Medical School Programs to Increase the Rural Physician Supply: A Systematic Review and Projected Impact of Widespread Replication
Academic MedicinePublished 1 March 2008
Howard K. Rabinowitz, James J. Diamond, Fred W. Markham, Jeremy R. Wortman
Citations234
SJR quartileQ1
SJR score1.45
SNIP2.03
Generate an AI Snapshot to get a quick, structured summary of this paper.
Study Snapshot
ObjectiveStudy objective
MethodsResearch methodology
PopulationPopulation studied
Sample sizeSample sizes
OutcomesStudy outcomes here
ResultsStudy results comes here
LimitationsResearch study limitations comes here
A concise AI-generated summary of the paper will appear here once you click Generate AI Snapshot.
TL;DR
All identified comprehensive medical school rural programs have produced a multifold increase in the rural physician supply, and widespread replication of these models could have a major impact on access to health care in thousands of rural communities.
Abstract
All identified comprehensive medical school rural programs have produced a multifold increase in the rural physician supply, and widespread replication of these models could have a major impact on access to health care in thousands of rural communities. The current recommendation to expand U.S. medical school class size represents a unique and timely opportunity to replicate these programs.
Keywords
Social SciencesMedicineHealth Professions
Choice Reviews OnlineTime to heal: American medical education from the turn of the century to the era of managed care
655 Citations2000
JAMACritical Factors for Designing Programs to Increase the Supply and Retention of Rural Primary Care Physicians
355 Citations2001Howard K. Rabinowitz
Freshman-year plan for family practice, being in the PSAP, having a National Health Service Corps scholarship, male sex, and taking an elective senior family practice rural preceptorship were independently predictive of physicians practicing rural primary care.
Academic MedicineThe Roles of Nature and Nurture in the Recruitment and Retention of Primary Care Physicians in Rural Areas
290 Citations2002Robert G. Brooks, Michael Walsh +3 more
Although important gaps exist, scientific studies available to health educators and policymakers show there are predictable factors that influence recruitment and retention in rural areas.
PubMedA program to increase the number of family physicians in rural and underserved areas: impact after 22 years.
249 Citations1999Howard K. Rabinowitz, James J. Diamond +2 more
The Physician Shortage Area Program (PSAP), after more than 22 years, has had a disproportionately large impact on the rural physician workforce, and this effect has persisted over time.
JAMAWhich Medical Schools Produce Rural Physicians?
197 Citations1992Roger A. Rosenblatt
The organization, location, and mission of medical schools is closely related to the propensity of their graduates to select rural practice, and increasing policy coordination among medical schools and state and federal governmental entities would most effectively address residual problems of rural physician shortages.
New England Journal of MedicineRecruitment, Retention, and Follow-up of Graduates of a Program to Increase the Number of Family Physicians in Rural and Underserved Areas
185 Citations1993Howard K. Rabinowitz
The results of this study indicate that the Physician Shortage Area Program was successful in increasing the number of family physicians in rural and underserved areas as well as in retaining them, and suggests that medical schools can have a substantial influence on the distribution of physicians according to specialty choice and the geographic location of their practices.
The Journal of Rural HealthRural Health Care Providers in the United States
169 Citations2002L. Gary Hart, Edward Salsberg +2 more
The challenges for rural health research and policy regarding health provider supply in the first decade of the 21st century are identified and issues concerning rural health care workforce research, methods, and data are highlighted.
JAMAThe Comparative Retention of National Health Service Corps and Other Rural Physicians
126 Citations1992Donald E. Pathman
The retention of rural NHSC physicians is seen to be poor and only partially explained by fixed physician, practice, or community variables, compared to non-NHSC physicians working in comparable rural settings.
Academic MedicineLong-Term Retention of Graduates from a Program to Increase the Supply of Rural Family Physicians
124 Citations2005Howard K. Rabinowitz, James J. Diamond +2 more
These results are the first to show long-term rural primary care retention that is longer than the median duration and show that the PSAP represents the only program that has resulted in multifold increases in both recruitment and long- term retention.
JAMAChanging the Medical School Curriculum to Improve Patient Access to Primary Care
104 Citations1991John E. Verby
The Rural Physician Associate Program provides students with many of the skills needed to provide primary care, it is cost-effective, and it has brought a number of benefits to the participating communities.
The Journal of Rural HealthEducating Generalist Physicians for Rural Practice: How Are We Doing?
92 Citations2000John P. Geyman, L G Hart +3 more
PubMedThe Upper Peninsula Program: a successful model for increasing primary care physicians in rural areas.
92 Citations1990N K Brazeau, Michael Potts +1 more
Upper Peninsula Medical Education Program graduates showed a tendency to rural origin and chose rural practice and primary care specialties, especially family practice, more often than did their downstate colleagues.
Academic MedicineFrom Concept to Culture
83 Citations2001Paul G. Ramsey, John B. Coombs +3 more
The program's positive influences on the UWSOM have included historically early attention to primary care and community-based clinical training and development of an ethic of closely monitored innovation.
Health AffairsThe Future Supply Of Family Physicians: Implications For Rural America
80 Citations2003Jack M. Colwill, James M. Cultice
If numbers of FP graduates return to 1993 levels, the density of FPs in rural America and in the nation as a whole will decline after 2010, and the nonmetropolitan FP/GP-to-population ratio will increase 17 percent by the year 2020.
The Journal of Rural HealthThe Role of the Medical School in Rural Graduate Medical Education: Pipeline or Control Valve?
76 Citations2000Howard K. Rabinowitz, Nina P. Paynter
This paper addresses the important role of these programs in substantially increasing the number of physicians interested in rural family practice using the experience and outcomes research from Jefferson Medical College's Physician Short-age Area Program, as well as published literature describing six other medical school programs with similar goals.
Academic MedicineGeographic and specialty distributions of WAMI Program participants and nonparticipants
73 Citations1987Ronald J. Adkins, Grace Anderson +4 more
The authors describe the results of the first seven years of the WAMI Program in terms of the geographic and specialty distribution of the school's graduates before and after the establishment of the program.
PubMedIllinois RMED: a comprehensive program to improve the supply of rural family physicians.
72 Citations2000Jeffrey A. Stearns, Marjorie A. Stearns +2 more
The Illinois Rural Medical Education Program was developed by the University of Illinois College of Medicine at Rockford and graduated 39 physicians; 69% have gone into family practice, and a total of 82% have selected primary care residencies.
Academic MedicineAn Evaluation of the Rural Medical Education Program of the State University of New York Upstate Medical University, 1990???2003
66 Citations2005John Smucny, Peter George Beatty +3 more
The RMED program has successfully met its goals of providing a valuable educational experience for medical students and assisting rural communities recruit physicians.
JAMAEducational Programs in US Medical Schools, 2004-2005
53 Citations2005Barbara Barzansky, Sylvia I. Etzel
Although most students remain in their home state for medical school, most students leave the medical school state for residency, and factors external to the medicalSchool may be having an impact on faculty size and composition, and on the geographic pipeline of students into medical school and residency training.
The Journal of Rural HealthFamily Medicine Education and Rural Health: A Response to Present and Future Needs
52 Citations1991James Boulger
The educational program at the University of Minnesota, Duluth, School of Medicine has achieved a great deal of success in training rural family physicians and could serve as a model for other schools desiring to increase the number of students entering family medicine and rural practice.
Academic MedicineRural sources of medical students, and graduatesʼ choice of rural practice
49 Citations1993D G Kassebaum, P L Szenas
Academic MedicineThe Challenge of Providing Doctors for Rural America
44 Citations2005Michael E. Whitcomb
Academic MedicineBeyond the Horizon: The Role of Academic Health Centers in Improving the Health of Rural Communities
39 Citations2006John D. Gazewood, Lisa K. Rollins +1 more
By partnering with providers in rural areas and through the use of innovative technologies, AHCs can help rural providers increase the quality of care and provide opportunities for participatory research to address health disparities.
Journal of the American Medical AssociationMEDICAL EDUCATION AND MEDICAL SERVICE
24 Citations1925William Allen Pusey
In my address to the House of Delegates, I called attention to the serious difficulties in medical service that are developing under the present policy in medical education, and the subject is so large that a summary of it was all that was possible.
Medical TeacherThe WAMI Program: 25 Years Later
22 Citations2004M. Roy Schwarz
Whether the WAMI program can keep pace with the rapid changes in medical education is speculated, as some lessons learned are reported on and the original goals of this experiment in decentralized medical education have been largely met.
Academic MedicineCareer preferences of first- and second-year medical students
16 Citations1980Jan D. Carline, T. J. Cullen +3 more
The preferences indicated by second-year students were found to be significantly related to those expressed by the same students as they entered medical school, suggesting stability of student attitudes toward career choices.
Medical HumanitiesImagination and medical education
10 Citations2001Donald Evans
The use of the humanities in medicine as a stimulus to reflective practice is presented as a preferable account which recognises that there is truth in each of the former views.
PubMedMinnesota bound. Stability of practice location among UMD family physicians in Minnesota.
2 Citations2000James Boulger
Findings suggest that the UMD School of Medicine's emphasis on family medicine and rural practice may have influenced the practice retention rate for these physicians, which has been remarkably stable in their practices over the past 20 years.