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The average
economic impact
of one family
physician is
Source: Robert Graham Center for Policy Studies,
February 2009
accepted into a higher education health
professional program) support from the
AHEC, CRH, and SMHS does not end.
During a student’s studies, opportunities
for the student to experience rural health
care firsthand through clinical rotations
are available. The AHEC is taking the lead
with this, and is following the footsteps of
other strong programs such as the
Student/Resident Experiences and
Rotations in Community Health
(SEARCH), Don Breen, and Rural
Opportunities in Medical Education
(ROME). In line with the mission of the
SMHS, the AHEC and CRH support
students going into rural communities to
see firsthand what it is like to live, work,
and enjoy rural life. Connecting with the
culture and lifestyle found in a rural
community is as important to students as
learning and experiencing the quality of
care, availability of technology, and formal
connections with other health providers
(both in rural and urban settings) present
in a rural health organization.
All of the efforts of the SMHS as
exercised through its range of programs
work in concert with each other, avoiding
duplication of effort. The aim is to support
health workforce initiatives in whatever
way possible. The AHEC, CRH, and SMHS
believe that putting students into rural
communities increases the likelihood of
their staying or going back to those
communities. Solutions for the job seeker,
health organization (employer), and
community in need of a health
professional are created through these
partnerships. This makes for healthy
communities, which in turn create a
healthier North Dakota.
Recruitment and Retention
In addition to clinical rotations, the formal
academic part of the pipeline provides a
number of other support structures and
systems. For example, the Health
Workforce Information Center (HWIC),
an online information portal filled with
health workforce related resources, is a
resource shared with students, teachers,
and others interested in learning more
about health care careers, including wage
potential, education requirements, and job
prospects. HWIC serves as a catalog of
scholarships, loan repayment
opportunities, and loan options. This
federally funded initiative, located in the
CRH, is frequently met with encouraging
responses as to how useful a tool it is.
North Dakota has a significant need
for primary care providers; we are fortunate
to have a school of medicine that is one of
the top in the country for producing family
medicine physicians. In addition to a
significant percentage of medical students
entering primary care, there are programs
in place to support these efforts and
encourage students to work in rural areas.
In addition to ROME, Don Breen, and
SEARCH, there are the RuralMed Scholar
Program, which provides full scholarship
support in exchange for a medical student’s
commitment to serve in a rural area for
four years, Indians into Medicine (INMED),
and financial incentive programs such as
the federally supported National Health
Service Corps (NHSC) that are well
established at the SMHS. Numerous
students take advantage of these offers.
Once ready to enter the workforce,
health care providers have many different
motivations and factors for choosing a
community to practice in. Again, the CRH,
AHEC, and SMHS have a plan in place to
support them through this process.
Through funds designated from the state,
the CRH has a full-time employee, Mark
Barclay, dedicated as a workforce specialist.
Barclay provides placement assistance to
both providers seeking rural opportunities
and rural facilities searching for quality
providers. Barclay’s main focus is
coordinating this for physicians, nurse
practitioners, and physician assistants, but
any health care professional is welcome
and encouraged to use these resources.
This recruitment assistance provided
through the CRH is unique to the state.
Facilities that use the CRH’s recruitment
services pay no fees. This can be a large
savings to a financially vulnerable rural
health system, as private recruiters often
charge as much as $25,000 to bring a
provider to a rural community. In addition
to the cost savings, the CRH also has
access to the best source of rural health
care providers in the country. The CRH is
the North Dakota member of the National
Rural Recruitment and Retention Network
20 NORTH DAKOTA MEDICINE Holiday 2012