Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Recruitment and retention of health professionals
Meeting Challenges of Staffing Rural Health Systems: Strategies and Actions in Eight Organizations
Summarizes key findings from conversations with health system leaders regarding workforce strategy and operations challenges. Describes initiatives used in rural healthcare settings to offset clinical, administrative, and technical support staffing constraints; accommodate evolving care needs; and address limitations unique to rural settings.
Author(s): Lauren Lavin, Alva O. Ferdinand, Mark Holmes, et al.
Date: 08/2026
Sponsoring organization: Rural Policy Research Institute Rural Health Panel
view details
Summarizes key findings from conversations with health system leaders regarding workforce strategy and operations challenges. Describes initiatives used in rural healthcare settings to offset clinical, administrative, and technical support staffing constraints; accommodate evolving care needs; and address limitations unique to rural settings.
Author(s): Lauren Lavin, Alva O. Ferdinand, Mark Holmes, et al.
Date: 08/2026
Sponsoring organization: Rural Policy Research Institute Rural Health Panel
view details
"Kind of Feel Like the Lone Outpost": A Qualitative Exploration of Barriers to Professional Development for Rural Primary Care Providers at the Veterans Health Administration
Study evaluates the levels of engagement in professional development (PD) among 9 rural primary care providers (PCPs) in the Veterans Health Administration (VHA). Explores barriers to PD participation and details findings of semi-structured interviews with rural PCPs on the importance of PD in supporting recruitment and retention efforts.
Author(s): Karla L. Miller, Jennifer Hale-Gallardo, Jaime R. Wilson, et al.
Citation: Journal of Rural Health, 42(3), e70206
Date: 08/2026
view details
Study evaluates the levels of engagement in professional development (PD) among 9 rural primary care providers (PCPs) in the Veterans Health Administration (VHA). Explores barriers to PD participation and details findings of semi-structured interviews with rural PCPs on the importance of PD in supporting recruitment and retention efforts.
Author(s): Karla L. Miller, Jennifer Hale-Gallardo, Jaime R. Wilson, et al.
Citation: Journal of Rural Health, 42(3), e70206
Date: 08/2026
view details
Reimagining Rural Maternal and Child Health
Describes Rural Health Transformation Program efforts in 6 states addressing maternal and child health through workforce recruitment and retention, technology and regional hubs, and integrated care models.
Date: 08/2026
Sponsoring organization: National Governors Association
view details
Describes Rural Health Transformation Program efforts in 6 states addressing maternal and child health through workforce recruitment and retention, technology and regional hubs, and integrated care models.
Date: 08/2026
Sponsoring organization: National Governors Association
view details
Rural Health Workforce Challenges and the Role of Networks
Describes the national rural health workforce shortage and challenges related to the recruitment and retention of healthcare providers in rural areas. Discusses strategies rural health networks can take to address workforce shortages, including health professions pipelines and a recruitment and retention framework.
Date: 07/2026
Sponsoring organization: Georgia Health Policy Center
view details
Describes the national rural health workforce shortage and challenges related to the recruitment and retention of healthcare providers in rural areas. Discusses strategies rural health networks can take to address workforce shortages, including health professions pipelines and a recruitment and retention framework.
Date: 07/2026
Sponsoring organization: Georgia Health Policy Center
view details
Washington's Health Workforce Sentinel Network Findings Brief: Small Hospitals, Spring 2026
Reports on workforce and facility-related challenges at Washington's acute care hospitals using April/May 2026 survey data. Discusses workforce supply and retention at rural facilities.
Date: 07/2026
Sponsoring organizations: The Health Workforce Sentinel Network, UW Center for Health Workforce Studies
view details
Reports on workforce and facility-related challenges at Washington's acute care hospitals using April/May 2026 survey data. Discusses workforce supply and retention at rural facilities.
Date: 07/2026
Sponsoring organizations: The Health Workforce Sentinel Network, UW Center for Health Workforce Studies
view details
Washington's Health Workforce Sentinel Network Findings Brief: Rural Health Clinics, Spring 2026
Reports on workforce and facility-related challenges at Rural Health Clinics in Washington using April/May 2026 survey data. Discusses causes of workforce supply and retention issues, facility-level challenges and planning, healthcare pathway and career-development programs, and AI use.
Date: 07/2026
Sponsoring organizations: The Health Workforce Sentinel Network, UW Center for Health Workforce Studies
view details
Reports on workforce and facility-related challenges at Rural Health Clinics in Washington using April/May 2026 survey data. Discusses causes of workforce supply and retention issues, facility-level challenges and planning, healthcare pathway and career-development programs, and AI use.
Date: 07/2026
Sponsoring organizations: The Health Workforce Sentinel Network, UW Center for Health Workforce Studies
view details
2026 Workforce Survey Report: The Status of Kentucky's Hospital Workforce
Provides an in-depth look at non-physician direct care positions in inpatient or hospital-related outpatient departments in Kentucky as of 2025. Includes statistics on vacancies, benefits, and pay, with breakdowns by rural and urban areas.
Author(s): Maik Schutze
Date: 07/2026
Sponsoring organization: Kentucky Hospital Association
view details
Provides an in-depth look at non-physician direct care positions in inpatient or hospital-related outpatient departments in Kentucky as of 2025. Includes statistics on vacancies, benefits, and pay, with breakdowns by rural and urban areas.
Author(s): Maik Schutze
Date: 07/2026
Sponsoring organization: Kentucky Hospital Association
view details
Putting the Roadmap to a Comprehensive State Graduate Medical Education Strategy into Practice: State Perspectives
Explores ways in which Missouri, North Carolina, and Wisconsin are planning and implementing aspects of their state graduate medical education strategies. Offers insights for other states investigating ways to sustain a rural healthcare workforce and considering a "grow-your-own" approach to expanded residency training.
Author(s): Lori Rodefeld, Raquel Davis, Erin P. Fraher, et al.
Date: 07/2026
Sponsoring organization: Milbank Memorial Fund
view details
Explores ways in which Missouri, North Carolina, and Wisconsin are planning and implementing aspects of their state graduate medical education strategies. Offers insights for other states investigating ways to sustain a rural healthcare workforce and considering a "grow-your-own" approach to expanded residency training.
Author(s): Lori Rodefeld, Raquel Davis, Erin P. Fraher, et al.
Date: 07/2026
Sponsoring organization: Milbank Memorial Fund
view details
3RNET Annual Report 2024-2025
Includes information on accomplishments from October 1, 2024 through September 30, 2025. Features statistics on referrals, placements, job postings, and technical assistance.
Date: 07/2026
Sponsoring organization: 3RNET
view details
Includes information on accomplishments from October 1, 2024 through September 30, 2025. Features statistics on referrals, placements, job postings, and technical assistance.
Date: 07/2026
Sponsoring organization: 3RNET
view details
State Flex Program Staff Sustainability Guide and Toolkit
A guide for state Flex Programs to help recruit good Flex Program staff, train them successfully, retain staff longer, and plan an orderly process of finding and training new staff before the outgoing staff leave. Presents a Staff Sustainability Cycle, a process for improving the retention of high-performing Flex Program staff, and outlines specific strategies and practical tools for addressing each component of the cycle.
Date: 07/2026
Sponsoring organization: National Rural Health Resource Center
view details
A guide for state Flex Programs to help recruit good Flex Program staff, train them successfully, retain staff longer, and plan an orderly process of finding and training new staff before the outgoing staff leave. Presents a Staff Sustainability Cycle, a process for improving the retention of high-performing Flex Program staff, and outlines specific strategies and practical tools for addressing each component of the cycle.
Date: 07/2026
Sponsoring organization: National Rural Health Resource Center
view details