From pipelines to pathways: the Memorial experience in educating doctors for rural generalist practice

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Rural Health Workforce Development

Background:

• Memorial University's Faculty of Medicine aims to address the need for rural generalist practitioners.
• The 'pathways to rural practice' approach influences recruitment, training, and retention.
• Social accountability mandates drive the need for skilled rural healthcare providers.

Purpose of the Study:

• To describe Memorial University's 'pathways to rural practice' model.
• To evaluate the effectiveness of initiatives designed to increase rural physician populations.
• To assess the impact of rural training on physician practice location.

Main Methods:

• Utilized the Learners & Locations (L&L) database to track students through pre-medical, medical, and postgraduate stages.
• Employed geospatial rurality analysis of administrative data.
• Examined data from graduating classes between 2011 and 2020.

Main Results:

• 56% of graduating classes (2011-2020) had rural upbringing; 44% urban.
• For Family Medicine residencies (2011-2016), 50% of placement weeks were in rural areas.
• 100% of Family Medicine residents (2011-2013) completed some rural training, averaging 52 weeks.

Conclusions:

• Memorial's 'pathways to rural practice' approach successfully trains rural generalists for Canada.
• The model demonstrates applicability to other settings facing similar rural healthcare challenges.
• Ongoing collaboration is crucial for sustainable rural healthcare delivery.