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Rural Physicians (rural + physician)

Distribution by Scientific Domains
Medical Sciences100%

Selected Abstracts

Recruitment and Retention of Rural Physicians: Outcomes From the Rural Physician Associate Program of Minnesota

THE JOURNAL OF RURAL HEALTH, Issue 4 2008
Gwen Wagstrom Halaas MD
ABSTRACT:,Context: Founded in 1971 with state funding to increase the number of primary care physicians in rural Minnesota, the Rural Physician Associate Program (RPAP) has graduated 1,175 students. Third-year medical students are assigned to primary care physicians in rural communities for 9 months where they experience the realities of rural practice with hands-on participation, mentoring, and one-to-one teaching. Students complete an online curriculum, participate in online discussion with fellow students, and meet face-to-face with RPAP faculty 6 times during the 9-month rotation. Projects designed to bring value to the community, including an evidence-based practice and community health assessment, are completed. Purpose: To examine RPAP outcomes in recruiting and retaining rural primary care physicians. Methods: The RPAP database, including moves and current practice settings, was examined using descriptive statistics. Findings: On average, 82% of RPAP graduates have chosen primary care, and 68% family medicine. Of those currently in practice, 44% have practiced in a rural setting all of the time, 42% in a metropolitan setting and 14% have chosen both, with more than 50% of their time in rural practice. Rural origin has only a small association with choosing rural practice. Conclusion: RPAP data suggest that the 9-month longitudinal experience in a rural community increases the number of students choosing primary care practice, especially family medicine, in a rural setting. [source]

The Rural Physician Workforce in Florida: A Survey of US- and Foreign-Born Primary Care Physicians

THE JOURNAL OF RURAL HEALTH, Issue 4 2003
Robert G. Brooks MD
Purpose: This study's goal was to assess key characteristics of primary care physicians practicing in rural, suburban, and urban communities in Florida. Methods: Surveys were mailed to all of Florida's rural primary care physicians (n = 399) and a 10% sampling (n = 1236) of urban and suburban primary care physicians. Findings: Responses from 1000 physicians (272 rural, 385 urban, 343 suburban) showed that rural physicians were more likely to have been raised in a rural area, foreign-born and trained, a National Health Service Corps member, or a J-1 visa waiver program participant. Rural physicians were more likely to have been exposed to rural medical practice or living in a rural environment during their medical school and residency training. Factors such as rural upbringing and medical school training did not predict future rural practice with foreign-born physicians. Overall, future plans for practice did not seem to differ between rural, urban, and suburban physicians. Conclusions: Recruiting and retaining doctors in rural areas can be best supported through a mission-driven selection of medical students with subsequent training in medical school and residency in rural health issues. National programs such as the National Health Service Corps and the J-1 visa waiver program also play important roles in rural physician selection and should be taken into account when planning for future rural health care needs. [source]

Preparedness for rural community leadership and its impact on practice location of family medicine graduates

AUSTRALIAN JOURNAL OF RURAL HEALTH, Issue 1 2005
Wayne Woloschuk
Abstract Objective:,To identify non-clinical dimensions of preparedness for rural practice and to determine whether preparedness for rural practice is predictive of rural practice location. Design:,Cross-sectional postal survey mailed in 2001. Setting:,Communities across Canada where graduates were practising. Subjects:,,Graduates (n = 369) of the family medicine residency program at the universities of Alberta (U of A) and Calgary (U of C) between 1996 and 2000, inclusive. Interventions:,Using a 4-point scale, graduates rated the extent to which the residency program prepared them for eight dimensions of rural practice: clinical demands of rural practice, understanding rural culture, small community living, balancing work and personal life, establishing personal/professional boundaries, becoming a community leader, handling a ,fish bowl' lifestyle, and choosing a suitable community. Main outcome measure:,Identification of non-clinical dimensions of preparedness for rural practice and whether scores on preparedness scales are predictive of rural practice location. Results:,The overall response rate was 76.4%. Factor analysis of the eight preparedness items produced two factors, ,rural culture' and ,rural community leader' which explained 72% of the variance. The alpha coefficient for each factor was 0.87. Odds ratios revealed that family medicine graduates prepared for rural community leadership roles were 1.92 (CI = 1.03,3.61) times more likely to be in rural practice. Rural physicians were also 2.14 (CI = 1.13,4.03) times as likely to have a rural background. Conclusions:,Preparedness to be a rural community leader and having a rural background were predictive of rural practice. Educators should consider this in both family medicine residency admissions policy and practice and when designing and implementing family medicine residency curricula. [source]

The Rural Physician Workforce in Florida: A Survey of US- and Foreign-Born Primary Care Physicians

THE JOURNAL OF RURAL HEALTH, Issue 4 2003
Robert G. Brooks MD
Purpose: This study's goal was to assess key characteristics of primary care physicians practicing in rural, suburban, and urban communities in Florida. Methods: Surveys were mailed to all of Florida's rural primary care physicians (n = 399) and a 10% sampling (n = 1236) of urban and suburban primary care physicians. Findings: Responses from 1000 physicians (272 rural, 385 urban, 343 suburban) showed that rural physicians were more likely to have been raised in a rural area, foreign-born and trained, a National Health Service Corps member, or a J-1 visa waiver program participant. Rural physicians were more likely to have been exposed to rural medical practice or living in a rural environment during their medical school and residency training. Factors such as rural upbringing and medical school training did not predict future rural practice with foreign-born physicians. Overall, future plans for practice did not seem to differ between rural, urban, and suburban physicians. Conclusions: Recruiting and retaining doctors in rural areas can be best supported through a mission-driven selection of medical students with subsequent training in medical school and residency in rural health issues. National programs such as the National Health Service Corps and the J-1 visa waiver program also play important roles in rural physician selection and should be taken into account when planning for future rural health care needs. [source]