Four researchers from the University of Alberta have published a study that discusses how UAlberta’s Rural Integrated Community Clerkship (ICC) program could help encourage family physicians to practice in rural communities. The researchers tracked medical graduates who graduated between 2009 and 2016 and found that those who completed the ICC program in their third year of medical school were more likely to go into rural or family practice than those who conducted their placement in an urban hospital. Program participation was a greater predictor of this outcome than whether the student had come from a rural community. Study co-author and UAlberta Professor Jill Konkin said that the program helps students become part of the community as they build relationships with patients, physician-teachers, and other healthcare workers. This in turn encourages them to consider working in a rural setting.
