For most physicians, the next step following residency is a position at a hospital or private practice in an urban or suburban area, sometimes paired with a career in academia. Only an estimated 11% of all physicians choose to work in rural areas, and as a result, the United States is approaching a crisis point in rural medicine. Many physicians are retiring or moving away, with diminishing replacements and a population whose health is decidedly worse in all the major benchmark diseases than populations in metropolitan areas.
Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine alumni who serve in rural communities say that too few doctors have experienced the reality of healthcare work in nonmetropolitan settings, and they dispute the characterization oflower pay, longer hours, and a less challenging career path. They are convinced that the benefits of being part of a small community-living among those you serve and being appreciated for making the choice to play a vital role in their livesoutweigh the drawbacks.
“I think a lot of people think a rural practice means I’m living in the middle of nowhere for lower pay,” says Frederick Powell (CAMED’ll, PhD’ll). He points out that his pay as an anesthesiologist at Moultrie, Georgia’s Colquitt Regional Medical Center is better than what was being offered in larger, urban hospitals; the cost of living is lower, the hours are less taxing, and his commute is a relaxing, two-mile drive.
Powell also was pleasantly surprised by the level of community involvement made possible due to his increased free time. “Most of us are so busy in our medical practice that we do medicine, go home, wake up the next morning, and try to recharge,” he says. “But I’m on a variety of boards, and I meet with community leaders. People are appreciative that I choose to spend my time practicing medicine in their town, and they try to do their best to make sure that I recognize that it’s my town, too.”
Not everyone wants the fast pace and busy lifestyle of an urban physician. Alumni say they choose rural locations for a range of reasons, one of the most important being what drew many to BU as medical students in the first place-the sense of purpose that comes with directly addressing the disparities in healthcare for marginalized and medically underserved people.
The benefits of an improved work/life balance, easy access to nature and the outdoors, and sometimes, the financial incentives of better pay and a lower cost of living than what metropolitan practices or hospitals offer are also considerations.