Rural environments require a different sort of medical professional than urban centers. The focus of the Shenandoah Valley Family Practice Residency is to equip new physicians with the skills needed to handle the unique problems that arise in smaller towns. There are one and half times as many primary-care physicians per person in urban areas as there are in rural areas. For specialties like orthopedics, cardiology, and oncology, the number rises to two and half times as many physicians per person. This means that rural doctors tend to cover a wider variety of medical needs and procedures, and need to have broader skills. These kinds of situations and opportunities are what training programs like the Shenandoah Valley Family Practice Residency seek to address. Working in a rural area as a medical professional does have its benefits. The lower cost of living in the country allows for a doctor’s salary to go much farther than it would in a city where rents and mortgages are high, as are the prices of goods. An additional benefit may be lower stress, despite the lower density of physicians to patients. According to one survey, 61 percent of rural physicians have said that the pace is slower at their practices in the country that it was in the city. And doctors in rural areas tend to know their patients better, leading to greater professional and personal satisfaction.
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A three-year, rural-orientated program, Valley Health’s Shenandoah Valley Family Practice Residency uses training sites in both Front Royal and Winchester, Virginia. As an indication of the program’s high standards and reputation for quality, several residents of the Shenandoah Valley Family Practice Residency have presented at the annual conference of the North American Primary Care Research Group (NAPCRG) for three years in a row.
Established in 1972, NAPCRG is the largest group of its kind in the world. With members representing behavioral sciences, health services research, and all of the health care generalist disciplines, the nonprofit organization is dedicated to spearheading practice-based research networks, funding a wide range of research projects, and connecting its members at annual meetings. Led by nine different committees, the organization recognizes research innovations and significant achievements in the field with its awards and scholarships, including the Maurice Wood Award for Lifetime Contribution to Primary Care Research and the Distinguished Research Mentor Award, among others. Presented at NAPCRG’s annual meeting, the Distinguished Research Mentor Award recognizes a member for his or her contributions to the field. The award is open to researchers who are current NAPCRG members with at least 10 years of related professional experience. Additionally, applicants must be nominated by someone who is also a NAPCRG current member. Award qualifications further include a letter of support and a summary of the nominee’s mentoring work. Other awards NAPCRG issues recognize distinguished work of trainees, student research, and new investigators in the field. |
AuthorOverseen by Dr. Frank Dennehy, Shenandoah Valley Family Practice Residency Program offers opportunities for students who are interested in family medicine. Archives
November 2021
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