Growing a Rural Family Physician Workforce: The Contributions of Rural Background and Rural Place of Residency Training


  • Abstract

    This study sought to determine the distinct influences of rural background and rural residency training on rural practice choice among family physicians. Family physicians from a rural background were more likely to choose rural practice than those from an urban background, but rural training was an even stronger predictor of rural practice. Increasing rural programs for training residents from both rural and urban backgrounds, as well as recruiting more rural students to medical education, could increase the number of rural family physicians.


  • Authors:

    Patterson DG, Shipman SA, Pollack SW, Andrilla CHA, Schmitz D, Evans D, Peterson LE, Longenecker R

  • Journal/Publisher:

    Health Serv Res

  • Edition:

    May 2023. 1‐7

  • Link to Article

    Access the article here: Health Serv Res

  • Citation:

    Patterson DG, Shipman SA, Pollack SW, Andrilla CHA, Schmitz D, Evans DV, Peterson LE, Longenecker R. Growing a rural family physician workforce: The contributions of rural background and rural place of residency training. Health Serv Res. 2023 May 9. doi: 10.1111/1475-6773.14168. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 37161614.

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