---
kind: "section"
citation: "25 U.S.C. § 1616o"
title: "25"
title_heading: "Indians"
number: "1616o"
heading: "University of South Dakota pilot program"
release: "119-102"
date: "2026-07-12"
url: "https://uscodex.org/usc/25/1616o"
units:
  - "Chapter 18 — Indian Health Care"
  - "Subchapter I — Indian Health Professional Personnel"
---

# §1616o. University of South Dakota pilot program

- (a) **Establishment—** The [Secretary](/usc/25/1603.md?p=17) may make a grant to the School of Medicine of the University of South Dakota (hereafter in this section referred to as “USDSM”) to establish a pilot program on an [Indian](/usc/25/1603.md?p=13) [reservation](/usc/25/1603.md?p=16-A) at one or more [service units](/usc/25/1603.md?p=20) in South Dakota to address the chronic manpower shortage in the Aberdeen Area of the [Service](/usc/25/1603.md?p=18).
- (b) **Purposes—** The purposes of the program established pursuant to a grant provided under [subsection (a)](#a) are—
  - (1) to provide direct clinical and practical experience at a [service unit](/usc/25/1603.md?p=20) to medical students and residents from USDSM and other medical schools;
  - (2) to improve the quality of health care for [Indians](/usc/25/1603.md?p=13) by assuring access to qualified health care professionals; and
  - (3) to provide academic and scholarly opportunities for physicians, physician assistants, nurse practitioners, nurses, and other allied health professionals serving [Indian](/usc/25/1603.md?p=13) people by identifying and utilizing all academic and scholarly resources of the region.
- (c) **Composition; designation—** The pilot program established pursuant to a grant provided under [subsection (a)](#a) shall—
  - (1) incorporate a program advisory board composed of representatives from the tribes and communities in the area which will be served by the program; and
  - (2) shall be designated as an extension of the USDSM campus and program participants shall be under the direct supervision and instruction of qualified medical staff serving at the [service unit](/usc/25/1603.md?p=20) who shall be members of the USDSM faculty.
- (d) **Coordination with other schools—** The USDSM shall coordinate the program established pursuant to a grant provided under [subsection (a)](#a) with other medical schools in the region, nursing schools, tribal [community colleges](/usc/25/1603.md?p=4), and other health professional schools.
- (e) **Development of additional professional opportunities—** The USDSM, in cooperation with the [Service](/usc/25/1603.md?p=18), shall develop additional professional opportunities for program participants on [Indian](/usc/25/1603.md?p=13) [reservations](/usc/25/1603.md?p=16-A) in order to improve the recruitment and retention of qualified health professionals in the Aberdeen Area of the [Service](/usc/25/1603.md?p=18).

## Source credit

(Pub. L. 94–437, title I, § 122, as added Pub. L. 102–573, title I, § 116, Oct. 29, 1992, 106 Stat. 4543.)