Research Alert: July 29, 2016

Graduates of Rural-centric Family Medicine Residencies: Determinants of Rural and Urban Practice

We surveyed graduates of family medicine residencies with a mission to produce rural physicians to understand physician characteristics, experiences, and attitudes that affected their practice location choices. Influential factors included partner or spouse characteristics, residency experiences, and practice community amenities. Some physicians are clearly self-selected into rural practice, but much needs to be done, particularly during and after residency training, to sustain their interests and to encourage other physicians to embark on rural careers.

Additional Resources of Interest:

• More information about the WWAMI Rural Health Research Center
• More information from the Rural Health Information Hub's topic guides: Education and Training of the Rural Healthcare Workforce, Healthcare Access, Healthcare Workforce, Recruitment and Retention for Rural Health Facilities, Rural Health Policy