Rural Project Examples Addressing Health workforce education and training

Wyoming Trauma Telehealth Treatment Clinic
Updated/reviewed February 2023

Need: To provide psychotherapy to survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault.
Intervention: University of Wyoming psychology doctoral students provide psychotherapy via videoconferencing to crisis center clients in two rural locations.
Results: Clients, student therapists, and crisis center staff were satisfied with the quality of services, and clients reported reduced symptoms of depression and PTSD.

OHSU Rural Surgery Training
Updated/reviewed September 2022

Need: General surgeons are needed in rural communities.
Intervention: Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU) is sending residents to complete a general surgery rotation in rural southern Oregon.
Results: 37% of the graduates of the rural residency program are now practicing in a rural setting. The residents remain more likely than other OHSU residents to enter general surgery practice and to serve in a community of fewer than 50,000 people.

MU AHEC Summer Community Program
Updated/reviewed March 2021

Need: Lack of healthcare providers, specifically physicians, in rural Missouri.
Intervention: Rising second-year medical students at University of Missouri's School of Medicine are given the opportunity to participate in a clinical program in a rural community setting.
Results: Almost half of the participants from 1996-2010 chose to practice in rural locations upon graduation.

Livingston County Help For Seniors
Updated/reviewed May 2020

Need: Meeting the health needs of geriatric patients in rural Livingston County, New York.
Intervention: The Help for Seniors program was developed and using its 'vodcasts,' local EMTs were trained in geriatric screening methods and health needs treatment.
Results: In addition to developing a successful model for educating EMS personnel, the program screened over 1200 individuals and identified various risks among the geriatric population.

Patient Centered Medical Home Practicum in Primary Care
Updated/reviewed May 2019

Need: Improvement in service quality and patient experience in primary care practices in North Carolina's Blue Ridge region and across the state.
Intervention: A practicum for healthcare management students was developed to help rural practices achieve Patient Care Medical Home (PCMH) status, identify quality improvement needs, and develop strategies.
Results: With the help of practicum students, rural primary practices have have tackled a number of important quality improvement projects, achieved PCMH status and Blue Quality Physician Program Recognition.

TUSM-MMC Program Longitudinal Integrated Clerkship
Updated/reviewed April 2019

Need: To fill vacant medical positions in Maine's rural medical facilities.
Intervention: The Tufts Maine Track LIC program offers clerkships in rural medical facilities, exposing medical school students to the positives and possibilities that rural practices have to offer.
Results: The program has seen an increase in students' interest to practice in rural Maine. The majority have pursued medical careers in one of the 6 core specialties studied during their clerkship.

Right Side Up Falls Prevention
Updated/reviewed March 2023

Need: Falling is one of the leading causes of morbidity and mortality in adults over the age of 65.
Intervention: The Right Side Up program was implemented in rural Otter Tail County to address the prevention and management of falls and risk for falls through in-home assessments given by interdisciplinary healthcare professionals and students.
Results: Short-term outcomes revealed 100% of participants found the visit and recommendations for falls prevention to be helpful, and 78% implemented these recommendations.

Pacific AIDS Education and Training Center-Nevada
Updated/reviewed February 2023

Need: To improve and increase prevention and care services for HIV, STDs, hepatitis C, and other infectious diseases.
Intervention: PAETC-NV provides clinical and didactic trainings, conferences, technical assistance, capacity building, webinars, and other services to providers and healthcare organizations statewide.
Results: In 2022, PAETC-NV trained more than 1,400 healthcare providers across Nevada to increase clinical capacity in the care, screening, and prevention of HIV, other sexually transmitted diseases, COVID-19, and hepatitis C.

Simulation in Motion-South Dakota (SIM-SD) EMS Educational Outreach Program
Updated/reviewed February 2023

Need: To provide increased educational opportunities for emergency care personnel in rural and frontier South Dakota.
Intervention: A technologically advanced training was created to enhance the delivery of emergency patient care.
Results: Hundreds of emergency medical services (EMS) staff and volunteers received training that in turn helped them in the field of emergency patient care.

Targeted Rural Underserved Track (TRUST) Program
Updated/reviewed February 2023

Need: There is a shortage of rural physicians in the Northwestern United States.
Intervention: University of Washington medical students are receiving training through the TRUST program in rural, underserved communities across a five-state radius.
Results: Long-lasting connections have been formed among regional and underserved communities, medical students, and rural health professionals, producing more rural physicians as a result.

Rural Project Examples: Health workforce education and training