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Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Physicians

Running the Numbers: The Maldistribution of Health Care Providers in Rural and Underserved Areas in North Carolina
Discusses the maldistribution of health care professionals related to population needs in rural North Carolina. Highlights physician workforce shortages in primary care, general surgery, psychiatry, licensed nurse practitioners, and physician assistants.
Author(s): Julie C. Spero, Erin P. Fraher
Citation: North Carolina Medical Journal, 75(1), 74-79
Date: 01/2014
Type: Document
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The Four Pillars for Primary Care Physician Workforce Reform: A Blueprint for Future Activity
Presents a framework to guide efforts to increase the supply of primary care physicians. The framework covers four areas: workforce pipeline, medical education, practice transformation, and payment reform. The first pillar discusses the importance of the medical school admissions committee. Selecting applicants from rural backgrounds and those students with lower income expectations or from lower socioeconomic status is just one predictor of medical students who will eventually pursue a career in primary care.
Citation: Annals of Family Medicine, 12(1), 83-87
Date: 01/2014
Type: Document
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Not Enough Primary-Care Doctors? Try Missouri's Prescription
Describes how medical school graduates are legally allowed to work as assistant physicians in rural and underserved areas of Missouri without having completed a residency program. Discusses legislation that allows medical school graduates to become practicing assistant physicians and practice requirements.
Author(s): Arthur L. Caplan
Citation: Missouri Medicine, 111(6), 474-475
Date: 2014
Type: Document
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Rural Primary Care Physician Workforce Expansion: An Opportunity for Bipartisan Legislation
Recommends expansion of graduate medical education (GME) support in teaching health centers (THCs) as a way to address the shortage of rural primary care physicians. Proposes an expanded version of the community health center and academic medicine partnerships (CHAMP) model that would help in the development of rural THCs.
Author(s): Richard E. Rieselbach, Robert L. Phillips, Thomas J. Nasca, Byron J. Crouse
Citation: Journal of Graduate Medical Education, 5(4), 556-559
Date: 12/2013
Type: Document
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Projecting the Supply and Demand for Primary Care Practitioners Through 2020
Examines the adequacy of the future supply of primary care providers to meet the projected demand for primary care. Includes information on physician, nurse practitioner, and physician assistant supply and demand. Discusses likely causes of growth in demand for primary care, and potential impact of increased use of NPs and PAs on alleviating the primary care physician shortage. Section 8 of the full report discusses geographic disparities.
Date: 11/2013
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Health Resources and Services Administration
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Advancing Geriatrics Fellowship Programs Through a Community-Based Residency Network
Describes a project, conducted through Michigan State University, which studied the formation of geriatric fellowship programs within an established family medicine residency network to recruit and retain graduates. Facilitates the accreditation of new programs in nonmetropolitan communities, recruits fellows into underserved areas, and helps retain graduates to practice and teach in neighboring areas.
Author(s): Kevin Foley, Marolee Neuberger, Mary Noel, et al.
Citation: Family Medicine, 45(10), 719-725
Date: 11/2013
Type: Document
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Barriers to Colorectal Cancer Screening Among Women in Rural Central Pennsylvania: Primary Care Physicians' Perspective
Describes a study examining the beliefs of primary care physicians regarding colorectal cancer (CRC) screening and factors that may cause gender disparities in CRC screening in rural Pennsylvania. Includes analysis to identify potential solutions to overcome those barriers.
Author(s): Lara A. Rosenwasser, Jennifer McCall-Hosenfeld, Carol S. Weisman, et al.
Citation: Rural and Remote Health, 13(4), 2504
Date: 10/2013
Type: Document
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The Aging of the Rural Primary Care Physician Workforce: Will Some Locations Be More Affected than Others?
Examines the location of older primary care physicians for rural and urban counties, with maps portraying the data. Discusses the potential impact of retiring physicians on rural primary care shortages.
Author(s): Meredith A. Fordyce, Mark P. Doescher, Susan M. Skillman
Date: 09/2013
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: WWAMI Rural Health Research Center
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Medical School Rural Tracks in the US
Discusses the results of a survey of 35 U.S. medical schools about their active or planned rural medical school residency tracks (RT) to better understand what rural medical education looks like throughout the country. Examines the admissions process, curriculum, administration and funding structures, and program outcomes.
Author(s): Mark Deutchman
Date: 09/2013
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: National Rural Health Association
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GME in the United States: A Review of State Initiatives
Reports results from a study examining what states are doing to address issues affecting the physician workforce, including shortages in rural areas. Report introduces maps and charts showing demographics and healthcare workforce data by state.
Author(s): Julie C. Spero, Erin P. Fraher, Thomas C. Ricketts, Paul H. Rockey
Date: 09/2013
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: The Cecil G. Sheps Center for Health Services Research
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