Education to Prepare Health Professionals for Rural Practice: A Scoping Review

Abstract

Rural and remote communities are challenged by an incongruous combination of poorer health and deficits of health professionals. Health professionals working in rural and remote practice contexts are largely educated with standardised curriculum content designed for urban-dominant systems, even though non-urban populations account for approximately half of the global population. Education is one strategy considered pivotal to recruitment and retention of health professionals in rural areas yet has received far less research attention than strategies such as rural background, incentive schemes and clinical placements. Following key health database searches, peer reviewed literature published in English between 2011-2021 was examined and 189 relevant articles were retrieved, of which 26 articles met the inclusion criteria for final analysis using a scoping review framework (Arksey & O’Malley, 2005) to examine how health professionals are currently being prepared for rural practice. Five themes were developed from the literature: Learning to Think Differently; Relationships; Health Leadership; Curriculum and Placement as Pedagogy. This scoping review identified a heavy reliance upon standardised curricula delivered via rural clinical and interprofessional placements with little evidence of specific rural curriculum content or pedagogic strategies that are tailored to rural and remote practice. There is a paucity of theory, educational design and evaluation research to assess the value of education strategies that prepare health professionals specifically to work in rural places. Identifying key rural pedagogic strategies can support curriculum design and delivery, targeted experiences and assessment that provide health professionals with the competence, confidence and skills to sustain careers in rural and remote practice.