Staying Connected: A Longitudinal, Multisite, Interprofessional Rural Fellowship Collaboration.

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Palliative Care
• Rural Health

Background:

• Four rural hospice and palliative medicine (HPM) fellowship programs in northern New England collaborated to address inadequate access to specialty palliative care.
• An interprofessional educational retreat series was developed to enhance shared resources and foster community among faculty and fellows.

Purpose of the Study:

• To improve recruitment and retention of clinicians in rural areas with limited palliative care access.
• To maximize shared educational resources and foster a sense of community among HPM faculty and fellows.

Main Methods:

• Three annual in-person retreats were organized from 2022 onwards, each focusing on a specific theme: fundamental skills, advanced communication, and leadership.
• Interprofessional faculty from the four programs co-taught sessions.
• Fellows and faculty were surveyed after two years to evaluate the retreats' effectiveness.

Main Results:

• A 62% response rate (39 participants) was achieved for the survey.
• At least 88% of fellows found the retreats effective for developing clinical, communication, teamwork, and leadership skills.
• Over four-fifths of participants reported increased belonging and decreased professional isolation; retreats influenced fellowship choice (29% of fellows) and regional practice retention (32% of faculty).

Conclusions:

• In-person interprofessional educational retreats strengthened fellow education and fostered connections among regional faculty and fellows.
• The retreats were positively associated with improved recruitment and retention of HPM fellows and faculty in rural areas.
• This initiative demonstrated a successful model for enhancing palliative care education and workforce development in underserved regions.