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Education and Training of the Rural Healthcare Workforce – Resources

Selected recent or important resources focusing on Education and Training of the Rural Healthcare Workforce.

Rewards and Frustrations of Rural Surgery Practice
Discusses challenges in rural surgery practice, such as demographic trends, workforce shortages, issues with surgical training, rural hospital closures, and economic pressures. Includes a link to video featuring Michael Sarap and Alisha D. Reiss, of the American College of Surgeons.
Author(s): Michael Sarap, Alisha D. Reiss
Date: 04/2023
Type: Document, Video/Multimedia
Sponsoring organization: American College of Surgeons
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Integration of Case-Based Dialogue to Enhance Medical Students' Understanding of Using Health Communication to Address Social Determinants of Health
Examines the impact of case-based social determinants of health (SDOH) curriculum on third year medical student knowledge related to SDOH and willingness to care for culturally diverse and underserved patients. Analyzes pre- and post-test survey answers from 640 medical students about their SDOH perceptions and knowledge, including confidence levels in working with rural and medically underserved patients.
Author(s): Jalysa King, Jennifer Taylor
Citation: Advances in Medical Education and Practice,14, 237-244
Date: 03/2023
Type: Document
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Thomas Jefferson University Program Reflects on Nearly 50 Years of Producing Rural Doctors
Features the Physician Shortage Area Program (PSAP), which has recruited and supported medical students from rural backgrounds who want to practice in rural communities since 1974. Describes how the program works and highlights its successes.
Author(s): Gretel Kauffman
Citation: Rural Monitor
Date: 03/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Rural Health Information Hub
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Rural Track Program Funding: An Erosion in Definitions of Rural Places Requires New Action
Policy position paper discussing graduate medical education (GME) in rural areas. Discusses policy changes to rural hospital classification and the impact of these changes on rural GME and rural training track programs.
Date: 03/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: National Rural Health Association
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Building Rural Primary Care Research by Connecting Rural Programs
Provides an overview of a program meant to connect rural medical education programs with a community of practice that conducts successful research and engages in scholarly activity. Discusses the impact of the Scholarly Intensive for Rural Programs event that took place in January 2022 that offered support for professional development, academic communities, and scholarship in rural health professions education programs.
Author(s): David F. Schmitz, Sharon Casapulla, Davis G. Patterson, Randall Longenecker
Citation: The Annals of Family Medicine February, 21(Suppl 2), S82-S83
Date: 02/2023
Type: Document
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Academic Achievement and Competency in Rural and Urban Family Medicine Residents
Analyzes differences in the quality of preparation in rural versus urban family medicine (FM) residencies. Examines medical knowledge across 22 core competencies utilizing 2016-2018 American Board of Family Medicine (ABFM) data from 11,790 residency graduates. Provides data and discussion on differences between rural and urban programs.
Author(s): Lars Peterson, Zachary J. Morgan, C. Holly A. Andrilla, et al.
Citation: Family Medicine, 55
Date: 01/2023
Type: Document
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Rural Versus Urban Family Medicine Residency Scope of Training and Practice
Compares rural and urban residency programs related to graduates' perceptions of preparation for practice as well as postgraduation scope of practice (SOP). Examines 6,483 physicians surveyed 3 years after residency graduation and 44,325 physicians surveyed every 7 to 10 years after certification. Provides data on rural versus urban residency graduates and discusses differences in graduates' experiences by residency location.
Author(s): Samantha W. Pollack, C. Holly A. Andrilla, Lars Peterson, et al.
Citation: Family Medicine, 55
Date: 01/2023
Type: Document
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'A Life-Changing Partnership': First Tribally-Affiliated Medical School in the U.S. Builds Workforce Pipeline to Underserved Communities
Describes how Oklahoma State University's College of Osteopathic Medicine at the Cherokee Nation is preparing students to work in rural and tribal settings. Highlights how cultural competence is included the curriculum and training opportunities.
Author(s): Gretel Kauffman
Citation: Rural Monitor
Date: 01/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Rural Health Information Hub
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Treating Rural America: The Last Doctor in Town
3 part documentary discussing challenges with accessing healthcare in rural communities. Part 1, "The Last Doctor in Town," highlights shortages of physicians in rural areas. Part 2, "The New Country Doctors," discusses rural residencies and the role of a rural physician. Part 3, "The Telehealth Solution," discusses the role of telehealth as a possible solution for barriers to care. Captions are available in the video player.
Additional links: The New Country Doctors, The Telehealth Solution
Author(s): Hyacinth Empinado
Date: 2023
Type: Video/Multimedia
Sponsoring organization: STAT
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Supporting and Sustaining the Current and Future Workforce to Care for People with Serious Illness: Proceedings of a Workshop (2023)
Summarizes discussions from an April 2023 public workshop exploring strategies and approaches to address major workforce challenges, including health professional well-being, workforce shortages, workforce training and retention, and advancing the diversity, equity, and inclusion of the workforce. Includes a section on well-being of the clinical workforce in rural areas.
Author(s): Roundtable on Quality Care for People with Serious Illness
Date: 2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Health and Medicine Division (HMD), National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine
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Last Updated: 4/8/2024