Expectations Exceeded

The University of Kansas School of Medicine (KUSM) established a small rural regional medical campus (RMC) in Salina, Kansas in 2011 to address the rural physician workforce shortage in Kansas. Fourteen classes (114 students) have matriculated at this RMC since 2011, and ten classes (81 students) have graduated. A retrospective, longitudinal cohort study of the hometowns of the 114 matriculants, postgraduate training of 81graduates, and eventual practice locations of 47 graduates that have completed postgraduate training was done. Ninety-two (81.4%) of the matriculants were from rural communities, and 47.4% of matriculants received Kansas Medical Student (KMS) loans to help defray medical school costs. Fifty-five of 81 graduates (67.9%) entered primary care residencies (48.1% in family medicine, 7.4% in pediatrics, and 12.3% in internal medicine). Forty-seven Salina RMC graduates have completed postgraduate training and are now in practice; 39 (83.0%) are practicing in Kansas, 36 (76.6%) are serving rural Kansas, and thirty (63.8%) are practicing primary care in rural Kansas. The Salina RMC has been extremely successful in attracting rural students, graduating students who select primary care residencies, and witnessing graduates return to rural Kansas to practice. This study confirms the findings of other investigators: students with rural backgrounds, training in a rural environment, and postgraduate training in family medicine were associated with eventually choosing rural practice. The KMS loan program requiring graduates to eventually serve in an underserved county in Kansas for loan forgiveness was undoubtedly another major factor contributing to rural Kansas practice. The KUSM RMC program in Salina may be worthy of replication by other medical schools attempting to increase the rural physician workforce.