Education and Training of the Rural Healthcare Workforce – Resources
Selected recent or important resources focusing on Education and Training of the Rural Healthcare Workforce.
Building a Robust Primary Care Workforce: Diffusing Lessons Across States
Blog post examining primary care workforce shortages in rural and underserved areas. Describes efforts by Missouri, North Carolina, and Wisconsin to develop and implement state-level graduate medical education strategies to increase their primary care workforce.
Author(s): Erin Fraher, Andreas Stomby
Date: 09/2026
Sponsoring organization: Milbank Memorial Fund
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Blog post examining primary care workforce shortages in rural and underserved areas. Describes efforts by Missouri, North Carolina, and Wisconsin to develop and implement state-level graduate medical education strategies to increase their primary care workforce.
Author(s): Erin Fraher, Andreas Stomby
Date: 09/2026
Sponsoring organization: Milbank Memorial Fund
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Association Between Rural Attitudes in Family Medicine Residency and Rural Employment
Explores rural family medicine residents' attitudes at residency completion and how they are associated with subsequent rural employment. Based on data from a study conducted from 2021-2025 survey of residents in two Mountain Area Health Education Center programs.
Author(s): Bryan Hodge, Julianne M. Power, Gwyneth DeHart, et al.
Citation: Family Medicine, 58
Date: 09/2026
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Explores rural family medicine residents' attitudes at residency completion and how they are associated with subsequent rural employment. Based on data from a study conducted from 2021-2025 survey of residents in two Mountain Area Health Education Center programs.
Author(s): Bryan Hodge, Julianne M. Power, Gwyneth DeHart, et al.
Citation: Family Medicine, 58
Date: 09/2026
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Improving Trauma Stabilization Training for Rural Family Medicine Residents
Presents data from the first 3 years of the Trauma and Emergency Medicine Track, developed in 2019 as a partnership among Sky Lakes Medical Center in Klamath Falls, Oregon; trauma surgeons; and Cascades East Family Medicine. The program prepares rural medical residents to lead trauma care, provides opportunities to perform trauma-specific procedures, and improves residents' comfort level with trauma stabilization.
Author(s): Christine Maisano, Patricia A. Carney, Margaret Jolley, Joel Klas
Citation: Family Medicine, 58(8), 577-581
Date: 09/2026
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Presents data from the first 3 years of the Trauma and Emergency Medicine Track, developed in 2019 as a partnership among Sky Lakes Medical Center in Klamath Falls, Oregon; trauma surgeons; and Cascades East Family Medicine. The program prepares rural medical residents to lead trauma care, provides opportunities to perform trauma-specific procedures, and improves residents' comfort level with trauma stabilization.
Author(s): Christine Maisano, Patricia A. Carney, Margaret Jolley, Joel Klas
Citation: Family Medicine, 58(8), 577-581
Date: 09/2026
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Trends in Rural and Urban Family Physician Teaching of Health Professions Students and Residents
Compares the amount of early career family physicians offering clinical instruction to health professions students in rural and urban areas. Analyzes the types of students being taught, such as premedical, medical, residents, or fellows, among others, as well as practice characteristics of the settings where physicians were engaged in teaching.
Author(s): C. Holly A. Andrilla, Lars E. Peterson, Davis G. Patterson, David V. Evans, Janessa M. Graves
Citation: Family Medicine, 58(8), 555-563
Date: 09/2026
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Compares the amount of early career family physicians offering clinical instruction to health professions students in rural and urban areas. Analyzes the types of students being taught, such as premedical, medical, residents, or fellows, among others, as well as practice characteristics of the settings where physicians were engaged in teaching.
Author(s): C. Holly A. Andrilla, Lars E. Peterson, Davis G. Patterson, David V. Evans, Janessa M. Graves
Citation: Family Medicine, 58(8), 555-563
Date: 09/2026
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Community-Based Training and Impact on Care of Socially Disadvantaged Populations
Results of a study examining the association between community-based training of primary care physicians and subsequent practice in rural and underserved areas. Features demographics and and a state-level map showing distribution of family physicians who trained in Teaching Health Centers or Rural Training Tracks and graduated between 2017-2022.
Author(s): Freesia Quezada, Peter Manfredonia, Trenten L. Fenster, et al.
Citation: Journal of Graduate Medical Education, 18(4), 424-431
Date: 08/2026
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Results of a study examining the association between community-based training of primary care physicians and subsequent practice in rural and underserved areas. Features demographics and and a state-level map showing distribution of family physicians who trained in Teaching Health Centers or Rural Training Tracks and graduated between 2017-2022.
Author(s): Freesia Quezada, Peter Manfredonia, Trenten L. Fenster, et al.
Citation: Journal of Graduate Medical Education, 18(4), 424-431
Date: 08/2026
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Rural Background, Training Exposure, and Rural Practice Location Among US Physicians
Research letter exploring the interdependence between recruiting students from rural backgrounds and providing exposure to rural settings during undergraduate and graduate medical education training. Uses data from the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) 2022 National Sample Survey of Physicians.
Author(s): Xiaochu Hu, Davis G. Patterson, Sarah S. Conrad, Qian Luo, Michael J. Dill
Citation: JAMA Network Open, 9(8), e2625481
Date: 08/2026
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Research letter exploring the interdependence between recruiting students from rural backgrounds and providing exposure to rural settings during undergraduate and graduate medical education training. Uses data from the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) 2022 National Sample Survey of Physicians.
Author(s): Xiaochu Hu, Davis G. Patterson, Sarah S. Conrad, Qian Luo, Michael J. Dill
Citation: JAMA Network Open, 9(8), e2625481
Date: 08/2026
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Rural Health Curriculum in Bachelor of Science in Nursing Programs: A Narrative Review
Evaluates 93 Bachelor of Science in Nursing courses and initiatives to determine how rural health is integrated into course curricula. Includes analysis of course or initiative length, population focus, and states where courses are located. Discusses rural in larger population health training contexts, training methods, and implications for training the rural nursing workforce.
Author(s): Kyanna Harris, Hilary N. Touchett, Alexandra Caloudas, Kelley Arredondo
Citation: Journal of Rural Health, 42(3)
Date: 08/2026
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Evaluates 93 Bachelor of Science in Nursing courses and initiatives to determine how rural health is integrated into course curricula. Includes analysis of course or initiative length, population focus, and states where courses are located. Discusses rural in larger population health training contexts, training methods, and implications for training the rural nursing workforce.
Author(s): Kyanna Harris, Hilary N. Touchett, Alexandra Caloudas, Kelley Arredondo
Citation: Journal of Rural Health, 42(3)
Date: 08/2026
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A Guide to GME Development in Rural and Underserved Areas
Offers a roadmap for establishing, expanding, or strengthening Graduate Medical Education (GME) programs in communities with limited access to healthcare. Highlights resources, tools, and best practices to align GME programs with workforce needs, strengthen physician pipelines, and improve access to care. Requires free account registration to access document.
Author(s): Laney McDougal, James Clardy, Deborah Clements, Alan Douglass, Lori Rodefeld
Date: 07/2026
Sponsoring organizations: Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education, Rural Residency Planning and Development Program, Teaching Health Center Technical Assistance Center
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Offers a roadmap for establishing, expanding, or strengthening Graduate Medical Education (GME) programs in communities with limited access to healthcare. Highlights resources, tools, and best practices to align GME programs with workforce needs, strengthen physician pipelines, and improve access to care. Requires free account registration to access document.
Author(s): Laney McDougal, James Clardy, Deborah Clements, Alan Douglass, Lori Rodefeld
Date: 07/2026
Sponsoring organizations: Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education, Rural Residency Planning and Development Program, Teaching Health Center Technical Assistance Center
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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
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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
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Nursing in the Rural West: Challenges and Opportunities for Supporting Rural Students and Communities
Provides a regional perspective on nursing workforce needs in Western rural areas, based on discussions with stakeholders from Wyoming, New Mexico, and Colorado. Highlights rural nursing student supports, clinical placements, faculty development, and preceptor development.
Author(s): Colleen Falkenstern
Date: 06/2026
Sponsoring organization: Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education
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Provides a regional perspective on nursing workforce needs in Western rural areas, based on discussions with stakeholders from Wyoming, New Mexico, and Colorado. Highlights rural nursing student supports, clinical placements, faculty development, and preceptor development.
Author(s): Colleen Falkenstern
Date: 06/2026
Sponsoring organization: Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education
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