A study of rural upbringing and education on the intent of health professional students to work in rural settings
Alcinda K. Trickett-Shockey1, Christina S. Wilson2, Laura R. Lander2, Greg A. Barretto3, Grazyna D. Szklarz4, Gail C. VanVoorhis5 and Joseph J. Minardi6
1Department of Periodontics, Division of Dental Hygiene, School of Dentistry, West Virginia University, Morgantown, West Virginia, USA
2Department of Behavioral Medicine and Psychiatry, School of Medicine, West Virginia University, Morgantown, West Virginia, USA
3Department of Pediatrics, School of Medicine, West Virginia University, Morgantown, West Virginia, USA
4Department of Basic Pharmaceutical Sciences, School of Pharmacy, West Virginia University, Morgantown, West Virginia, USA
5School of Nursing, West Virginia University, Morgantown, West Virginia, USA
6Department of Emergency Medicine, School of Medicine, West Virginia University, Morgantown, West Virginia, USA
Submitted: 27/06/2012; Accepted: 12/01/2013; Published: 28/01/2013
Int J Med Educ. 2013; 4:18-25; doi: 10.5116/ijme.50f1.48cf
© 2013 Alcinda K. Trickett-Shockey et al. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use of work provided the original work is properly cited. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0
Abstract
Objectives: To explore whether student rural upbringing, rural training were associated with their intent to practice in a rural health care setting after graduation in the disciplines of Dentistry, Dental Hygiene, Medicine, Nursing, and Pharmacy at a large university Health Sciences Center in Appalachia.
Methods: Graduating healthcare professional students were surveyed to determine student rural background and training competency as compared to location of intended practice after graduation (N= 145). Differences were identified using descriptive statistics within and between healthcare disciplines using Spearman's rank correlation and Kruskal-Wallis tests, Univariate, Chi-square and Pearson analyses for emergent themes or trends.
Results: Positive attitudes towards rural rotations and competency training were found. Twenty-one percent respondents graduated from high school in a rural setting (<2,500), while 4% reported their intent to practice in that setting. Conversely, 52% reported intent to practice in >50,000 population, while 12% grew up in this community size.
Conclusions: Student attitudes towards learning rural competency are positive; however, this survey suggests rural upbringing and training may not be sufficient to encourage health care professionals to practice in rural settings. More investigation is needed to determine effective incentives, perceived advantages or disadvantages and deterrents to rural healthcare practice.