For programmatic or technical questions:
Sheena Johnson, MPH
301.443.9639
ruralresidency@hrsa.gov

For grants management or budget questions:
Beverly Smith
301.443.7065
bsmith@hrsa.gov

Rural Residency Planning and Development Technical Assistance Center (RRPD-TAC):
info@ruralgme.org

The Rural Residency Planning and Development Program provides grants to develop newly accredited, sustainable rural residency programs in family medicine, internal medicine, public health, general preventive medicine, psychiatry, general surgery, and obstetrics/gynecology. The overall goal of the program is to support expansion of the physician workforce in rural communities.

New rural residency programs are expected to:

• Achieve accreditation through the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) for the eligible specialties
• Ensure sustainability through public or private funding beyond the period of performance
• Track residents' career outcomes post-graduation, including retention in rural communities

A detailed list of objectives and required activities is provided in the application instructions.

The program has 2 pathways.

• General Primary Care and High Need Specialty Pathway: This pathway supports the development of new rural residency training programs in family medicine, internal medicine, preventive medicine, psychiatry, and general surgery.
• Maternal Health and Obstetrics Pathway: This pathway supports the development of new rural residency programs with a focus on obstetrical training to broaden residents training and scope of practice to provide high quality, evidence-based maternity care and obstetrical services in rural areas: (1) obstetrics-gynecology rural residency program or RTP, or (2) family medicine rural residency program or RTP with enhanced obstetrical training.

Eligible applicants are domestic public, nonprofit, and private organizations, including faith-based and community-based organizations, tribes, and tribal organizations. Eligible applicants include, but are not limited to:

• Rural hospitals
• Rural community-based ambulatory patient care centers including Rural Health Clinics
• Health centers operated by a tribe, tribal organization, or an urban Indian organization
• Graduate medical education consortiums, including schools of allopathic medicine and osteopathic medicine
• Faith-based and community-based organizations that are capable of carrying out the grant activities

The applicant organization or the primary rural training partner(s) where greater than 50% of rural training will occur must be located in a rural area.

Award ceiling: $750,000 over the entire project period
Project period: 3 years
Estimated number of awards: 15
Estimated total program funding: $11,250,000

Links to the full announcement, application instructions, and the online application process are available through grants.gov.

Applicant webinar recording