Global Health in Family Medicine Residency Programs: A Nationwide Survey of US Residency Directors: A CERA Study.

Background And Objectives: Interest in global health (GH) has increased significantly among medical trainees in the past 3 decades. Despite the potential for family medicine to be a major contributor to GH, there are no recent, large-scale studies of GH education and experiences in family medicine training. This study was designed to assess current opportunities, educational activities, resident interest, perceived program benefits, and barriers to international and domestic GH training in US family medicine residencies.

Telemedicine in education: bridging the gap.

Background: The increasing cost and inequitable access to quality healthcare, coupled with the merger of the information technology and health service sectors, has given rise to the modern field of telemedicine. Telemedicine, meaning medicine at a distance, allows us to transcend geographic and socioeconomic boundaries to deliver high quality care to remote and/or in-need patients. As technology becomes more affordable and a physician shortage looms, telemedicine is gaining attention as a possible solution to healthcare delivery.

Toward a common framework for rural background.

Background And Objectives: To develop a standardized framework to discuss rural background, a review of the literature to identify studies regarding the association of rural background with primary care and/or rural health practice was conducted. The various definitions of rural background were collated and from this data a framework for the conceptualization of rural background is proposed.

Methods: The Medline database from 1966-2009 was searched to find citations that included a rural background definition as a variable for rural intent to practice, rural career choice, or rural practice.