rural medicine Archives - Medcare Staffing

When talking to providers about practicing in a rural location, we hear “I need a Starbucks” or “My family needs a community with an Apple store and a 20 theatre movie complex.” We understand. Cities like Atlanta or Denver offer you countless activities, housing, schools, etc. but rural locations usually see the most value. You can get higher pay, lower cost of living, and most of all, provide care to underserved communities. Rural communities traditionally have had a difficult time attracting physicians. recent survey posted on FierceHealthcare found most new doctors (65%) would prefer to work in communities of 250,000 or more.

Want to see a few benefits of working in a rural location? Read on below.

1. Excellent Work-Life Balance

Do you desire to spend quality time with your patients? It’s possible in a rural area. With fewer patients each day, you can work at your own pace. Then you can less time in the clinic or facility, and more time to enjoy activities outside of work. Practicing locums in rural areas will go a long way in creating your work-life balance. Since we all need more balance in our hectic lives, this is a bonus.

2. Introduction to Different Patients and Styles of Training in Rural Locations

If you choose to practice in rural locations, you will have the opportunity to provide care to an assortment of patients. Creating a chance to encounter various styles of training as you give the patients care. As a result, you can expand your experience with medical procedures and tactics.

3. Higher Demand Means Higher Pay

With the shortage of physicians in rural areas, some offer a higher rate for qualified physicians. Add this to the cost of living, housing, etc. you not only make more but save more. Some physicians and advanced practitioners use the savings to pay off debt, save for retirement or pay for unexpected expenses that happen in life.

4. Provide Care to Underserved Communities That Need It!

In an article posted on Becker’s Hospital Review, the following quote really hits home. “Physicians are disappearing from the map of rural America. Twenty percent of the country’s population lives in a rural area. The ratio of physicians to patients is 1 to 2,500, which means that 60 million people are dealing with the impact of this shortage.” Based on the shortage, you will be giving back to a community and the overworked providers. Just another added benefit of practicing in rural or remote locations.

Are You Ready To Practice In Rural Locations?

Since rural locations have more to offer, consider experiencing it for yourself. Give us a call or click here to see our job board.

Who are we? MedCare Staffing is a small, veteran-owned, family-oriented team. We start every day with gratitude because we LOVE what we do! We are a team on a mission to make a positive difference in the lives of our clients and providers.

What we do: We place Physicians & Advanced Practitioners in Locum Tenens, Contract Positions and Permanent Jobs

To contact MedCare Staffing call 888.474.3380 or visit or website by clicking here!

When it comes to the medical world, primary care physicians bring a multitude of valuable qualities to the table with their ability to be versatile, flexible, and with their full breadth of general medical knowledge. Because of these beneficial characteristics, primary care physicians can provide comprehensive care, treat a range of medical conditions, and can cover treatment in numerous specialties, including preventive medicine, family practice, adolescent medicine, and public health.

The demand for readily available access to primary and preventative care has significantly increased over the past few years, outpacing the increase in the supply of this care, which in turn creates shortages in various communities across the country. Because primary care physicians are brimming with a wealth of knowledge and hands-on experience, they are placed in a unique position that allows them to fill in the need for quality patient care in the following ways.

1. Becoming a valuable member of medical care teams

Primary care physicians have the opportunity to become valuable members of medical care teams at hospitals, clinics, and other health care facilities that offer high quality, cost-effective, and continuous care to patients.

Understaffing and gaps in primary care can lead to patients’ medical needs not being met in a satisfactory or timely manner. Most importantly, that puts patients’ health at risk and can cause an existing condition to worsen drastically. And secondly, there are financial ramifications to patients not receiving the preventative care they would be getting at an adequately staffed facility. It is cheaper for the patient if problems are caught early on as opposed to treating them when their condition is advanced and has become a severe enough illness to require specialized care. With their extensive knowledge and expertise, primary care physicians can fill gaps where needed to ensure patients and their essential preventative care do not slip through the cracks at understaffed facilities.

2. Managing costs of patient care

Primary care physicians are often seen as the jack-of-all-trades in the medical industry. They specialize in diagnosing, treating, and preventing a wide variety of conditions, according to the Mayo Clinic. They also have the ability to screen for all significant health-related conditions, order prescriptions, and handle other essential responsibilities that prevent or manage several illnesses.

Because primary care physicians have a vast knowledge of many different conditions, they can help keep patients out of the ER. By keeping patients out of the ER, primary care physicians can save them around 33% on their healthcare in comparison to their peers who primarily see specialists, according to nonprofit organization Primary Care Progress. The availability of primary care physicians helps to ensure that patients’ needs are not going unnoticed, which in turn prevents issues from growing out of control and costing them more money.

3. Improving the overall quality of care especially in rural areas

Rural areas often suffer from a lack of quality primary care providers. The lack of providers places a burden on patients, forcing them to either altogether forgo preventative care or drive long distances in order to receive the services they need.

These underserved areas provide multiple opportunities for providers to improve the overall quality of care for at-risk populations, which in turn helps aid efforts in the advancement of public health. If patients are able to access qualified, knowledgeable, and skilled primary care physicians without having to spend vast amounts of money and time driving out of their area, they are more likely to maintain and manage their health properly.

Primary care providers are needed in the locums industry

There is a great need for primary care providers in the locum tenens industry. Primary care providers are essential to support the healthcare system and expand access to quality care around the country, especially in more rural and underserved areas. With their variety of medical knowledge and vast experience, primary care physicians are the perfect candidates to provide care on the frontlines of healthcare and fulfilling the fundamental medical needs of a variety of patient populations.