Rural Residency Programs

[drwatson]

Hello everyone,

I was wondering if anyone knew of any good rural residency (any speciality)training programs. And what you "qualities" you would look for in such a program. Or would a "normal" residency program prepare you for rural work just as well.

Thanks!

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[osillybean]

Hey,

I am applying to the University of Wisconsin rural training track. I think its a great program because you split time at the large UW hospitals in Madison and then in the clinic in Baraboo, WI. I personally look for strong OB, lots of procedures and the opportunity to have continuity of care.

 

[sophiejane]

Some think you get the best training for rural medicine in a large urban hospital. Preferably County. Preferably unopposed.

You want to see and treat as much as you possibly can, and the best way to do that is high volume. Also, the sicker the patients, the worse for them, but the better for your learning.

For some reason, sick people tend to cluster in urban areas, or they come to the city for treatment when their rural hospital has done all it can.

Which is why I am getting out of iit as soon as I'm done with residency!!

 

[treesap]

Doesn't the University of Washington have a couple of streams as well? I think there's a women's health and a rural track? I guess you still have to put up with UW's stringent admission criteria, though.

 

[scubamd]

I interviewed at the University of Washington last year and they had an underserved related track at Harborview but no rural track. If you are looking for places in Washington state, Tacoma Family Medicine is strong in rural medicine and has a rural med fellowship. Olympia is probably strong in rural med too, although I didn't interview there.

I'm now at the University of Hawaii which is a great program for rural med and international med. In the next couple of years we will be starting a rural medicine track where residents will spend PGY-2 and -3 years in Hilo (the Big Island) or on Kauai. Currently we have required rotations in Hilo and we have the opportunity to spend up to 3 months anywhere in the Pacific.

 

[RuralMedicine]

Hello everyone,

I was wondering if anyone knew of any good rural residency (any speciality)training programs. And what you "qualities" you would look for in such a program. Or would a "normal" residency program prepare you for rural work just as well.

Thanks!

Training is very variable so you really have to look at programs closely and individually and the choose the one that is the best fit. Ideally you have an idea of where/how you want to practice when you start the residency interview process which can help you identify your own program "must-haves" as you look at what you need to get out of residency. Everyone's mileage varies.

-A diverse patient population/diverse pathology can be very beneficial. Personally I opted to trained in an urban academic program but I intentionally selected programs that had rural referral bases. I also learned a lot about the importance of transferring in a timely fashion, not transferring what could have been managed locally, and stabilizing the patient prior to transfer by learning from the mistakes of some of those rural providers in our referral base.
-If you have no rural healthcare experience (I realize that statistically many rural providers come from a rural background but if not then welcome and thanks) I would recommend some experience before venturing into practice in middle of nowhere MT. This doesn't mean you have to do a rural residency, you can look at medical student clerkship opportunities, away rotations etc as well.
-In my experience there is a bigger limitation to pediatric training in rural community programs (even if they are unopposed) than adult training.
-Family Medicine is one way to prepare for practice in a rural area. However, it is certainly not the only way or even the undisputed best way. Medicine-Pediatrics also allows you to competently take care of all ages. EM, OB-GYN, General Surgery, and Psych could lend themselves to rural practice as well and many rural communities are in desperate need of competent providers in these areas.

Just a few thoughts....Good luck with your decisions ahead !

 

[lowbudget]

http://www.stfm.org/fmhub/fm2006/toc.cfm?xmlFileName=fammedvol38issue10.xml

Family Medicine Journal
Volume 38 Issue 10
November-December 2006
Abstracts
Will Rural Family Medicine Residency Training Survive?
Roger A. Rosenblatt, Amy Hagopian, C. Holly A. Andrilla, Gary Hart Jr.

Background and Objectives: Rural family medicine residencies may be more threatened by declining interest in family medicine than their urban counterparts. This study examines the recent performance of rural residencies in the National Resident Matching Program as an indicator of their viability. Methods: We surveyed all 30 family medicine residencies located in rural areas during the summer of 2004 and a geographically matched sample of 31 urban residencies. We gathered information about the matching process for 2002, 2003, and 2004. The response rate was 70.5%. Results: Rural programs offer about one third fewer first-year (postgraduate year 1 [PGY-1]) positions than their urban counterparts. Rural programs had lower Match rates (60.1%) than urban programs (72.5%) in 2004 but no meaningful differences in the proportion of international medical graduates (IMGs) or osteopathic physicians (DOs) who ultimately accepted positions. The 44.2% of residencies that predicted they would be thriving 2 years in the future filled an average of 81.3% of their slots on Match Day; there were no rural/urban differences. Programs with less-optimistic appraisals of their future had much lower Match rates. Two factors were associated with lower Match rates when other variables were taken into account: the proportion of IMGs in the 2 previous entering years and a stated rural mission. Conclusions: Rural programs appear to be slightly less stable than their urban counterparts, but the differences are minor. The viability of rural family medicine residency programs is probably affected more by the overall attractiveness of family medicine as a discipline rather than the rural or urban location of the residency.

 

[Catalystik]

University of Illinois-Chicago Medical School has Rural Med programs. You apply through the Peoria campus (I've seen the application form on-line), but they have that track at the Rockford campus also.

Here is a link to info on a Rural Med program: http://www.uirockford.com/programs/rural.asp

 

[Trail Boss]

I am at University of Washington, they have/are getting residency programs in either montana or wyo or both. Boise is also pretty rural as far as patient origin is considered. Rural minded folks talk about doing res there.

 

[medicnick]

I'm reading ahead... the WWAMI program feeds into the Idaho FP Residency program. They also have a website you can search for (don't have the link handy). I've met the Idaho director and she described the program as being a rural focus.

Good luck.
Nick

 

[ericana_83]

I'm nowhere near residency, but since I have plans of working in rural family practice, I've done some of my own research in rural residencies as well as rural clerkships.
Although everyone thinks that you see less strange cases, etc in smaller hospitals, it doesn't necessarily seem to be the case. Most of this info is from people I've talked with who are in rural programs. These students have said that compared to their classmates they've seen just as many of the less-seen cases (if not more).
The only problem remaining is that many of these times the rare cases get shipped out to bigger hospitals, of course.

 

[GreatSaphenous]

For Surgeons, I know that the programs in Cooperstown, NY and OHSU have rural tracks. Cooperstown also has a fellowship available.

I am the Great Saphenous!!!!!!

 

[MiesVanDerMom]

a lot of the FM residencies in Pennsylvania have a certain emphasis on rural. You spend a certain amount of time out at rural locations, can do electives there, etc. They'll discuss how they prepare you for rural medicine on their websites. These tend to be in central Pennslvania, in the smaller cities, not Pittsburgh and Philly obviously.

 

[leafsleave]

I'm the wife of a resident at the Cascades East program in Oregon ( http://www.ruralresidency.com ) and, from my perspective, I'd say they get very strong training here. Although in an urban setting there may be a greater variety of things to see--as a family medicine resident you're likely to be referring all your interesting cases to a specialist. But, in an unopposed rural program You are the doctor and You are trained to handle whatever comes your way. That is specifically why my husband went with a rural family practice program.

Last year he went down to New Orleans after Katrina to help out and--as a second year resident--felt like he was fully capable to jump right in there. Other doctors (specialists) would ask *him* for advice because they didn't necessarily have the strong and "well-rounded" training needed under such circumstances.

Also--of great importance to me--I feel like the program does a good job of supporting spouses. Once a month Signficant Others of the residents and faculty get together for lunch and can gripe about how little we see of our spouses We also get together for dinners, and help each other out with babysitting each others kids. It's a very family-friendly residency. Each year there's been a couple of residents who've had new babies and the residency tries to work with their schedules to give them some kind of maternity/paternity leave if they want it.

I think my husband definitely made the right choice getting a rural training. Even if he decides in the future that he'd prefer to go more urban, he'll be more than prepared for that setting. But, frankly, after hopping around large cities most of my adult life (DC, Seattle, LA, Portland...) I've decided I prefer rural life--and was a little surprised by that realization. All the practices we're looking at post-residency are smaller than Klamath Falls, OR.

If you have family to factor into the mix--try to get a feel for whether there's a supportive community in the residency and/or town. The happiness of your spouse can make or break your residency years...

 

[ultralente]

Hey guys..I am very new in this forum and an international medical graduate from Russia.I need some advise or help regarding residency in rural areas.well,right now I just had usmle step-1 exam and i will pass it.Can i apply to the rural residency without step-2ck and cs?I mean-i will pass during my residency if will get in.and what things are necessary to apply?after residency in rural areas can you go and work in the big cities without bad impression or what?please reply.thank you in advance.very good luck to you people.

 

[Hernandez]

Come on, what program could possibly top this advertisement?

Rural: 1 block; Buena Vista, CO, population 2,150, with two of our graduates (where morning rush hour traffic may be a herd of elk!)

 

[gardilimo]

hey im not sure if dartmouth has FM if thats what you are into but both dartmouth and UVM would provide this type of exposure and both great, sound schools...

 

[razorback58]

Post moved to another location

 

[lilnoelle]

Does anyone know about the rural FP residency in Pella, Iowa (university of Iowa) or Junction City, Kansas (KU med)?