Identifying the potential rural optometrist.

Rural optometrists were found to differ from urban optometrists in background, environmental attitude, and interest patterns. Attitude toward the urban environment and place of origin were the best predictors of an optometrist's practice location. When "urbanism" and "origin" were scaled and placed in a multiple regression equation to predict practice location, identification of an optometrist's location as rural or urban was highly accurate. Most importantly, scores on the equation were predictive of optometry students' future practice locations. A single cut-off point on the equation correctly identified 79% of students who entered rural or isolated small city practice and 81% of those who entered urban practice. The findings suggest that optometry students most likely to enter rural (or indeed urban) practice can be objectively identified early in, or even prior to, training. Such identification may assist educators in selecting and training optometrists who will deliver vision care to people in areas of greatest need.