Medical schools try to fill the need for specialists in rural communities by creating programs with that aim

   

Some medical schools are looking for students willing to
locate in rural communities. (Javia Truba via Sunsplash)

Looking beyond the overall shortage of healthcare professionals in rural America, some medical schools are focusing on producing and placing specialists, reports Liz Carey in The Daily Yonder. The report notes that even in communities with a primary care physician, there is likely no cardiologist, surgeon, or even a dentist.

Medical schools serving those areas also recognize a growing elderly population, Carey reports. “Research has shown that rural areas already have more residents 65 and older (19%) than urban areas (15%), and that share is growing. Researchers expect the percentage of older people in rural communities to grow by more than 40% by 2034, making the disparities in care a larger concern.”

Medical schools from coast to coast are focused on addressing this issue. Carey’s report mentions the Quillen College of Medicine at East Tennessee State University, The University of Washington (with a program serving five states), The University of New Mexico School of Medicine, and the University of Minnesota Medical School, all of which have programs aimed at sending their graduates to rural, underserved areas.

Dr. Bill Block, dean of the Quillen College of Medicine at ETSU, told Carey: “Our surgical residency is designed specifically to prepare physicians for practice in rural and underserved communities, where access to subspecialists is often limited. … In rural areas, general surgeons must be prepared to manage a broader scope of cases independently.”

As much as the training needs to be focused on rural needs, funding is needed to provide incentives for students to go to rural areas. Some of the programs created by Congress for that purpose have expired, and new proposals have been stalled. And it is difficult to find students willing to locate in rural areas.

The Daily Yonder story cites a 2026 Medicus Firms survey: “Among physicians under 40, zero percent indicate a preference for rural practice,” the survey said, “while 12.5% of physicians age 60 and older express interest in rural settings. This generational gap is one of the most consequential physician recruitment challenges organizations face in 2026.”