The impact of urban-based family medicine postgraduate rotations on rural preceptors/teachers.

Background: The use of rural rotations within urban-based postgraduate programs is the predominant response of medical education to the health needs of underserved rural populations. The broader impact on rural physicians who teach has not been reported.

Methods: This study examined the personal, professional, and financial impact of a rural rotations for urban-based family medicine (UBFM) residents on Canadian rural teaching physicians.

An equity-oriented admissions model for Indigenous student recruitment in an undergraduate medical education program.

Background: With the 2015 publication of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada's calls to action, health professional schools are left grappling with how to increase the recruitment and success of Indigenous learners. Efforts to diversify trainee pools have long looked to quota-based approaches to recruit students from underserved communities, though such approaches pose dilemmas around meaningfully dismantling structural barriers to health professional education. Lessons shared here from developing one multi-layered admissions strategy highlight the importance of equity-rather than equality-in any recruitment for learners from medically underserved communities.

Factors perceived to influence rural career choice of urban background family physicians: A qualitative analysis.

Background: Urban background physicians are the main source of physician supply for rural communities across Canada. The purpose of this study was to describe factors that are perceived to influence rural career choice and practice location of urban background family medicine graduates.

Methods: We conducted a qualitative, descriptive study employing telephone interviews with 9 urban background family physicians practicing in rural locations.

The impact of rural rotations on urban based postgraduate learners: A literature review.

The rural physician shortage remains an international crisis. Rural rotations are commonly used to address the issue. This review assesses the published evidence of the impact of rural rotations on urban-based postgraduate learners.

Does the Medical College Admission Test (MCAT) predict licensing examination performance in the Canadian context?

Background: Research on the predictive validity of the Medical College Admissions Test (MCAT) on licensing examination performance is varied in its conclusions, with only a few studies examining this relationship in a Canadian context. We assessed the predictive validity of the MCAT on successful performance on the Medical Council of Canada Qualifying Examination (MCCQE) Part 1 by students attending the Cumming School of Medicine.

Methods: Prospective data were collected on MCAT score and sub-section scores, MCCQE decision, multiple mini interview (MMI) performance, gender, and age.

An Axiological Analysis of One Medical School's Admissions Process: Exploring Individual Values and Value Systems.

Purpose: Values and value systems are fundamental to medical school admissions processes. An axiological analysis was carried out to explore the individual values and value systems found within the University of Calgary's Cumming School of Medicine's undergraduate admissions process.

Method: A mixed-methods case study methodology was developed with a focus on applicant characteristics viewed as desirable, the relative value ascribed to applicant characteristics, the values that participants in admissions processes brought to bear, the values that were reflected in the artifacts and procedures used in support of admissions processes, and the values that were expressed at a system, program, or institutional level.

Scope of practice of family medicine graduates who completed a rural versus urban program.

Introduction: In Canada, rural-based family medicine residency programs were established largely in response to a shortage of rural physicians and the perception that urban-based training programs were not meeting the needs of rural populations. Examinations of practice patterns of physicians trained in rural and urban programs are lacking. The purpose of this study was to compare the scope of practice of family medicine graduates who completed a rural versus an urban residency program, by practice location.

A critical scoping review of the connections between social mission and medical school admissions: BEME Guide No. 47.

Background: Despite a growing focus on the social accountability of medical schools, there has been no substantive review of admissions related to the social mission of medical schools. This paper reports on a critical scoping review of the connections between social mission and medical school admissions.

Methods: Searches of seven bibliographic databases identified 1258 unique articles.

Implications of not matching to a first-choice discipline: a family medicine perspective.

Background: Family medicine is often selected as an alternate career choice by medical students who do not match to their first choice discipline. Consequently, family medicine residency programs accept and train some residents who prepared for and intended a career in another specialty. The implications of this warrant investigation.

Well-being of family medicine graduates.

Objective: To determine family medicine graduates' professional and personal well-being, general health status, stress levels, coping strategies, and the degree to which they felt supported or isolated in professional life; and to compare findings by sex, practice location, and location of medical school (Canadian medical graduates [CMGs] vs international medical graduates [IMGs]).

Design: Retrospective, cross-sectional survey.

Setting: University of Alberta in Edmonton and the University of Calgary in Alberta.

Precepting at the time of a natural disaster.

Background: Natural disasters strike communities that have varied degrees of preparedness, both physical and psychological. Rural communities may be particularly vulnerable as they often do not have the infrastructure or resources to prepare in advance. The psychological impact of a natural disaster is amplified in learners who may be temporary members of the community and therefore cannot draw on personal support during the crisis.

Supporting Veterinary Preceptors in a Distributed Model of Education: A Faculty Development Needs Assessment.

Effective faculty development for veterinary preceptors requires knowledge about their learning needs and delivery preferences. Veterinary preceptors at community practice locations in Alberta, Canada, were surveyed to determine their confidence in teaching ability and interest in nine faculty development topics. The study included 101 veterinarians (48.

Recruitment and retention of physicians in rural Alberta: the spousal perspective.

Introduction: The overall geographic distribution of physicians in Canada, including Alberta, is misaligned with the population distribution. Some strategies, such as debt repayment, are currently in practice to increase recruitment and retention of physicians in rural locations. Of the factors influencing choice of practice location, 'spousal influence' is considered to play a significant role in recruitment and retention of physicians in literature.

Practice locations of longitudinal integrated clerkship graduates: a matched-cohort study.

Introduction: Longitudinal integrated clerkships (LICs) have been introduced as an innovative model to impart medical education. In Canada, most LIC experiences are situated in rural communities. Studies have reported equivalence in graduates from rural LICs and traditional rotation-based clerkships (RBCs) in their performance in residency, as well as in national medical licensure examinations.

Exploring the Teaching Motivations, Satisfaction, and Challenges of Veterinary Preceptors: A Qualitative Study.

Optimization of clinical veterinary education requires an understanding of what compels veterinary preceptors in their role as clinical educators, what satisfaction they receive from the teaching experience, and what struggles they encounter while supervising students in private practice. We explored veterinary preceptors' teaching motivations, enjoyment, and challenges by undertaking a thematic content analysis of 97 questionnaires and 17 semi-structured telephone interviews. Preceptor motivations included intrinsic factors (obligation to the profession, maintenance of competence, satisfaction) and extrinsic factors (promotion of the veterinary field, recruitment).

Determinants of an urban origin student choosing rural practice: a scoping review.

Introduction: The shortage of physicians in rural and remote communities is an ongoing problem. Many studies have shown that the rural background of a student (ie rural origin) is a primary factor in recruiting physicians for practice in rural communities. Scoping reviews are primarily done to gauge the extent of literature on the research question at hand, typically with an intent that future research in that area is a constructive addition to pre-existing knowledge.

Rural longitudinal integrated clerkships: changing interests and demographics of medical students.

Introduction: The University of Calgary Longitudinal Integrated Clerkship (UCLIC) is an integrated curriculum of at least 32 weeks' duration based in rural communities. Rural LICs have been proposed as a method to respond to the needs of underserved rural communities; therefore, assessing evolving learner interest and demographics over time is of importance to rural communities.

Methods: Three surveys were administered to first-year medical students at the University of Calgary from the classes of 2009, 2010 and 2015.

Effect of the discipline of formal faculty advisors on medical student experience and career interest.

Objective: To examine whether the discipline (family medicine vs other specialty) of formally assigned faculty advisors affected medical student experience and career interest.

Design: Survey.

Setting: University of Calgary in Alberta.

Specialty resident perceptions of the impact of a distributed education model on practice location intentions.

Objectives: There is an increased focus internationally on the social mandate of postgraduate training programs. This study explores specialty residents' perceptions of the impact of the University of Calgary's (UC) distributed education rotations on their self-perceived likelihood of practice location, and if this effect is influenced by resident specialty or stage of program.

Methods: Residents participating in the UC Distributed Royal College Initiative (DistRCI) between July 2010 and June 2013 completed an online survey following their rotation.

Beyond bricks and mortar: a rural network approach to preclinical medical education.

Background: Countries with expansive rural regions often experience an unequal distribution of physicians between rural and urban communities. A growing body of evidence suggests that the exposure to positive rural learning experiences has an influence on a physician's choice of practice location. Capitalizing on this observation, many medical schools have developed approaches that integrate rural exposure into their curricula during clerkship.

Academic performance of longitudinal integrated clerkship versus rotation-based clerkship students: a matched-cohort study.

Purpose: Prior studies suggest that students on a longitudinal integrated clerkship (LIC) have comparable academic performance to those on a rotation-based clerkship (RBC); however, most of these studies did not adjust for preclerkship academic performance. The objective of this study was to compare the academic performance of LIC and RBC students matched on prior academic performance over a three-year period.

Method: Each LIC student in the University of Calgary classes of 2009, 2010, and 2011 (n = 34) was matched with four RBC students (n = 136) of similar prior academic performance.

Comparing the performance in family medicine residencies of graduates from longitudinal integrated clerkships and rotation-based clerkships.

Purpose: In 2008, the University of Calgary implemented a longitudinal integrated clerkship (LIC) called the Rural Integrated Community Clerkship (RICC), which places students in a rural community for 32 weeks. Research indicates that LIC students perform academically as well as or better than students completing rotation-based clerkships (RBCs). However, little is known about how LIC graduates perform in residency.

Exposure and attitudes toward interprofessional teams: a three-year prospective study of longitudinal integrated clerkship versus rotation-based clerkship students.

This study explored exposure to, and attitudes toward, interprofessional (IP) teams between third-year longitudinal integrated clerkship (LIC) and traditional rotation-based clerkship (RBC) students at the University of Calgary medical school. Students completed a survey pre-post 32-week LIC or 6-week rural, regional or urban RBC family medicine rotations. Pre and post rotation surveys were completed by 213 (48%) students (LIC = 33/34; rural = 76/152; regional = 24/46; urban = 80/208).