Rural Project Examples: Interprofessional training of the health workforce

Other Project Examples

Added November 2023

Need: To fill gaps in care for rural communities in southeastern Virginia while providing clinical placement opportunities for nursing students.
Intervention: A free mobile health clinic staffed by Old Dominion University nursing students that visits rural schools and other community centers.
Results: Hundreds of students have gained hands-on rural experience working in the clinic since its launch.

Updated/reviewed July 2023

Need: An ongoing shortage of healthcare providers in rural areas of South Dakota
Intervention: A 4-week summer program placing health professions students in rural communities.
Results: Of graduating participants, 71% practice in South Dakota with 30% of those graduates practicing in rural communities with populations fewer than 10,000, or veteran facilities.

Updated/reviewed June 2023

Need: To expose medical and physician assistant students to rural healthcare practices and a rural lifestyle.
Intervention: A two-week immersion program for second-year students to experience rural healthcare and rural life in Connecticut and New York.
Results: In post-program evaluations from 2016 to 2018, 50% of students reported being very likely to practice in a rural setting, compared to just over 10% of students before the program.

Updated/reviewed March 2023

Need: Falling is one of the leading causes of morbidity and mortality in adults over the age of 65.
Intervention: The Right Side Up program was implemented in rural Otter Tail County to address the prevention and management of falls and risk for falls through in-home assessments given by interdisciplinary healthcare professionals and students.
Results: Short-term outcomes revealed 100% of participants found the visit and recommendations for falls prevention to be helpful, and 78% implemented these recommendations.

For examples from other sources, see: