IOWA CITY, Iowa — According to the Association of American Medical Colleges researchers, by 2034 the US could see a shortage of 124,000 physicians, with the toughest hit areas being rural communities.
“The community mental health center where I practice had no psychiatrist before me," said Shea Jorgensen, a psychiatrist in central Iowa. "We just hired a child psychiatrist, but before she started, our nearest psychiatrist was 90 miles away."
This potential shortage has prompted healthcare workers at the University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine to create the Carver Rural Iowa Scholars Program (CRISP). The program connects graduating students with rural Iowa communities, with a long-term goal of retaining the active pool of physicians in Iowa.
Within the curriculum, students rotate through different offices in rural areas, and hear from guest lecturers who have first-hand experience of rural practices. Any students who graduate and find employment in rural care offices will receive up to $100,000 in student loan repayment.
To date, 25 students enrolled in the CRISP program have graduated and serve communities in Muscatine, Fort Madison and five other Iowa communities. Another 12 students are still enrolled in this program and four more students will enter next year as freshmen.
“What I find most inspiring about CRISP is the commitment the students have to giving back to rural communities,” said Cody Pritchard, the co-director of CRISP. “Overwhelmingly, CRISP students come from or have family in rural Iowa. Much of their desire to become physicians was impacted by personal experiences with rural health care.”
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