Rural Hospitals Innovate Residency Programs to Combat Physician Shortages
Becker's Hospital Review
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Contributed by: Kate Gamble
Summary
Rural hospitals encounter significant obstacles in establishing residency programs, primarily due to limited financial and structural resources, leading to healthcare recruitment challenges in these areas. Only 2% of medical residency training occurs in rural settings, despite 20% of the U.S. population residing in these locations. To address this shortage, Sanford Health’s Bemidji Medical Center has launched a partnership with Hennepin Healthcare to create a training model that allows emergency medicine residents from Hennepin County Medical Center to gain experience in rural medicine. The program has successfully attracted interest from residents, with positive feedback highlighting the value of diverse learning experiences outside urban environments, and currently supports 12 residents each year.
