Rural Health
News by Topic: Physicians
Oct 20, 2026 - Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Alabama offers a medical scholarship program to help students pursue healthcare careers. Recipients get financial support for their final 2 years of school and in return they agree to complete their residency and practice in an underserved area of Alabama for at least 3 years.
Source: Bham Now
Oct 20, 2026 - The Mercer School of Medicine in Georgia has been designated the Georgia Grown Medical School for its work in addressing rural physician workforce shortages by training local residents.
Source: The Den, Mercer University
Oct 5, 2026 - Discusses recent research finding surgeon workforce shortages in rural communities. Notes that one driver of the shortage is surgeon training not meeting the workforce demand.
Source: The Week
HRSA: Recharter for the Council on Graduate Medical Education
Federal Register
Sep 30, 2026 - The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) announces the renewal of the Council on Graduate Medical Education. The charter is effective through September 30, 2028.
Source: Federal Register
Sep 23, 2026 - Discusses family medicine in rural communities following the announcement of new federally funded family medicine residency programs. Notes that clinicians from or trained in rural areas are more likely to practice there, addressing workforce needs in rural communities. Describes how residencies have been used in various states, the use of Rural Health Transformation Program funds, and tribal community residencies.
Source: Wyoming Public Radio
Sep 4, 2026 - Announces new funding awarded to support the development of 15 physician rural and tribal residency programs in 14 states through the Rural Residency Planning and Development Program. Since being established in 2019, the program has created 66 new rural residency programs and trained over 850 physicians.
Source: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
Sep 3, 2026 - Discusses physician workforce shortages both nationally and in one Alabama county. Describes the rural-specific impacts of the shortage and how an Alabama health system recruits to address area shortages.
Source: Huntsville Business Journal
Sep 2, 2026 - The University of Alabama at Birmingham Marnix E. Heersink School of Medicine has received $10 million to be used toward a program training primary care physicians in rural communities. 42% of Alabama's population lives in rural areas, and 16.4% of those are uninsured.
Source: The Daily Yonder
Aug 30, 2026 - Discusses a new survey showing a continued decline in primary care providers in Vermont. Describes how Vermont's shortage compares with national trends, challenges with primary care distribution in a small population state, a rise in specialization, and physician demographic trends.
Source: VT Digger
Aug 28, 2026 - The University of Northern Colorado's College of Osteopathic Medicine opened in July with its first class of 81 students. The new school will help address the physician shortage in Colorado, where 54 of its 64 counties have Primary Care Health Professional Shortage Areas, and 31.2% of physicians are of retirement age.
Source: Colorado Politics