Kansas’ largest health care career fair is now bigger than ever, with even more opportunities for participants to learn about practicing in rural and underserved communities throughout the state.

After 27 years, the Kansas Career Opportunities (KCO) Health Care Career Fair will be held in three locations this fall for the first time:

• Kansas City on Sept. 4 at Boulevard Brewing Company
• Wichita on Oct. 3 at The Vail event venue and
• Salina on Oct. 24 at the Health Education Center

Participant registration for KCO 2024 is now open while space for exhibitors is filling up fast! The mission of KCO — which is overseen by KU Medical Center’s Rural Health Education and Services— is to encourage attendees to consider practicing in rural or underserved urban communities throughout the state. Resident physicians, students or anyone seeking a health care job can visit one-on-one with representatives from Kansas health care organizations that serve rural and urban underserved communities.

Third event added

For many years, KCO was held exclusively in Wichita and Kansas City. However, the first-ever KCO-Salina took place last fall, drawing a larger crowd than anticipated, with 47 students, resident physicians and guests in attendance, in addition to 21 exhibitors and 15 different communities represented.

KCO-Kansas City will have a new vibe this year with a casual meet-and-greet format at the Boulevard Brewing Company.

KCO-Wichita remains the largest of the three KCOs. A total of 178 resident physicians, medical, nursing, physician assistant students and other health care professionals attended last year along with 44 exhibiting organizations. The event in Wichita showcased representation from 35 different communities.

2023 attendees share experience

Many medical students who attended KCO events last year expressed a strong desire to work in a rural community.

“It was great to see all the rural facilities that are out there,” said Zach Schroeder, a third-year medical student at last year’s KCO-Wichita. “I’m from a small town (and) really passionate about rural medicine.”

Third-year medical student Kaci Wilson attended KCO-Wichita last fall. “I’m really interested in rural medicine, and so this (KCO) was really good,” she said. “I was able to talk with several communities that I didn’t even know had hospital systems, or that I wasn’t aware were so close to what I was looking for. I was able to connect with several hospital systems that I had a particular interest in and had already looked at, so that was great, and get some contact info for visiting later on.”

Survey results reveal a significant shift in perception: Among attendees who initially expressed no interest in practicing in a rural area, 100% reported that after attending KCO they are now considering rural practice opportunities.

Third-year medical student Emily Bette was able to make connections at last year’s KCO-Wichita to help her in her final year of medical school.

“At the very least, I think I’m going to give myself the best chance at a rural rotation my fourth year to help me decide if that’s something I want to pursue,” Bette said. “I had not actually done a lot of prior research into rural programs. I had some interest, but it wasn’t specifically rural, and this (KCO) actually gave me a lot of information that I wouldn’t have otherwise come across.”

Professional connections made

Medical students aren’t the only attendees who benefit from attending KCO. Social worker Marla Herron said she made several contacts in and outside of her discipline at last fall’s KCO-Wichita.

“It was very exciting to be here,” Herron said. “It actually made me feel very uplifted because a lot of time in social work and health care it’s all bad news… Here, it was a very enthusiastic group.”

Learn more about the largest health care career fair in Kansas at our KCO web page, and see a short video of participant testimonials from KCO 2023.