Place-based rural health professional pre-registration education programs: a scoping review

Area of Science:

• Health Professions Education
• Rural Health Workforce Development
• Social Accountability in Healthcare

Background:

• Increasing focus on social accountability in health professional education (HPE).
• Addressing the shortage of rural healthcare professionals through innovative educational models.
• Emerging 'place-based' solutions for pre-registration HPE.

Purpose of the Study:

• Assess the international adoption of place-based HPE approaches.
• Describe program designs for recruiting and training students 'in place' within rural communities.

Main Methods:

• Global scoping review of relevant HPE databases.
• Screening of 4,215 articles based on eligibility criteria.
• Analysis of 50 unique HPE programs from 12 countries, following PRISMA-ScR guidelines.

Main Results:

• Identified 50 unique place-based HPE programs, primarily in medicine and nursing/midwifery.
• Programs aimed to provide a rural workforce and increase access for under-represented groups.
• Four training models identified: short-term placements, extended placements, rural campuses, and distributed blended learning.

Conclusions:

• Place-based programs share features of widening access, comprehensive design, and community engagement.
• Key design considerations include program scale, recruitment, longitudinal training, community involvement, and aligned evaluation.
• These programs align with social accountability goals by addressing rural healthcare needs and educational access.