The University of Kentucky College of Medicine is pleased to announce that Aradhana Kaushal, MD, has been named assistant dean for the Rural Physician Leadership Program (RPLP) in Morehead, Ky.
The RPLP is the UK College of Medicine’s specialized training program in rural medicine. This new leadership position reflects the RPLP’s growth and continued impact preparing more physicians to practice in rural, community settings.
Dr. Kaushal began her new role Aug. 1, 2024. As assistant dean, she will work with RPLP leadership to support students through advancements in programming and teaching. She will also help ensure optimal delivery of the Kentucky Integrated Curriculum that is used across all four UK College of Medicine sites.
“Every time I talk to Dr. Kaushal, I am blown away by her enthusiasm for education and her passion for rural health care,” said Rebecca Todd, MD, associate dean for the RPLP. “She aims to overdeliver in every role she takes, and I know she will be exceptional as she joins our program leadership.”
Dr. Kaushal graduated from the combined Boston University BA/MD program with Alpha Omega Alpha honors and joined the UK College of Medicine and UK HealthCare in 2020. She is an associate professor in the UK College of Medicine Department of Radiation Medicine, as well as a radiation oncologist at the UK Markey Cancer Center in Lexington and the UK Morehead Cancer Center. In Morehead, Dr. Kaushal has helped expand UK’s radiation oncology program to provide more comprehensive care for the surrounding region.
Before joining UK, she served on the faculty at the National Institutes of Health (NIH)/National Cancer Institute Radiation Oncology Branch and as a faculty member for the NIH joint residency at Walter Reed National Naval Medical Center. After leaving Bethesda, Md., she then joined the University of Central Florida/Veterans Affairs Hospital at Lake Nona as an associate professor.
Dr. Kaushal is closely involved in the UK College of Medicine’s Women in Medicine and Science (WIMS) organization, which promotes a supportive academic medicine environment through networking and professional development opportunities. In January 2024, Dr. Kaushal was awarded the group’s scholarship to attend the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) Mid-Career Leadership Development conference in the fall. She also has been the recipient of numerous grants including the WIMS Booster grant to study the role of the integrative medicine and cannabis in rural oncologic care settings.
To further her mentorship skills, Dr, Kaushal completed the UK College of Medicine’s Classroom Teaching Development Program in 2021. In 2023, she was recognized for outstanding teaching with the Association of Residents in Radiation Oncology (ARRO) Resident Educator of the Year Award. She has authored national publications on rural radiation oncology including journals as such as The Lancet: Regional Health Americas.
About the Rural Physician Leadership Program
For more than 10 years, the RPLP has provided exceptional rural medicine training for medical students in Morehead. An important outcome of this unique, four-year medical education program is that graduates gain knowledge and experience necessary to work with civic and community leaders to improve the general health of the communities they serve.
RPLP students complete their first two years in Lexington and their final two years in Morehead, working closely with physicians in the area. The program graduates 12-14 medical students each spring.
Learn more here, and read RPLP alum testimonials about how their experience inspired them to return to Kentucky to practice medicine:
RPLP alum Dr. Jeremy Swiney comes back to serve Morehead as a physician