The Rural Training Track Technical Assistance (RTT-TA) Program was a consortium that helped support communities, providers and educational institutions interested in RTTs, as well as others interested in rural physician workforce issues. Consortium partners included the National Rural Health Association, National Organization of State Offices of Rural Health, the Robert Graham Center for Policy Studies in Family Medicine and Primary Care, the Rural Health Information Hub, and the WWAMI Rural Health Research Center (WWAMI RHRC). The WWAMI RHRC has led the research component to investigate RTT program characteristics, graduate outcomes, and factors affecting RTT sustainability and resilience.

Rural training tracks are a recognized model for addressing rural primary care physician shortages. For information on rural training tracks and assistance in developing a rural residency program, please visit the RTT Collaborative.

Publications

• Family Medicine Rural Training Track Residencies: 2008-2015 Graduate Outcomes
  Policy Brief
  WWAMI Rural Health Research Center
  Date: 02/2016
  This policy brief is the latest in a series tracking the rural practice outcomes of family physicians who have completed graduate medical education in Rural Training Track (RTT) residency programs.
• Graduate Medical Education Financing: Sustaining Medical Education in Rural Places
  Policy Brief
  WWAMI Rural Health Research Center
  Date: 05/2015
  Rural Training Track (RTT) graduate medical education programs have shown success at preparing family physicians for rural practice, but financial difficulties have contributed to program closures. This policy brief reports on a survey of RTT directors and administrators across the U.S. to understand their finances.
• Rural Residency Training for Family Medicine Physicians: Graduate Early-Career Outcomes
  WWAMI Rural Health Research Center
  Date: 01/2012
  This policy brief describes the characteristics of family physicians who have completed graduate medical education in Rural Training Track residency programs and their outcomes in terms of practice in rural communities, health professional shortage areas, and safety net facilities.
• Rural Residency Training for Family Medicine Physicians: Graduate Early-Career Outcomes, 2008-2012
  WWAMI Rural Health Research Center
  Date: 01/2013
  This policy brief provides an update on the rural and shortage area practice outcomes of family physicians who have completed graduate medical education in Rural Training Track (RTT) residency programs.
• Training Physicians for Rural Practice: Capitalizing on Local Expertise to Strengthen Rural Primary Care
  Policy Brief
  WWAMI Rural Health Research Center
  Date: 01/2011
  This policy brief explains the challenges of ensuring sufficient numbers of well-prepared family physicians for rural communities and describes the Rural Training Track (RTT) Technical Assistance Program, a strategy to utilize local expertise in sustaining the "1-2" RTT as a national model for training physicians for rural practice.