Rural Healthcare Workforce – Resources

Rural Workforce Years: Quantifying the Rural Workforce Contribution of Family Medicine Residency Graduates
Results of a study comparing contributions of rurally trained family medicine residency program graduates from 2007-2013 with contributions of a geographically-matched cohort of non-rurally trained graduates. Features a list of matched programs, demographics, and statistics on total and standardized rural workforce years, with breakdowns by cohort.
Author(s): Peter Meyers, Elizabeth Wilkinson, Stephen Petterson, et al.
Citation: Journal of Graduate Medical Education, 12(6), 717-726
Date: 12/2020
view details

Preparing Nurse Faculty, and Addressing the Shortage of Nurse Faculty and Clinical Preceptors: Seventeenth Annual Report to the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the U.S. Congress
Presents policy and programmatic recommendations to address the nurse faculty shortage, improve the education and training of nurses, and strengthen the nursing profession. Discusses some of the persistent underlying causes of the faculty and preceptor shortage, examines past efforts from both government agencies and private organizations to bolster the nurse faculty, and explores the differences between states in nurse educational role requirements.
Date: 12/2020
Sponsoring organization: National Advisory Council on Nurse Education and Practice
view details

Strengthening the Entry-Level Health Care Workforce: Finding a Path
Examines gaps in the existing healthcare workforce, challenges facing entry-level healthcare workers (EHCW), current EHCW training programs and contexts where training programs are used effectively, and strategies and policy opportunities to strengthen the EHCW. Includes rural references throughout and case studies for programs in rural Alaska and Washington. Provides an interactive inventory of existing policies and programs that support EHCW training, recruitment, and retention.
Additional links: Entry-Level Health Care Workforce: Information and Programs Visualization Tool
Author(s): Shira H. Fischer, Ryan K. McBain, Laura J. Faherty, et al.
Date: 12/2020
Sponsoring organizations: HHS Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation, RAND Corporation
view details

Occupational Employment and Wages in Metro and Nonmetro Areas
A collection of charts with data on metropolitan and nonmetropolitan employment and wages. Includes wage comparisons by occupation for metro and nonmetro areas. Provides information on healthcare-related occupations. Also includes information on wages by educational attainment for metro and nonmetro areas.
Author(s): Stella Fayer, Audrey Watson
Date: 11/2020
Sponsoring organization: Bureau of Labor Statistics
view details

Rural Registered Nurses: Stories of Caring for Their Communities
Features five rural registered nurses from across the country describing their path to nursing, their accomplishments, and how they provide healthcare in their rural communities.
Author(s): Kay Miller Temple
Citation: Rural Monitor
Date: 11/2020
Sponsoring organization: Rural Health Information Hub
view details

Pipeline Programs Can Support Reforms in Medical Education: A Cohort Study of Alabama's Rural Health Leaders Pipeline to Engage Community Leaders
Presents a study examining the efficacy of a medical education pipeline program to provide healthcare professionals for rural communities in Alabama. Details the distributions of graduates throughout the state and highlights the counties by the percentage of their populations that are rural, poor, and Black, among other measures.
Author(s): John R. Wheat, James D. Leeper
Citation: Journal of Rural Health
Date: 11/2020
view details

Anesthesia Services: Differences between Private and Medicare Payments Likely Due to Providers' Strong Negotiating Position
Examines trends in differences between Medicare and private payments for anesthesia services, as well as the the supply of anesthesia providers for Medicare beneficiaries. Includes a discussion on the availability of anesthesia providers in rural areas.
Additional links: Full Report
Date: 10/2020
Sponsoring organization: Government Accountability Office
view details

Rural Hospital CEO Turnover
Policy paper examining CEO turnover in rural hospitals. Discusses factors that contribute to CEO turnover as well as the impact of turnover on hospitals. Offers policy initiatives and recommendations for hospital boards to address CEO turnover.
Author(s): Mellie Bridewell, Matt Shahan
Date: 10/2020
Sponsoring organization: National Rural Health Association
view details

Addressing Rural Health Disparities in a Pandemic
Public Health Review podcast in which 3 speakers discuss the impact of COVID-19 on rural health infrastructure and workforce. Describes how to improve conditions in rural communities, increase access to quality healthcare, and implement innovative strategies for health workforce recruitment and retention.
Date: 08/2020
Sponsoring organization: Association of State and Territorial Health Officials
view details

Special Needs in Rural America: Implications for Healthcare Workforce Education, Training, and Practice
Offers policy recommendations to strengthen rural health workforce training and improve access to healthcare in rural areas. Addresses the health and social needs of rural America through evidence-based health workforce investments in education, training, and practice. Examines disparities in health and access to care in rural areas, and mismatch in supply and demand.
Date: 07/2020
Sponsoring organization: Council on Graduate Medical Education
view details