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Rural Health Information Hub
Rural Health Information Hub

Rural Project Examples: Health workforce education and training

Other Project Examples

Added January 2024

  • Need: To create rural clinical placement and postgraduate fellowship opportunities for Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) students and recent Advanced Registered Nurse Practitioner (ARNP) graduates in Washington.
  • Intervention: The Rural Nursing Health Initiative (RNHI), a program out of the University of Washington School of Nursing that created clinical placement opportunities for DNP students and a postgraduate fellowship program for ARNP graduates.
  • Results: Rural clinical stipends have been awarded to 80 DNP students, and 12 ARNPs completed rural fellowships between 2021 and 2023.

Updated/reviewed January 2024

  • Need: Dual platform to teach both plain language use and health literacy principles to health professions students and disseminate health information to rural populations.
  • Intervention: Writing project using community-specific public health data in order to write a plain language health education article suitable for publication in a rural newspaper.
  • Results: Since program start in 2017, over 60 students have successfully published their plain language health education articles in 17 rural newspapers in 3 states.
funded by the Health Resources Services Administration

Added November 2023

  • Need: To fill gaps in care for rural communities in southeastern Virginia while providing clinical placement opportunities for nursing students.
  • Intervention: A free mobile health clinic staffed by Old Dominion University nursing students that visits rural schools and other community centers.
  • Results: Hundreds of students have gained hands-on rural experience working in the clinic since its launch.
funded by the Federal Office of Rural Health Policy

Updated/reviewed September 2023

  • Need: Distance, time, and cost make it difficult for EMS volunteers to attend continuing education and maintain certification.
  • Intervention: Providence Health Training delivers free online training to rural EMS providers via video teleconferencing.
  • Results: The EMS Live@Nite program provides free, monthly training to rural EMS providers in the northwestern part of the United States. The program is available through live video conferencing from certified locations in rural communities.
funded by the Federal Office of Rural Health Policy

Updated/reviewed September 2023

  • Need: Increase number of medical providers in rural Missouri.
  • Intervention: Grant-supported expansion of the Rural Track Training sites with additional medical student and resident rural curriculum offerings.
  • Results: Since the 2016-2017 academic year, 50 medical students have rotated at the training sites supported by this grant and more than 350 medical students and residents have attended the focused lecture series.
funded by the Federal Office of Rural Health Policy

Updated/reviewed July 2023

  • Need: An ongoing shortage of healthcare providers in rural areas of South Dakota
  • Intervention: A 4-week summer program placing health professions students in rural communities.
  • Results: Of graduating participants, 71% practice in South Dakota with 30% of those graduates practicing in rural communities with populations fewer than 10,000, or veteran facilities.

Updated/reviewed April 2023

  • Need: An increased interest among young people to pursue a medical career in rural North Carolina
  • Intervention: Two medical students started a program that gives high school seniors medical academic training, mentor relationships, and hands-on experience in rural North Carolina facilities.
  • Results: Project PROMISE has graduated 36 high school students, 16 of whom are pursuing an undergraduate degree with an interest in studying medicine. Two students were recently accepted into medical school.

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.
funded by the Federal Office of Rural Health Policy

Updated/reviewed November 2022

  • Need: New Mexico's southwestern counties of Hidalgo, Catron, Luna, and Grant have experienced chronic shortages of primary care providers. New Mexico has the oldest physician population in the country.
  • Intervention: A comprehensive workforce pipeline program, including programming for middle and high school students, undergraduate and graduate students, primary care program students, and medical and dental residents.
  • Results: The program reaches over 1,000 school-aged students throughout the service areas and provides support for students and medical residents in a variety of healthcare-related programs for rural rotation experiences. FORWARD NM received its designation as an Area Health Education Center (AHEC) in 2012.
funded by the Federal Office of Rural Health Policy

Updated/reviewed October 2022

  • Need: To address the lack of mental healthcare options for rural veterans.
  • Intervention: A telebehavioral health hub network was created to connect community mental health centers to the VA Medical Center.
  • Results: More than 3,000 telehealth appointments have been made, saving hundreds of veterans time and money.

For examples from other sources, see: