women as they weigh returning to civilian life? Another question: Why isn't every medical school following the U's lead?

Dr. Greg Beilman, whose vision played a vital role in launching the program, merits praise. He's a critical care surgeon, U medical school professor, retired Army colonel and associate dean of Department of Defense research and partnerships. In 2022, he was in Ukraine with a medical relief organization and worked with combat medics there.

He was so impressed with the medics that on his return, he recommended that the U's medical school set up a program to encourage medics to apply and to help them prepare for the coursework. The U's program stands out because those accepted are guaranteed medical school entry (as long as they meet testing and coursework requirements).

Big institutions like the U aren't known for moving quickly. But two years after Beilman's Ukraine trip, Loudon, Schneider and Ritchot are on their way to becoming physicians. The swift implementation reflects extremely well on the U's leadership. Nimbleness and innovation are crucial to combating the health care workforce shortage.

The move also comes as the U is taking another smart step to bolster the ranks of rural physicians by opening a new medical school campus in St. Cloud, the first new location in 50 years.

Loudon, Schneider and Ritchot were selected out of 13 applicants, with the program having the capacity to expand to include five new participants annually in years to come.

Loudon, who is originally from the East Coast, and Schneider, a Montana native, are on track to start medical school next fall. Ritchot, who grew up in Forest Lake, Minn., and is finishing up her nursing degree, is expected to begin in 2026.

A conversation with them makes clear that they might not have applied to medical school had it not been for the Pathway program. Loudon, for example, worried about her "fractured coursework" over the years between deployments. She wondered whether she fit the "traditional" medical school applicant profile — meaning someone in their early 20s who is awarded a four-year degree and goes to medical school right after graduation.

"It's nice to see that they recognize the value we have,'' Loudon said, referring to the U.

The trio's commitment to serving their country through the practice of medicine is made clear in conversations. Loudon is inspired by global medical relief organizations and hopes to "give back to Minnesota by serving communities in need as a physician."

Schneider is also interested in working in underserved communities. Ritchot is considering becoming a trauma surgeon.

Minnesotans have an opportunity to strengthen the U's worthwhile program this holiday season and beyond. Right now, the school does not pay participants' medical tuition, something that should spur the state's generous philanthropic community to act. In addition, everyday Minnesotans have a long tradition of supporting worthy causes. This is an effort that has the potential to pay dividends far into the future.

Those interested in donating can reach out to the program's leadership (click on either email listed under "contact us"). Or go directly to tinyurl.com/MedicProgramGive.