Rural community and physician perspectives on resource factors affecting physician retention

This study was undertaken to investigate issues affecting recruitment and retention of physicians in a rural north Florida community. As part of this investigation, the authors examined the relevant context of medical care and physician practice for this community. The results identify a number of problems not uncommon in rural communities and supported by previous literature. Physicians felt isolated, dissatisfied with job security and professional autonomy, and frustrated by a lack of cooperation among the major providers of health care. More importantly, upon closer scrutiny, some of the most appealing characteristics of this community for incoming physicians become its weaknesses. Access to a regional medical center nearby and nearness to a metropolitan area were both cited as positive attributes to their choice of practice location. In this community, however, these appear to have resulted in a highly divided medical system. Many of the employed and insured patients in the county prefer to get their medical care in the nearby city. At the same time three separate entities within the community--a federally funded community health center, a county public health unit, and a community hospital--are expected to provide services for the poor and uninsured. The resulting lack of a comprehensive approach to provision of services contributes significantly to the dissatisfaction among providers and to their ultimate retention.