Halaas Gwen Wagstrom, Zink Therese, Finstad Deborah, Bolin Keli, Center Bruce
Center for Interprofessional Education, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA.
J Rural Health. 2008 Fall;24(4):345-52. doi: 10.1111/j.1748-0361.2008.00180.x.
Founded in 1971 with state funding to increase the number of primary care physicians in rural Minnesota, the Rural Physician Associate Program (RPAP) has graduated 1,175 students. Third-year medical students are assigned to primary care physicians in rural communities for 9 months where they experience the realities of rural practice with hands-on participation, mentoring, and one-to-one teaching. Students complete an online curriculum, participate in online discussion with fellow students, and meet face-to-face with RPAP faculty 6 times during the 9-month rotation. Projects designed to bring value to the community, including an evidence-based practice and community health assessment, are completed.
To examine RPAP outcomes in recruiting and retaining rural primary care physicians.
The RPAP database, including moves and current practice settings, was examined using descriptive statistics.
On average, 82% of RPAP graduates have chosen primary care, and 68% family medicine. Of those currently in practice, 44% have practiced in a rural setting all of the time, 42% in a metropolitan setting and 14% have chosen both, with more than 50% of their time in rural practice. Rural origin has only a small association with choosing rural practice.
RPAP data suggest that the 9-month longitudinal experience in a rural community increases the number of students choosing primary care practice, especially family medicine, in a rural setting.
农村医师助理项目（RPAP）于1971年由国家资助成立，旨在增加明尼苏达州农村地区初级保健医生的数量，目前已培养了1175名学生。三年级医学生被分配到农村社区的初级保健医生那里，为期9个月，他们通过亲身参与、导师指导和一对一教学体验农村医疗实践的实际情况。学生们完成在线课程，与同学进行在线讨论，并在为期9个月的轮转期间与RPAP教员进行6次面对面交流。完成了旨在为社区带来价值的项目，包括循证实践和社区健康评估。
研究RPAP在招募和留住农村初级保健医生方面的成果。
使用描述性统计方法对RPAP数据库（包括医生的流动情况和当前执业地点）进行研究。
平均而言，82%的RPAP毕业生选择了初级保健领域，其中68%选择了家庭医学。在目前仍在执业的毕业生中，44%一直在农村地区执业，42%在大城市地区执业，14%则在两种地区都有执业经历，且他们在农村地区执业的时间超过50%。农村出身与选择在农村执业之间只有很小的关联。
RPAP的数据表明，在农村社区进行的为期9个月的长期实习增加了选择在农村地区从事初级保健实践（尤其是家庭医学）的学生数量。
