Emergency Medicine Residency Program Expansion and Characteristics of Rural Rotations

Background: Despite concerns surrounding a potential surplus of emergency medicine (EM) physicians through at least 2036, there has been no corresponding increase in the number of EM trained physicians working in rural emergency departments. Previous studies suggest that the integration of rural rotations into EM residency curricula encourages more physicians to select rural EM positions. However, many EM residency programs do not offer rural rotations due to barriers such as insufficient finances, lack of resident interest, or lack of physician supervisors. No known studies since 2020 have explored rural rotations in EM residency programs. Following the covid-19 impact, it is worth re-examining the current state of EM residency programs and exploring attitudes about implementing rural rotations into new and existing programs. Objectives: To examine attitudes surrounding the expansion of EM residency programs and to explore characteristics of rural rotations in EM residency programs. Methods: A Qualtrics survey was distributed through the Council of Residency Directors in Emergency Medicine (CORD-EM) listserv. Survey responses continue to be collected in order to analyze the trends present in the aggregate data. Results: Data collection remains in progress regarding availability, characteristics, and interest in rural rotations in EM residency programs. Data revealing attitudes surrounding the need for additional rural rotations in existing EM programs and the need for the development of new EM programs with a rural focus are also being collected. Conclusion/Impact: Preliminary conclusions based on current data suggest that there are needs to increase EM resident interest in pursuing both rural rotations and jobs in rural sites, to find solutions to the barriers which hinder the implementation of rural rotations in EM residency programs, and to consider how future programs can incorporate a rural focus and address these issues.