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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.

Practicing Holistic Review in Medical Education
Issue brief that explores holistic review in medical school admissions and key issues related to diversifying and assessing medical school applicants and cohorts in order to expand the healthcare workforce in rural, minority, and underserved areas. Discusses the history and purpose of holistic review, which considers not only academic measures of potential success but also applicants' life experiences, socioeconomic background, race/ethnicity, sexual orientation, and disability status, among other characteristics. Recaps informant interviews describing issues and lessons learned from medical school administrators, particularly related to applicant evaluation and emerging assessment methods.
Author(s): Tim Bates, Sunita Mutha, Janet Coffman
Date: 07/2020
Sponsoring organization: Healthforce Center at UCSF
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Implementing Healthcare Career Pathway Training Programs in Rural Settings: Responsive Approaches by Tribal HPOG 2.0 Grantees
Examines opportunities and challenges in implementing healthcare education and training programs in rural and tribal communities. Describes how the Tribal Health Profession Opportunity Grants (HPOG) 2.0 grantees used their communities' strengths in developing their programs. Highlights the use of partnerships, strategies for addressing geographic isolation and improving access, and methods for ensuring communication and engagement.
Date: 02/2020
Sponsoring organization: Administration for Children and Families
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Targeted Medical School Admissions: A Strategic Process for Meeting Our Social Mission
Results of a 2018 survey of admissions personnel at allopathic and osteopathic medical schools about admissions strategies aimed at recruitment of students likely to practice in rural or urban underserved areas, or primary care. Features statistics on recruitment and selection activities of medical schools and characteristics of applicants, with breakdowns by rural, urban underserved, or primary care categories.
Author(s): David V. Evans, Andrew D. Jopson, C. Holly A. Andrilla, Randall L. Longenecker, Davis G. Patterson
Citation: Family Medicine, 52(7), 474-482
Date: 2020
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Compendium of Rural Oral Health Best Practices - 2020
Highlights examples of the best practices in rural oral healthcare across the country. Presents a number of models regarding workforce development and training, integration of care, telehealth, clinical care, and policy.
Date: 2020
Sponsoring organization: National Rural Health Association
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Health Care Workforce: Views on Expanding Medicare Graduate Medical Education Funding to Nurse Practitioners and Physician Assistants
Describes the Department of Health and Human Services' (HHS) Medicare Graduate Medical Education (GME) program. Provides an overview of current federal funding for physician, nurse practitioner (NP), and physician assistant (PA) training. Explores the potential benefits and challenges of expanding the Medicare GME program to include funding for graduate NP and PA training.
Additional links: Full Report
Date: 12/2019
Sponsoring organization: Government Accountability Office
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Use of Apprenticeship to Meet Demand for Medical Assistants in the U.S.
Reports findings from a study of registered medical assistant (MA) apprenticeship programs in 12 states. Discusses the workforce needs these programs may help address, including workforce needs in rural communities. Describes the programs and discusses challenges with starting and maintaining MA apprenticeship programs.
Additional links: Policy Brief
Author(s): Andrew D. Jopson, Susan M. Skillman, Bianca K. Frogner
Date: 09/2019
Sponsoring organization: UW Center for Health Workforce Studies
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Expanding the Native American Health Care Workforce
Offers recommendations for increasing the number of American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) medical school applicants, students, and graduates based on a summit, Populating the Native Health Care Workforce with American Indian and Alaska Native Physicians. Discusses the distribution of AI/AN physicians and the need for more AI/AN physicians to address health workforce shortages and disparities in Indian Country.
Date: 08/2019
Sponsoring organizations: Association of American Indian Physicians, Association of American Medical Colleges, UnitedHealth Group
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Examining the Cost Effectiveness of Teaching Health Centers
Examines areas where the Teaching Health Center Graduate Medical Education (THCGME) program can produce savings, focusing on physician spending for patient encounters during and after residency training and patient Medicaid and Medicare insurance coverage. Identifies the location of THCGME programs and highlights program outcomes, including the percent of graduates who work in rural and underserved areas and practice primary care.
Author(s): Candice Chen, Leighton Ku, Marsha Regenstein, Fitzhugh Mullan
Date: 03/2019
Sponsoring organizations: Geiger Gibson Program in Community Health, George Washington University Milken Institute School of Public Health Department of Health Policy and Management, RCHN Community Health Foundation
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Report to Congress: Current State of Technology-Enabled Collaborative Learning and Capacity Building Models
Reports on the impact of technology-enabled collaborative learning and capacity building models as required by the Expanding Capacity for Health Outcomes (ECHO) Act. Examines how such models are being used to improve healthcare quality and address health workforce capacity, particularly in rural areas, the evidence behind model effectiveness, and evidence gaps. Provides recommendations on expanding model adoption and its use in continuing medical education. Appendix includes an inventory of Project ECHO models and other similar models by state and in several other countries.
Additional links: Appendix F: Evaluation of Technology-Enabled Collaborative Learning and Capacity Building Models
Date: 02/2019
Sponsoring organization: HHS Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation
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Planting TREES in Rural Places: Training and Rural Health Professions Education that is Community Engaged and Sustainable
Outlines a process for academic-community engagement and decision-making for residency education. Details benefits to hospitals and local communities, and contains tools and other resources to promote exploration and consideration of the perspectives of many people and interested parties.
Author(s): Randall Longenecker, David Schmitz
Date: 01/2019
Sponsoring organization: Rural Medical Training Collaborative (formerly the RTT Collaborative)
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Last Updated: 2/10/2025