Rural family medicine training site: Proposed framework

Objective

To develop a framework for a successful rural family medicine training program and to assess the potential for a rural family medicine residency training program using the Weyburn and Estevan areas of Saskatchewan as test sites.

Design

A mixed-method design was used; however, the focus of this article was on the qualitative data collected. Questions formulated for the semistructured interviews evolved from the literature.

Setting

Rural Saskatchewan.

Participants

Community physicians and representatives from the Sun Country Regional Health Authority, the Saskatchewan Ministry of Health, and the University of Saskatchewan.

Methods

The data were documented during the interviews using a laptop computer, and the responses were reviewed with participants at the end of their interviews to ensure accuracy. The qualitative data collected were analyzed using inductive thematic analysis.

Main findings

Through the analysis of the data several themes emerged related to implementing a rural family medicine residency training program. Key predictors of success were physical resources, physician champions, physician teachers, educational support, administrative support, and other specialist support. Barriers to the development of a rural family medicine training site were differing priorities, lack of human resources, and lack of physical resources.

Conclusion

A project of this magnitude requires many people at different levels collaborating to be successful.