Calling All Country Doctors: Study Challenges Assumptions About Rural Physician Recruitment
About 20 percent of Americans live in rural areas, but only 9 percent of physicians practice medicine there, leaving many rural residents desperate for health care. The physician shortage means rural residents tend to be diagnosed with such illnesses as cancer and cardiovascular disease at later stages than city-dwellers and have worse outcomes.
Rural communities with older populations—who tend to need more medical care—struggle hardest to attract young doctors to set up practice. Residents must travel long distances to see a doctor or postpone health care. Understanding physicians’ motivations about where to live and work can help communities recruit doctors and improve the health of their residents.
A pilot study by Larner medical students working in collaboration with a healthy aging advocacy group explored the key factors influencing recruitment of primary care professionals. Their findings challenge common assumptions about health care recruitment and identify a complex interplay of factors that go into a trainee’s decision-making process about where to practice medicine. Considerations include the satisfaction of being part of a smaller community, intrinsic rewards of interhuman connections, and prior exposure to rural primary care during medical training, such as during clinical rotations. The study, which began as an assignment for a Public Health Projects course, was published in Cureus: Journal of Medical Science on October 20, 2024.
Class of 2026 medical students Katie Waeldner, Chris Kruglik, Julia Halvorson-Phelan, and Joon Young Lee partnered with Windham Aging, a collaboration of organizations that care about older Vermonters in the Windham County region. This region, home to the state’s oldest population, struggles to sustain a primary care workforce adequate to care for residents.