Integrating Rural Background and Training Pathways Across Medical Education-Strengthening Rural Physician Workforce Development

Article: Integrating Rural Background and Training Pathways Across Medical Education-Strengthening Rural Physician Workforce Development

Authors: Kelley Arredondo, Michael E Ohl, M Bryant Howren

Journal: JAMA Netw Open. 2026 Aug 3;9(8):e2627399

Excerpt:
Rural communities in the US—home to approximately one-fifth of the population—experience persistent shortages of physicians and reduced access to health care services compared with urban areas, which are issues that may be further exacerbated by recent federal legistlation. These disparities are associated with delays in care, increased travel burdens, and poorer health outcomes for rural residents. Increasing the rural physician workforce thus remains a longstanding policy priority for medical educators and workforce planners. Despite decades of investment in workforce development strategies, including recruitment of medical students with rural backgrounds and expansion of rural training opportunities during undergraduate medical education (UME) and graduate medical education (GME), the rural physician supply remains limited.

Link to journal online: https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2852459