Caring for the Country: Family Doctors in Small Rural Towns [Paperback]

-An excellent resource for pre-med students and medical school advisors.

-Possible adoptions for courses in Medical Humanities (pre-med undergraduate and medical school/graduate, first two years) and Family Practice Clerkship (medical school/graduate)

-In-depth profiles reveal the everyday reality of the shortage through poignant stories and candid dialogue.

-The foreword is written by Dr. Robert Taylor (Family Medicine; Fundamentals of Family Medicine)

Medical students lack role models in rural primary care, contributing to the severe shortage of family care physicians in rural areas. This unique book addresses that need by profiling ten graduates from the Physician Shortage Area Program (PSAP) of Jefferson Medical College, Thomas Jefferson University, who are now practicing rural family medicine. At the heart of this text is a challenge to pre-med undergraduates, medical students, and family physicians to consider rural family practice. An excellent resource for pre-med and medical school advisors, the book brings into focus the true calling of medicinemaking a difference by helping others. The text opens by discussing the impact that the PSAP has had on the physician shortage. In-depth profiles advance the topic by revealing the everyday reality of the shortage through poignant stories and candid dialogue. They cover the spectrum of social and professional issues that rural family physicians face, addressing topics such as the meaning of rural family practice, the roles of medical schools and hospital systems, health care policy, rural obstetrics, and telemedicine. The concluding chapter summarizes the professional and personal lessons learned from the profiles and outlines the future of rural family practice.