Journal
FAMILY MEDICINE
Volume 53, Issue 10, Pages 864-870Publisher
SOC TEACHERS FAMILY MEDICINE
DOI: 10.22454/FamMed.2021.563022
Keywords
-
Categories
Funding
- University of Minnesota Medical School
- Academic Investment Educational Program through M Health Fairview
Ask authors/readers for more resources
By comparing workforce outcomes of graduates from the University of Minnesota Medical School's Rural Physician Associate Program (RPAP) to non-participants, the study found that RPAP graduates are more likely to practice in-state, in primary care, especially family medicine, and in rural areas. This demonstrates a significant association between RPAP participation and a career in family medicine, rural practice, and primary care, addressing urgent rural workforce needs.
BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: The Rural Physician Associate Program (RPAP) at the University of Minnesota Medical School (UMMS) is a 9-month rural longitudinal integrated clerkship (LIC) for third-year medical students built on a foundation of family medicine. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationships between participation in the RPAP program and the desired workforce outcomes of practice in Minnesota, primary care specialty (particularly family medicine), and rural practice. METHODS: We analyzed workforce outcomes for UMMS graduates who completed postgraduate training between 1975 and 2017, comparing RPAP participants (n=1,217) to noparticipants (n=7,928). We identified graduates through internal UMMS databases linked to the American Medical Association (AMA) Physician Masterfile and the National Provider Identifier (NPI) registry. We identified workforce outcomes of rural practice, practice in Minnesota, primary care specialty, and family medicine specialty based on practice specialty and practice location data available through the AMA and NPI data sets. RESULTS: Proportionally, more RPAP graduates practice in state (65.7% vs 54.4%, P<.01), in primary care (69.0% vs 33.4%, P<.01), in family medicine (61.1% vs 17.3%, P<.01), and rurally (41.2% vs 13.9%, P<.01) than non-RPAP graduates. CONCLUSIONS: We demonstrate a significant association between participation in RPAP and a career in family medicine, rural practice, and primary care, all outcomes that promote meeting urgent rural workforce needs.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available