Abstract
One reservation sometimes expressed by students considering a rural residency or residents considering a rural community for practice is the fear of being the only one. What if the other resident in a class of two is someone with whom I don’t get along? What if I join a group of older physicians in practice and within a few years they retire leaving me by myself? As apparently difficult as it is to recruit physicians to rural practice, who will join me? This presentation explores ways of addressing that fear and creating an alternate future.
Learning Objectives
Participants will be able to:
- With confidence acknowledge the reality that underserved places, which includes rural communities in general, are challenged in recruiting new physicians
- Describe at least 3 strategies in addressing the fear of being one of only a few in an underserved practice
- Articulate at least 3 tactics for recruiting others to join you, and for lessening isolation in practice and thriving there
Pre-Session Review Content & Assignment
Prior to the October 2020 Grand Rounds event, participants will spend 30-60 minutes in the following activity:
- Compare and contrast messages of fear and hope in the following:
- Attracting the Next Generation of Physicians https://www.aamc.org/news-insights/attracting-next-generation-physicians-rural-medicine
- The Fear: Out here it’s just me, Washington Post, 2019 https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/out-here-its-just-me/2019/09/28/fa1df9b6-deef-11e9-be96-6adb81821e90_story.html
- The Hope: Young Rural Healthcare Leaders Series: Q&A with Benjamin Anderson, RHIhub https://www.ruralhealthinfo.org/rural-monitor/benjamin-anderson/
- As an individual (or with a partner) pick a rural hospital near you, identify yourself and ask to speak with the physician recruiter. You will get further if you can honestly identify yourself as a student or resident – you’ll be considered a prospect! Ask for only 5-10 minutes of their time. Let them know you are completing an assignment for your education and want to hear their perspective on “What does it take to successfully recruit rural doctors?”
- Browse the following FAQs: Recruitment and Retention for Rural Health Facilities, RHIhub https://www.ruralhealthinfo.org/topics/rural-health-recruitment-retention#barriers
Please note, for this month, we ask that you and each of your team members join the Zoom call individually. This will help us facilitate the team activity more easily. Your Site Coordinator will be able to provide you with the Zoom link.
Presenter
Randall Longenecker, MD
Associate Director, Communities of Practice Lead Rural and Underserved Programs Ohio University, Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine
Randall Longenecker, MD, is Professor of Family Medicine and Assistant Dean for Rural and Underserved Programs at the Ohio University Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine, in Athens, Ohio. He practiced comprehensive family medicine, including maternity care, for 30 years, 15 of those as Program Director of a rural training track in family medicine. He is associate project director for the Rural PREP) and is founder and Executive Director of The RTT Collaborative.