Topics: Physicians

Training Rural to Serve Rural: Baccalaureate-MD Programs and Their Rural Results

Marshall University’s BS/MD program’s first medical school graduates, 2022.


Rural healthcare delivery experts continue to emphasize the critical need for rural workforce. Using uniquely designed combined baccalaureate/medical degree programs, two university-based medical education teams shared not only the successes in training and placing physicians in rural areas — but the unique impact their service-oriented students and programs have on their academic environment.

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August 3, 2022

It Takes a Village: Rural Recruitment and Retention

physician greeting a family


Healthcare facilities in Kansas and North Dakota and national organizations discuss the challenges of recruiting and retaining healthcare professionals in rural areas and share solutions, including partnering with local schools and businesses as well as other healthcare facilities.

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November 3, 2021

Creating New Rural Residency Programs: Three Grantees Share Their Stories

Internal medicine residents at Baptist Memorial Hospital.


HRSA’s Rural Residency Planning and Development (RRPD) Program supports organizations developing new rural residency programs. Three grantees – St. Luke’s University Health Network in Pennsylvania, Baptist Memorial Hospital in Mississippi, and Sutter Health in California – share what the RRPD grant has allowed them to accomplish so far.

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September 22, 2021

Advance Care Planning: New Realities in Times of COVID-19

ICU patient


Advance care planning — planning for decision-making in times of medical crisis — has always been intended for all people, all ages, with or without a chronic disease. Clinicians talk about the challenges of these conversations now that COVID-19 has nudged planning from the realm of the theoretical future to current reality.

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July 15, 2020

Healthcare Professionals’ Mental Health Needs: Where Can They Go?

two exhausted surgeons with hands on head


Recent research has found that not only are nearly 40% of surveyed physicians burned out, but 40% are also experiencing depression. For many reasons — stigma among them — these professionals are not getting mental health support. Physician health programs, in collaboration with professional societies, are trying to change that by working with state licensure boards and other groups.

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January 29, 2020

Physician Burnout: Definition(s), Cause(s), Impact(s), Solution(s)

Burnout graphic featuring a stethoscope on fire


National research has revealed it and rural research suggests it: over 40% of today’s physicians are burned out. This in-depth story reviews information about burnout in healthcare professions and for physicians in particular. Along with reviewing causes and impact, a medical school wellness-advocate, a researcher, and a large healthcare organization with a rural footprint shared interventions and solutions.

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January 22, 2020

Burnout: Measurement Tool(s), Cause(s) and Impact(s)

keyboard enter key labeled with the word "Burnout"


Over 40% of today’s physicians are burned out. A closer look at research indicates that not only is this a system problem rather than an individual problem, but that burnout impacts a system’s revenue streams, healthcare quality, and patient safety and satisfaction. Experts suggest the problem may even be of more concern in rural areas.

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January 22, 2020