Increasing the Supply of Women Physicians in Rural Areas: Outcomes of a Medical School Rural Program

Abstract

Results: Women PSAP graduates were more than twice as likely as non-PSAP women to practice in rural areas (31.7% vs 12.3%; relative risk, 2.6; 95% CI, 1.6 -4.2). This was similar to the PSAP outcomes for men (51.8% vs 17.7%; relative risk, 2.9, 95% CI, 2.2-3.9; relative risk ratio, 0.9, 95% CI, 0.5-1.5). PSAP outcomes were also similar for women and men practicing rural family medicine and rural primary care.

Longitudinal rural clerkships: increased likelihood of more remote rural medical practice following graduation

“…The finding of a greater likelihood of more females in remote areas of practice after participation in the RCSWA was a surprising outcome given previous literature outlining the many barriers to rural practice for women [ 23 ]. At least in part, our finding reflects the increasing proportion of females recruited in the course as well as the greater proportion of females applying for and being accepted into the RCSWA.…”

A Comprehensive Assessment of Family Physician Gender and Quality of Care

“…To make data interpretation manageable, we limited the analyses to 6 of the 21 indicators, which we selected a priori based on sample size and observed effect size in the main regressions. Residual confounding could only have been present in scale variables (panel size, rurality, and age), whereas effect modification could have been present in any All Family Physicians as of March 31 st 2010 (6,801) Included in Study (4,195) Exclude physicians with a panel size smaller than 1,200 (2,195) Exclude physicians with a prolonged absence (8 weeks) during study period (38) Exclude physicians not participating in comprehensive family medicine (373) of the 5 variables. We determined that meaningful residual confounding was present in the overall analysis if the effect size in the strata of scale variables was meaningfully different from the overall effect size.…”

Retention of Rural Family Physicians After 20-25 Years: Outcomes of a Comprehensive Medical School Rural Program

“…Those certified in family medicine and certified in other specialties, or those who were not certified in any specialty, were considered to be practicing family medicine if that was their primary self-reported specialty in the American Medical Association Physician Masterfile. [13][14][15][16][17][18][19] To analyze long-term retention, the numbers and percents of PSAP and non-PSAP graduates who were still practicing family medicine in the same area in 2011 were determined and compared. As in our previous study, practice location was considered to be in the same area if it was in the same rural county or an adjacent county as when the graduate was first located.…”

“…[13][14][15] As in our previous studies, we then obtained the 2011 practice specialty and current county address for each physician from the Jefferson Longitudinal Study of Medical Education and the Jefferson Foundation. [13][14][15][16][17][18] The Jefferson Longitudinal Study contains specialty certification information from the American Board of Medical Specialties and self-reported specialty data from the American Medical Association Physician Masterfile. As in our previous studies, graduates were considered to be practicing family medicine if their only board certification was in family medicine or if they also were certified in geriatrics, sports medicine, or adolescent medicine.…”