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Educating Physicians for Rural America: Validating Successes and Identifying Remaining Challenges With the Rural Medical Scholars Program
Author(s) -
Wheat John R.,
Leeper James D.,
Murphy Shan,
Brandon John E.,
Jackson James R.
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
the journal of rural health
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.439
H-Index - 57
eISSN - 1748-0361
pISSN - 0890-765X
DOI - 10.1111/jrh.12236
Subject(s) - physician supply , odds ratio , odds , family medicine , rural health , medicine , rural area , intervention (counseling) , population , medical education , gerontology , demography , nursing , environmental health , sociology , logistic regression , pathology
Purpose To evaluate the Rural Medical Scholars (RMS) Program's effectiveness to produce rural physicians for Alabama. Methods A nonrandomized intervention study compared RMS (1997‐2002) with control groups in usual medical education (1991‐2002) at the University of Alabama School of Medicine's main and regional campuses. Participants were RMS and others admitted to regular medical education, and the intervention was the RMS Program. Measures assessed the percentage of graduates practicing in rural areas. Odds ratios compared effectiveness of producing rural Alabama physicians. Findings The RMS Program (N = 54), regional campuses (N = 182), and main campus (N = 649) produced 48.1% (odds ratio 6.4, P < .001), 23.8% (odds ratio 2.5, P < .001), and 11.2% (odds ratio 1.0) rural physicians, respectively. Conclusions The RMS Program, contrasted to other local programs of medical education, was effective in producing rural physicians. These results were comparable to benchmark programs in the Northeast and Midwest USA on which the RMS Program was modeled, justifying the assumption that model programs can be replicated in different regions. However, this positive effect was not shared by a disparate rural minority population, suggesting that models for rural medical education must be adjusted to meet the challenge of such communities for physicians.