TY - JOUR
T1 - Training medical students for rural, underserved areas
T2 - A rural medical education program in California
AU - Eidson-Ton, Wetona Suzanne
AU - Rainwater, Julie
AU - Hilty, Donald
AU - Henderson, Stuart
AU - Hancock, Christine
AU - Nation, Cathryn L.
AU - Nesbitt, Thomas S
PY - 2016/11/1
Y1 - 2016/11/1
N2 - The Association of American Medical Colleges projects an increasing shortage of physicians in rural areas. Medical schools have developed specialty track programs to improve the recruitment and retention of physicians who can serve rural populations. One such program in California includes a variety of unique elements including outreach, admissions, rural clinical experiences, focused mentorship, scholarly and leadership opportunities, and engagement with rural communities. Preliminary outcomes demonstrate that this rural track program has achieved some success in the recruitment, retention, and training of students interested in future rural practice and in the placement of students in primary care residencies. Long-term outcomes, such as graduates entering rural practice, are still unknown, but will be monitored to assess the impact and sustainability of the rural program. This article illustrates the opportunities and challenges of training medical students for rural practice and provides lessons learned to inform newly-established and long standing rural medical education programs.
AB - The Association of American Medical Colleges projects an increasing shortage of physicians in rural areas. Medical schools have developed specialty track programs to improve the recruitment and retention of physicians who can serve rural populations. One such program in California includes a variety of unique elements including outreach, admissions, rural clinical experiences, focused mentorship, scholarly and leadership opportunities, and engagement with rural communities. Preliminary outcomes demonstrate that this rural track program has achieved some success in the recruitment, retention, and training of students interested in future rural practice and in the placement of students in primary care residencies. Long-term outcomes, such as graduates entering rural practice, are still unknown, but will be monitored to assess the impact and sustainability of the rural program. This article illustrates the opportunities and challenges of training medical students for rural practice and provides lessons learned to inform newly-established and long standing rural medical education programs.
KW - Access to care
KW - Medical education
KW - Physician supply
KW - Program evaluation
KW - Rural health
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84994588709&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=84994588709&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1353/hpu.2016.0155
DO - 10.1353/hpu.2016.0155
M3 - Article
C2 - 27818431
AN - SCOPUS:84994588709
VL - 27
SP - 1674
EP - 1688
JO - Journal of Health Care for the Poor and Underserved
JF - Journal of Health Care for the Poor and Underserved
SN - 1049-2089
IS - 4
ER -