§293m Rural Physician Training Grants

Summary

Creates a grant program run by the Health Resources and Services Administration to help accredited allopathic or osteopathic medical schools (or groups of such schools) recruit and train students who are likely to practice in underserved rural communities. Eligible schools must apply and certify they will use the money to set up, expand, or improve a rural-focused training program that enrolls at least 10 students per class and gives admission priority to students who come from or lived 2 or more years in an underserved rural area and who plan to practice in such areas. The program must include classroom work and clinical rotations focused on rural practice, extra coursework on rural health issues, help finding residency training in rural or rural-supporting programs when available, and group activities that keep students committed to rural work. The Secretary will give grant priority to schools with a proven record of placing graduates in rural areas, existing programs that already send many graduates to rural practice, partnerships with rural sites, or a plan to track where graduates work. Schools must file an annual report on program results, use grant money to add to (not replace) other funding, keep their non-federal spending at least at the previous year’s level, and follow the Secretary’s definition of “underserved rural community,” which must be issued within 60 days after March 23, 2010. The law authorized $4,000,000 for each fiscal year 2010 through 2013.