Design and Impact of a Novel Rural Hospital Alliance.

Without rural hospitals, many patients may not have access to essential services, or even any health care. Rural hospitals provide a community hub for local access to primary care and emergency services, as well as a bridge to specialized care outside the community. The goal of this review was to demonstrate how the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences supports and empowers rural hospitals through an alliance that provides cost savings through clinical networks, collaborative purchasing, and leveraged services; workforce recruitment and education; telemedicine and distance learning; community outreach; and access to best practices, resources, and tools for hospital transformation. Born out of grassroots efforts in the rural US South, this model alliance, the Arkansas Rural Health Partnership, with the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences supporting as an academic medical center participant, offers resources and programs intended to help rural hospitals and healthcare providers survive and even thrive in the challenging landscape that is forcing many other rural hospitals to close. The Arkansas Rural Health Partnership model is relevant for rural states that are seeking to develop or reenvision rural hospital alliances with academic medical centers to the benefit of the hospitals and the health of their communities and state.

Development and content validation of family practice residency recruitment questionnaires.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: The residency recruitment process involves a substantial time and financial commitment on the part of medical students and residency programs. This paper describes the development and content validation process of two written questionnaires designed to assess the application and interview process at our family practice residency program. METHODS: Two written questionnaires were developed after completion of a literature review and from areas deemed important by our academic faculty. Drafts of each questionnaire were sent to nine jurors to assess content validity. Content reviewers provided both a qualitative and a quantitative assessment of each questionnaire. RESULTS: The inclusion of both open- and closed-ended questions/items was deemed necessary and appropriate by the panel of content jurors. Assessing faculty, residents, curriculum, program's reputation, geographic location, and spouse/family influence were considered the most important factors to include on the questionnaires when assessing a family practice residency program. CONCLUSIONS: With increasing pressure to fill positions across many family practice residency programs, it is important for faculty involved in the recruitment process to recognize that both factors within and out of their control contribute to the selection process.