Addressing the Rural and Underserved Healthcare Workforce Needs: Residency Specialty Selection and Workforce Outcomes of the WWAMI AHEC Scholars Program
Introduction: The availability of well-trained healthcare providers in rural and medically underserved areas in the United States is crucial for improving health outcomes. The Area Health Education Center (AHEC) Scholars program, funded by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), is...
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
University of Minnesota Libraries Publishing
2024-12-01
|
| Series: | Journal of Regional Medical Campuses |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://pubs.lib.umn.edu/index.php/jrmc/article/view/6192 |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| Summary: | Introduction: The availability of well-trained healthcare providers in rural and medically underserved areas in the United States is crucial for improving health outcomes. The Area Health Education Center (AHEC) Scholars program, funded by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), is a national effort to address these persistent healthcare shortages through a health professional student certificate program. This is a descriptive study of graduates of the University of Washington WWAMI AHEC Scholars program’s residency selection and workforce outcomes.
Methods: From July 2022 to December 2023, our research team conducted a follow-up survey and online search to locate WWAMI AHEC Scholars graduates from the 2018 and 2019 cohorts. Data was collected on graduates' residency selection for MD/DO graduates. For all other participants, we documented their current healthcare professions, practice locations (rural and/or medically underserved areas), and whether the practice was a federally qualified health center.
Results: We located 94.1% (159) of WWAMI AHEC Scholars Graduates. Among the 47 MD/DO students, 61.7% (29) matched into primary care. Additionally, 13.4% (13) of participants from other healthcare programs were located in rural areas and 26.7% (26) in medically underserved areas, highlighting the program's impact on the current maldistribution of healthcare providers.
Conclusion: The WWAMI AHEC Scholars Program offers a promising model for encouraging rural and underserved practice. However, more outcome-based research is needed to understand the long-term impact of this program.
|
|---|---|
| ISSN: | 2576-5558 |